Music News

Weekly Roundup: Friday 16th November

Friday 16th November, 2018 4:48PM

It's been a week of huge local events, including last night's glitzy presentation ceremony for 2018's Vodafone NZ Music Awards - big winners for the evening included Dunedin mainstays Six60, Lyttelton songwriter Marlon Williams, Kerikeri interstellar soul artist Troy Kingi, and rising stars Drax Project. This week also marked the arrival to our shores of Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, who brought his amazing live show to Wellington on Wednesday (check out our photos and review of the show here), performed in Christchurch last night and is hitting Auckland's Spark Arena on Saturday.

It was a great week for show announcements, highlights included politically charged Canadian punk veterans Propagandhi are heading to Aotearoa for two shows this May, Hugh Cornwell of punk / new wave legends The Stranglers is returning to New Zealand for a three date tour also in May, Nashville-based sibling blues-rock duo Larkin Poe are wending their way to NZ this April for shows in Auckland and Christchurch, and iconic funk-rock titans Red Hot Chili Peppers are playing a headline event at Auckland's Spark Arena in March. Kapiti Coast annual summer festival Coastella announced a trans-Tasman lineup of artists set to perform at Southward Car Museum this February, NZVMA 2018 Best Rock Artist winners Alien Weaponry will be pummelling local eardrums as part of their Tūmatauenga Australasian tour in March, and Bic Runga is teaming up with Lawrence Arabia for a special headline event at Waiheke Island’s Goldie Estate in January.

We were stoked to chat with Auckland-based multi-instrumentalist Julien Dyne about his stellar new record Teal. You can catch the hard-working artist playing tunes from his new album as half of his group Two Farben at a release party this Saturday at Anthology Lounge, manning the drums for the concluding leg of Avantdale Bowling Club's debut national tour this month, and spinning tunes at super city NYE festival Wondergarden.

Local new release highlights included a killer album of juke and footwork-inflected tracks from Auckland producer Christoph El Truento, the stellar sophomore album from genre-mashing four-piece Yoko-Zuna, a zoned collection from enigmatic hip hop producer Dusty Melody, the long-awaited debut album from psychedelic guitar poppers The Naenae Express, a five-track EP from Arch Hill rapper Diggy Dupé, a brutal longplayer from Hamilton D-beat veterans Spiteful Urinator, and an immersive collection of burbling bleeps and ethereal grooves from Wellington electronic artist Lucky Jim.

Our Caught Live video for the week features Auckland psychedelic garage rockers Echo Ohs, who are playing a release party for their upcoming single 'Dog Bone' with buds Contenders and Green Grove at Whammy Bar on Saturday 1st December. Vibe out to hypnotic live footage of the band grooving through a tune from their latest album Hot Pockets...