Music News

Weekly Roundup: Friday 23rd November

Friday 23rd November, 2018 4:32PM

It's been a high octane week of announcements and electrifying musical releases. Notable events to look forward to include Auckland guitar-pop superstars The Beths are playing a run of special Christmas shows in December, Scottish pirate metal swashbucklers Alestorm are hitting New Zealand for a rabble-rousing Auckland gig in February, UK post-punk innovators Gang Of Four are returning to Aotearoa for two shows in March, UK experimental folk musician and visual artist Joanne Robertson is heading our way in December, legendary Mexican-American songwriter Alejandro Escovedo is visiting NZ for the first time this March, and UK pop mavericks The 1975 are returning to our shores next year for a headline event at Auckland's Spark Arena. Lovers of homegrown songwriting talent are in for a treat as expat Will Wood is playing a special Auckland homecoming show in December, and Wellington independent imprint Home Alone Music has announced special Xmas mini-festivals in Auckland and the capital next month, featuring Timothy Blackman, Lake South, Mali Mali and more.

We were psyched to host a clutch of excellent features this week - we premiered a superb pair of singles from Christchurch bedroom pop superstar Pickle Darling, a heartfelt song Auckland guitar-pop artist BEING., and a haunting dream-pop number from Orewa-based duo The Melancholies. We were stoked to speak with Rwanda / New Zealand rapper Raiza Biza about his gobsmacking Black Hole Sun EP, created in collaboration with Melbourne's REMI and Detroit hip hop maestro Black Milk, ahead of this weekend's release parties in Auckland and Wellington, and chatted with Auckland-based neo-soul artist alayna ahead of tonight's launch event at Anthology Lounge for her debut collection Sweet Soul.

Our Caught Live video for the week features Wellington songwriters Brooke Singer and John Fitzgerald's dreamy project French For Rabbits, who are embarking on a special three date tour this December, in collaboration with audio-visual innovator Lady Lazer Light. Take in gorgeous recent live footage of the band playing the title track to their 2017 album The Weight of Melted Snow for RNZ...