Music News

Weekly Roundup: Friday 17th May

Friday 17th May, 2019 4:49PM

We like to call this time of year "peak NZ Music Month" or "NZ Music Month hump week", as our annual celebration of sounds emanating from Aotearoa reaches its mid-point, and we take stock of what's happened so far and place our bets of what local sonic thrills lie ahead in May. This week's announcement highlights included Tāmaki Makaurau soul artist Bailey Wiley is touring her brand new self-titled EP (feat. MELODOWNZ and Noah Slee) throughout NZ in July, Berlin via NYC DJ and club producer LSDXOXO is bringing the heat to Auckland this June, Papakura country / folk songwriter Kendall Elise is embarking on an extensive national tour to celebrate the release of her new solo album Red Earth, Wellington's Neil MacLeod is embarking on a three-city EP release tour this winter, Taite Music Prize-nominate songwriter Nadia Reid has announced a six date national tour before moving abroad to the UK, and Melbourne's Tash Sultana is heading back to Auckland this November for a one-off all-ages headline show.

We hosted four must-read interviews this week – Melbourne industrial techno stalwart Mickey Nox (Green Fetish Records) spoke with Klang's Jonathan Hardcastle aka KRM ahead of Nox's shows in Auckland and Wellington this month, Micky Dolenz of 60s pop legends The Monkees chatted with starstruck UTR editor Chris Cudby ahead of June's three date tour of NZ with Mike Nesmith, Aotearoa cyber-pop artists Hybrid Rose and Fanfickk shared a freewheeling e-chat discussing their latest video 'Solitude' and much more, and Teeth songwriter Lukasz Buda (also of The Phoenix Foundation) lifted the lid on the noise-loving Wellington four piece's return to local stages this weekend. We also premiered the dreamy latest tune (along with an interview with Annabel Kean) from none other than Elroy Finn aka Elroy, who is dropping his self-titled debut album at the end of this month.

Our Caught Live video for the week features US soul experimentalist and visual artist Lonnie Holley, who is visiting Aotearoa for pair of must-see headline events in Auckland and Wellington this June. Experience amazing 2018 footage of Holley performing 'Somewhere in a Dream I Got Lost' (also the title of his recent exhibition at North Carolina's Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art) live in a van at California's A Ship in the Woods Music Festival...