Release Radar: Junny, WHO SHOT SCOTT, Ruban Nielson, Georgia Lines, Eden Burns, Beth Torrance + More

As Glenn Frey memorably sung on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack (1984), "the heat is on" — or more precisely "the heater's on" in the UTR office, as Tāmaki Makaurau is finally starting to get nippy for winter. Scroll downwards for new / recent releases from Junny, WHO SHOT SCOTT, Ruban Nielson & Jared Mattson, Georgia Lines, Eden Burns, Beth Torrance, Empress, Moon Unit, and Feijoa Tree.

Trash Recital guest star Junny aka Jenn Tamati (Te Arawa, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāpuhi) completed her three song Kumara Suite, with the release of 'Line 19' — a playfully arranged balladic balance of electronic and irl instrumentation, first sparked by the Whangārei artist in 2009 at age nineteen. Produced by Tūī award winner Amelia Berry (Amamelia) and out now via Sunreturn, the EP also includes a candid acoustic demo version of 'Line 19'. "Amelia really understood what I was trying to reference and then she was incredible at naming and sourcing these production sounds. We share a sense of humour with art and a love for working creatively with things that are often considered ‘bad’ - in this case outdated sounds that had saturated commercial music of that era. Amelia really helped play with these ideas creatively and push them without tipping over into full pastiche."

The project of award-winning rapper / producer Zaidoon Nasir, Tāmaki Makaurau hip-hop powerhouse WHO SHOT SCOTT gets the second half of this wild decade off to a cracking start with his long-teased, hook-rammed debut album HAIRY. He unpacked the necessity of looking backwards to move forwards: "This one was not easy to bring to life by any means. Having to go back into some of my most traumatic teenage experiences and pull art out of them was just as draining as it was rewarding… in the end of it all though, I found closure, I found joy, and perhaps most importantly, I found power. I hope this music heals you if you need it, I hope it makes you laugh, I hope it makes you nod your head. I love you all very much."

Unknown Mortal Orchestra helmsman Ruban Nielson teams up with Jared Mattson of The Mattson 2 for all-instrumental new long player FEAR, laid down by the pair over just two days in Palm Springs. Amidst its free-roaming sonic touchstones, FEAR recalls for this listener an hitherto undiscovered space between the ECM psych of Steve Tibbetts and the kosmische-Balearic excursions of Mark McGuire / Emeralds. "We both knew it. There was something inevitable about the music — like it hadn’t been created so much as uncovered."

Best Pop Artist 2024 Tūī winner Georgia Lines shares a document of her headline performance at Tāmaki Makaurau's opulent The Civic nearly twelve months ago, where she was accompanied by the Auckland Philharmonia and special guests Hollie Smith, Louis Baker and Nikau Grace. Live At The Civic is out now only via Bandcamp, but all can witness the grandeur of teaser single and video 'My Love'. "To stand on the stage at The Civic surrounded by incredible musicians and some of my favourite people, and play these songs to a room full of people who were so deeply with us every moment of the show, was something I’ll never forget. We spent such a long time shaping and curating this night to feel really special, and I think you could feel that energy in the room. More than anything, we just wanted to capture the show exactly as it felt that night."

An Aotearoa electronic producer who has reliably delivered the goods over a whopping array of releases since the turn of the decade — his 2025 album And The Make Believers remains a standout — Eden Burns toots the horn about his upcoming Big Beat Manifesto Vol. XII EP with sample-stab club heater 'Loop of Trust'. Through dedicated sleuthing, this listener suspects the entire EP series is named after a joke from UK comedy show Peep Show?

Rising Tāmaki Makaurau songwriter Beth Torrance rips out fuzz-powered hooks aplenty with her group the Garden Party, keeping interminable boredom at bay on new single 'Suzy May'. Directed by Calum Dewsnap, the masterfully shot accompanying video amplifies the catchiness, making this viewer once again rage at the lack of a dedicated local music TV channel.

Kirikiriroa duo Empress unleash a furious flurry of heavy guitar fuzz and whip-smart percussion on 'Hōhā', the lead track from their first new EP in five years — out later this month.

Promising (threatening?) to release an astounding six new EPs during the next six months, Tāmaki Makaurau frisbee golf enthusiasts Moon Unit — Oscar Davies-Kay and Jackson Sullivan — follow April's superb debut album Soft Metal and croon their way into our hearts with new single 'Bakers Doesn't', featuring Paul Brown and Liam Pram. The accompanying visuals take us on a multifaceted ride through leisure centres, lush slopes, op shop discoveries and Ōamaru's Steampunk HQ.

Craters in the Sun is the second album to emerge from Aotearoa-based synthesist Feijoa Tree, whose concurrent projects include the fantastical dungeon synth of Secret Sorcery and the dank burrowing textures of The Ginormous Mole — sounding notably beat-driven in this radiant new aspect. "I nearly released this album under a different project. The departure in sound from A Day in the Life is almost jarring, but in respect to what Feijoa Tree means to me and what I went through to make this album, I cannot think of a better home for it. Feijoa Tree is my creative connection to Aotearoa, my newfound home. This record is the result of my musings on life, consciousness, the universe, and what it all means to me. I haven't found the answers, I almost certainly never will, but I know a lot more now than I did just a few months ago."