Dillastrate - MNZ Interview: Coffee Bar Kid Cuts S01 / E05: Dillistrate
16 Dec 2024 // interview by Tim Gruar
Otautahi outfit Dillastrate intend their mahi to be a “movement to uplift and amplify Te Reo Maori and Te Ao Maori through music using a unique blend of genres.” They wear their kaupapa on their sleeve in the writing of their new album Nga Pounamu.
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Wiri Donna - Gig Review: Wiri Donna @ San Fran, Wellington - 6/12/2024
08 Dec 2024 // review by Tim Gruar
I’ve been following Bianca Bailey’s (AKA Wiri Donna) career for some time now and her music has gone from strength to strength. Bold, melodic, indie pop with a distinctive flavour and a unique, recognisable sound, she’s managed to carve out her own niche on student and independent radio with a brilliant EP (Being Alone 2022) and a raft of great singles.
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Oakley Grenell - Album Review: Echoes
04 Dec 2024 // review by Tim Gruar
Offspring of one of Aotearoa’s most famous songs, John Hore Grenell, and brother of Country/Folk artist Amiria Grenell, Oakley cut his teeth down in Otautahi over a decade ago under the tutelage of Jazz greats like Mike Nock. I first got to meet him back in 2008 as he was preparing to fly the ditch following the release of his lounge/funk mix-up called Moving On.
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Sally Stockwell - Album Review: Little Triggers
12 Nov 2024 // review by Tim Gruar
In the new video Far & Wide (one of three planned for release) Otautahi-based artist Sally Stockwell bursts through the front door, rushes down the driveway and doesn’t stop running until she reaches the sea. The camera pans back to her two cherub angels deliberately spilling milk on the kitchen floor and jumping about on the best couches.
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The Nomad - Album Review: Infinite III
08 Nov 2024 // review by Tim Gruar
There was a time when Daimon Schwalger, AKA The Nomad, was on every airwave, headlining every essential EDM event. His sets at seminal gigs like The Gathering were legendary.
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Gig Review: Louisa Williamson @ Wellington Jazz Festival @ San Fran, Wellington - 17/10/2024
22 Oct 2024 // review by Tim Gruar
Louisa Williamson This gig was part of the Wellington Jazz Festival 2024 (October 16- 20). On Thursday night we climbed the stairs, bought our wines and settled in to experience the debut of an specially commissioned piece called The Chasm Where We Fall Into Each Other, written by saxophonist, composer, and band leader Louisa Williamson, as part of this year’s Wellington Jazz Festival.
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Phoebe Rings - Phoebe Rings - EP Review: Phoebe Rings
17 Oct 2024 // review by Tim Gruar
Go looking for the band’s earlier material and you could be scrambling. That’s because Auckland dream pop outfit Phoebe Rings have wiped the slate clean, expunging previous recordings from the internet in order to make way for their highly accomplished new EP slated to be released on celebrated USA indie label Carpark (Chelsea Jade, The Beths) this October and followed up by a short promotional tour at selected venues across the motu.
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Gig Review: Fables & Greta O’Leary @ Meow, Wellington - 10/10/2024
11 Oct 2024 // review by Tim Gruar
On the back of the release of Spook-folk sweetheart Greta O’Leary’s latest singles Baby I’m a Singer and Baptised At The Home Computer, Greta and Fables are embarking on a bit Spring tour, with shows in Tamaki Makaurau and Poneke (and possible other gigs, too) this October. Tonight was their first stop.
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Festival Review: Great Sounds Great Review 1 @ Wellington - 31/08/2024
02 Sep 2024 // review by Tim Gruar
Back again, this time during the heart of the Capital’s deepest, darkest days – August. And tonight, it definitely put on a real show of the elements with torrential rain and cyclone force winds hosing down every crack and cranny of the city.
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Nathan Haines - Album Review: Notes
18 Aug 2024 // review by Tim Gruar
The whakapapa of Nathan Haines' 11th studio effort, his first since 2014, stretches back over a decade and features a through-line narrative from his iconic London Jazz Café days to his darker moments battling throat cancer and brighter days as a new parent. The signposts of Haines career are as easy to read as neon in the darkness.
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