13 December 2022 - 0 Comments

Erny Belle returns before the end of the year for the release of a very special Christmas song, Meri Kirihimete. Equal parts elegant and tongue-in-cheek, Erny Belle welcomes us to her world of an Aotearoa Christmas.

"It has only been in recent years that I have come to embrace Christmas as a ritualistic celebration of love, having spent much of my teenage hood with a repulsed attitude towards its capitalistic, consumerist and religious ploys. I have come to adore the tacky aesthetics and festivities in a childlike way. I wanted to make a Maori-ana Christmas song, quite purely for the entertainment and humour I find in this niche ritual. I believe in love". — Erny Belle

You could say that Christmas has come early this year — with the inimitable alt-folk artist also gifting us an accompanying music video for Meri Kirihimete, directed and produced by Erny Belle herself.

WATCH/LISTEN TO MERI KIRIHIMETE HERE

Erny Belle first took the spotlight in October of 2021, with the successful release of her debut single and video for Burning Heaven. The singer-songwriter (Aimee Renata) seemingly appeared out of nowhere, onto our shores – leather clad, red wine in hand – stoking the flames of New Zealand’s music scene.

Erny Belle made the decision to move from Auckland city to the rural township of Maungaturoto in the summer of 2019, to write and record what would become her debut album, Venus Is Home. The album is a nine song showcase of gothic storytelling – woven together beautifully, with lilting slide guitar, tremolo guitar, slow-burning melodies, and sublime, harmonised vocals.

Venus Is Home was self-produced and independently released in February 2022, following her second single Hell Hole. Since the release of her debut, Belle has received rave reviews and glowing profiles – the album being widely praised as one of Aotearoa’s standout releases of 2022.

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