11 May 2023 - 0 Comments

This Te Marama Puoro O Aotearoa NZ Music Month 2023, Big Fan kicks off a new initiative designed to encourage collaboration and community for musical creatives; Fan Camp Volume 1 will run from Monday 15th to Friday 19th May.

Nine successful applicants have been selected to take part in Fan Camp Volume 1, where they will explore collaborative songwriting during the week. With over 80 submissions, the nine chosen participants include talented producers, vocal performers, instrumentalists, songwriters and artists.

Introducing the inaugural Fan Camp Volume 1 participants: Alayna Powley, Amber Williams, Benjamin Mack, Holly Cameron, Jared Frost, Joel Jones, Joseph Faris, Noema Te Hau and Tee Hao-Aickin.

Alayna is a singer/songwriter from Rotorua, New Zealand. Her 2018 debut EP Sweet Soul included production by, and collaborations with, international artists Finneas and Astronomyy - it has since amassed over 20 million streams on Spotify alone.

Ōtautahi-based artist Amber Carly Williams has been writing and performing since a young age and has paved her way in the Aotearoa music scene by opening for artists such as Bexy, Mim, Jack Page and Jeremy Redmore. She was also a semifinalist in TVNZ’s ‘Popstars’ in 2021.

Benjamin Mack hails from Tāmaki Makaurau and has been part of Parachute’s Artist Development Program for the past year. Drawing inspiration from modern rock/soul, he has developed a distinctive sound that blends classic rock elements with modern indie sensibilities.

YAHYAH (Holly Cameron) is a rising singer/songwriter by way of New Zealand, London and Los Angeles. Her blend of electronic pop has garnered her serious attention and acclaim in Aotearoa’s pop scene and beyond with her independent debut EP Unleash the Panda which reached top 50 on the iTunes Pop charts in the UK.

A newcomer to the NZ Music scene at just 21, Jared Frost underwent life-changing open-heart surgery. During the recovery process, he realised he had no time to waste to step things up, and so he purchased a laptop, microphone and audio interface and decided to give music his all.

New Zealand-based songwriter and producer Joe Faris is known for creating well-crafted music with strong pop sensibilities. First emerging onto the scene with his artist project Ezra Vine, Joe wrote and produced the breakout indie-folk single Celeste in his bedroom, which now boasts over 96 million plays on Spotify.

Joel Jones is a Tui award-winning producer and songwriter based in Tāmaki Makaurau. He's collaborated with many well-known local artists that span a variety of genres and is currently executive producing multiple projects for artists based all around Aotearoa.

Big Fan’s very own studio and production manager Noema Te Hau has worked for a multitude of NZ artists such as Paige and Neverknown. Noema has extensive experience as a tertiary lecturer, music producer, audio engineer, songwriter, music director and performer.

Tee Hao-Aickin is part of the Auckland-based duo Ersha Island 二沙岛, the musical amalgamation of two Chinese-Kiwi singer-songwriters inspired by their biracial upbringing. Having chalked up early achievements in Classical Performance at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Tee 婷婷 (oftentimes in collaboration with her sister Dani 丹丹) now creates soul-pop compositions featuring piano and violin.

By exploring songwriting, building collaboration skills and strengthening musical communities, Fan Camp Volume 1 is intrinsically aligned with the 2023 theme of Collaboration + Community for NZ Music Month for 2023, a theme which is also the driving kaupapa behind Big Fan and all of its initiatives.

These nine campers will, over the course of the five days of Fan Camp, have access to three professional-grade recording studios to collaboratively write, experiment and record demos for free, and with no commercial release expectations.

Fan Camp is designed to remove as many barriers as possible to the collaborative processes of songwriting, and encourage more sharing and blending of skills and inspiration. It is intended for all musical creatives from 18 years and older, with no upper age limit.

Full Information regarding Fan Camp Volume 1 can be found online at www.bigfan.co.nz/community/fan-camp

Fan Camp Volume 1 will take place each day from Monday 15th May to Friday 19th May 10am to 6pm during NZ Music Month.

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