16 November 2022 - 0 Comments

Hosted by DJ and music journalist Jess Fu, Amplified spotlights artists who use music to embrace, connect and explore their cultural roots. Over five episodes Amplified discovers the looping pop of Kōtiro, the joyful Samoan indie rock of Leao, the experimental hip hop of Phodiso, Samara Alofa’s soulful pop, and the electronic R&B of Imugi 이무기.

Through conversation with Jess, viewers will discover how each musician approaches their creative practice, revealing how identity is tied to, and reflected in their music. Kōtiro, LEAO, Phodiso, Samara Alofa, Imugi 이무기 and Jess all speak to their cultural heritage, showing how it informs their artistic expression and music making.

Each episode of Amplified will feature unique live performances, deep diving into the musician’s mind’s eye and showcasing their talent in its truest potential.

In EP03, Jess goes deep with Botswana-Aotearoa hip-hop artist Phodiso Dintwe about finding home, telling stories through music, and making a career out of a precarious practice.

Fu notes that “[Phodiso] came onto my radar in 2018, when he was featuring on local hip hop tracks and collaborating with JessB and Mazbou Q. Since then he’s been releasing his own solo work and telling his own story.”

“The intention for my art, my music, and my expression is informed by who I am - in body, in mind, and in spirit,” says Dintwe at the top of the episode.

Born in Botswana, Phodiso began learning Tswana percussion styles through community song and dance ceremonies. Asked to reflect on what it was like to relocate from Botswana to Aotearoa, New Zealand when he was 15 - Dintwe reflects “[it was] hard, really really hard. I was prepared to hear and see and feel a New Zealand that is very different to what I got… I expected more Te Reo Māori, and more of a multicultural place than I got. It left me questioning ‘What is this?’”

EP03 is music heavy, with periods of improvised spoken word and percussion and performance.

Fu closes the episode by asking about the future for Phodiso - “[I want to] do music full time,” says Dintwe. “But also be making enough money to take a break and not feel like it’s a bad idea - that’s the destination.”

Special note must be made of EP03’s director Frandson Bahati, a multidisciplinary creative in his final year of study at the University of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts. Born and raised on Auckland’s North Shore, his nationality is Burundian. Currently focused on fashion design, Frandson founded streetwear label Nineteen99 in 2020 while maintaining a videography practice shooting videos for local fashion labels and musicians.

Amplified is made with the support of NZ On Air, and platform partners RNZ Music, Tahi, and The Spinoff. Viewers can expect a new episode to drop weekly on a Wednesday.

Photo Credit: Apela Bell

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