GUIDE: Contemporary New Zealand
(Photo: The Naked And Famous)
In early November I had an opportunity (one you might refer to as “once in a lifetime”) to visit New Zealand – special thanks to Air New Zealand – and attend the New Zealand Music Awards. These awards, held in Auckland, are much like our own MTV Video Music Awards or American Music Awards, except that all the honored artists, with a few exceptions, hail from New Zealand. This meant that I was familiar with exactly one nominee and performer: Auckland rock band The Naked And Famous – the group I’d traveled around the world specifically to interview and observe.
It’s a truly unique experience to attend an event that honors musicians you’re not familiar with, but everyone else in the audience is. Even the hosts, two apparent celebrities, were unknown to me (although I did appreciate the significance of two All Blacks players presenting an award). The performers ranged drastically, from the rock of Six60 to Feist-esque indie pop of Brooke Fraser to electro-rap stylings of Ladi6, and it’s notable that the crowd equally appreciated the music of all genres that evening.
Certainly New Zealand exports its music to the States (Flight of the Conchords, anyone?), but there is so much music there that fans here never get. In the spirit of discovering new artists, I’ve compiled a fully downloadable playlist of numerous New Zealand artists in all genres.
Fraser’s “Something In the Water,” from her recent third album Flags, won Single of the Year at the awards, representing one of NZ’s top songs of 2011. Avalanche City’s “Love Love Love,” from the group’s debut Our New Life Above The Ground, represents another huge NZ single from last year, while Cairo Knife Fight, from Christchurch, offer heavy rocker “The Origin of Slaves.” Ladi6, another artist from Christchurch, won Best Female Solo Artist and Best Urban Hip Hop Album. Her skills are apparent on the thumping “Bang Bang.”
Plus, obviously, this playlist wouldn’t be complete without a track from The Naked And Famous – a group that has found considerable success overseas in the last year. Not only did I get to see the band win several awards in Auckland, I also attended their Town Hall headlining show the following night, and there’s really nothing like seeing a band play in their hometown (especially if that town is not in America). “No Way” comes from the band’s recent album, Passive Me, Aggressive You, and offers a more introspective side of the group than their hit singles.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to New Zealand music (expect Unknown Mortal Orchestra to really blow up here in 2012), so I’d urge fans to expand beyond these tracks and, particularly, check out each artist’s full album. Also, if anyone wants to send me to any more countries, I’d be more than happy to make more of these playlists.
