To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, the TimeOut team pick some of their favourite rising Kiwi stars.
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, the TimeOut team pick some of their favourite rising Kiwi stars.
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, the TimeOut team picks six rising Kiwi stars to watch.
Kane Strang
His official website doesn't give much away, stating simply that he's a musician from Dunedin. But after toiling under the radar for the past few years, releasing two albums with minimal fanfare, Kane Strang's star is now firmly on the rise. His third album Two Hearts and NoBrain is due out next month and showcases a bigger, bolder sound than his earlier releases. Swaggering basslines and dreamy vocals pair to create pulsing tracks that ooze Indie cool. With a European tour already under way, Strang is definitely one-to-watch (and listen to).
This Hawera-born singer gives you a Macy Gray, Lauryn Hill and Banks type vibe all in one. Her voice is soulful and textured and her production leaps between R&B, hip-hop, electronic and dark pop and somehow, comes together beautifully. Bailey Wiley's two EPs are fairly mellow listens but she sings with a swagger and plenty of attitude to bring each track to life. If you love soul and R&B, you need to get Bailey Wiley in your headphones.
- Siena Yates
Bobandii
If you're a fan of Bon Iver, Chance the Rapper and Mr. Carmack (weird combo I know) - look no further than Kiwi hip hop up-and-comer, Bobandii.
Hailing from Warkworth, Bobandii a.k.a. Silas McClintock, is making small but mighty waves in the Auckland music scene at the moment.
The 22-year-old dropped his debut mixtape Of The Forest in January but has already impressed music giant Apple Music when they profiled him as a "New Artist" on their front page earlier this year.
Queen Bee is the stand out track with an indie-folk vibe and falsetto vocals. Get among it.
Miss June have been kicking out the garage punk jams for a couple of years now and, hot damn, are they great. Frenzied and raw with squalling guitar outbursts, propelling drums and an earworm energy that can't help but get you nodding (or pogo-ing) along. Just try not to jump around to last year's bFM mainstay Anxiety on Repeat - a ferocious yet hugely catchy ode to that creeping, crippling condition. The band's firecracker songs are hugely exciting and I suspect their upcoming debut is going to be something to really shout about.
- Karl Puschmann
Miloux
Miloux's music is so fully-formed that it feels like her songs have existed forever. The singer-producer creates an intoxicating blend of electronica, jazz and pop, and her expert production and crystalline vocals exude layers of soul and class. She released her acclaimed debut EP1 last year, but 2017 finds Miloux ready to take off: After a collaboration with Bailey Wiley and a brand new single, she's promised her second EP is just around the corner.
- George Fenwick
TAPZ
TAPZ has lost the 'Young' from his name for second single, Run Don't Run.
"It's a banger," declared Zane Lowe. He's right. Full of grinding synths and clattering drums, Killa announced the arrival of an astonishing new talent. His name is TAPZ, he was born in Zimbabwe but moved to Wellington with his parents around the age of 8.
Aside from that, there's little info out there about TAPZ. He's 21, he likes his name to be spelt in all caps, he's performed with A$AP Ferg, Hermitude and Danny Brown, and his second single Run Don't Run is even better than Killa.
That's about all we know, but he's playing at REC in Auckland tomorrow night with Mzwetwo. We're hoping to find out a little more when he hits the stage.
