"It's back to basics with this album," Runga says.
"I've never really tried to make an album fashionable. This one is lightly acoustic."
Of the tour she says, "It's Neil's tour, not mine.
"He invited me to join in. Neil always seems to crop up at the right time in my life.
"Neil helped me with my second solo album, Beautiful Collision, which was released in 2002." He contributed to her third album, Birds, released in 2005, playing piano.
Runga says her mother taught her to sing when she was about 11. "She bought me a drum kit and was very supportive.
"I still get nervous when I step out on stage, but in my old age [38] I'm learning how to manage it," she says with a laugh.
Runga says the highlight of her career so far was when she was touring overseas and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page came to one of her concerts.
"I thought wow, I can go home now and have children."
She says having had time out from the entertainment industry, she flirted with the idea of doing something different.
"However I discovered while playing with my children that I am awful at handcrafts and I should go back to something I do best," she laughs.
"What's important for me at the moment is finding time for my kids, my partner, songs and trying to write music.
"Nothing else matters - and that includes housework."
The recent four-month Dizzy Heights world tour has seen Neil performing for more than two hours a night. The shows have received rave reviews from fans and critics alike.
Dizzy Heights will be on at The Napier Municipal Theatre, on September 18.
