SoundBites: Miriam Clancy, Alae

Miriam Clancy

New York-based Kiwi Miriam Clancy says her new album Astronomy was inspired by her time writing its music on Great Barrier Island.

She says the record's title and "overarching ambience" reference the island's unparallelled view of the stars as a dark sky sanctuary.

"It's amazing how something so far from the Earth can affect us and give a sense of perspective ... it's the great equaliser."

Astronomy - Clancy's third album and her first in 10 years - has met critical acclaim in the United States.

Jammerzine said, "Astronomy is not only well thought out but planned and executed with the brilliance and captivation of a true artist."

Clancy will bring Astronomy home with a series of shows in Auckland, Wellington, Picton, Christchurch, Onekaka, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Hokitika and Great Barrier Island from December 1.

The video for Alae's new song Hit Me Where It Hurts breaks new ground with five directors pulled together in a bizarre concept.

The song is the first single from a five-track EP due out this summer from the New Zealand indie pop act.

Acclaimed directors Chris Graham, Greg Page, Alexander Gander, Charlotte Evans and Petra Cibilich each had a minute to create their video, telling the song's story of unrequited love, without knowing what the other directors were creating.

The single is the end result of a transformative LA session by songwriter and vocalist Alex Farrel-Davey. The group writing situation unlocked a new well of creativity for Farrel-Davey, who says he was inspired to a new level of honesty and emotional evolution that had opened the band up to "a future free of the shackles of expectation and conformity".