Troy Kingi has taken out Best Māori Artist (Te Kaipuoro Māori Toa) and Best Roots Artist (Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa) at the New Zealand Music Awards overnight.

On a wonderful night at Spark Arena, Auckland, Troy Kingi was the major winner for Native Tongue, being nominated for two awards and walking away with both.

Dave Dobbyn’s band ‘Th’ Dudes’ were also recognised by receiving the NZ Legacy Award (Tohu Whakareretanga).

We would also like to congratulate Native Tongue writers Aldous Harding and Marlon Williams on a number of nominations the two received.

For the first time, the Royal New Zealand Ballet has commissioned a female composer to write a full length ballet.

That composer is none other than Native Tongue writer Claire Cowan. Claire has been hard at work putting together the original score for ‘Hansel and Gretel’ which opened on November 6th.

Usually writing for on-screen productions, this is the largest piece of work Claire has put together.

Already receiving strong reviews, Hansel and Gretel is looking like a smash hit.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s ‘Hansel and Gretel’ is performing in Wellington, Palmerston North, Napier, Christchurch, Invercargill, Dunedin and Auckland between November 6th and December 14th.

It’s been a long time coming, but Secret Knives has finally released the follow-up to 2010’s Affection with his new album Snuff.

Secret Knives is the solo recording project of New Zealand multi-instrumentalist Ash Smith. Having spent much of the last decade assisting other acts like Shocking Pinks, Over The Atlantic, Junica, and Grayson Gilmour, Smith has now delivered Snuff. 

Secret Knives made serious waves with his ambitious bedroom-pop debut long-player ‘Affection’ back in 2010, but we’ve barely heard a peep from the artist since, aside from a brief re-emergence with 2017’s My Capriccio EP. He made a triumphant return in August this year, with a sparkling and sonically freewheeling slice of guitar-driven pop with the title track ‘Snuff’.

Secret Knives songs are tightly wound constructions – effects-heavy guitar pop packed with strange sounds and curious sonic details. The richly felt and emotive songs on Snuff are scaffold for autobiographical lyrics depicting the generational anomie that held up its release for so long.

Stream Snuff on Spotify here. 

Emma Russack has once again team up with Lachlan Denton for another album under their celebrated collaborative project. 

Written over a tumultuous 6-month period for the two artists, Take The Reigns is a stunning showcase of Russack and Denton’s singular songwriting abilities, masterfully melding the prolific artists’ signature sounds for a compelling listen that spans earnest pop, melodic indie rock and melancholic balladry.

Take The Reigns was recorded in just a few sessions with friends. Dylan Young (Way Dynamic) recorded and produced the record and mixed half of it. The other half was mixed by Liam ‘Snowy’ Halliwell (Denton’s bandmate in The Ocean Party), who also mastered it. Dainis Lacey from Cool Sounds played guitar and bass on some tracks. 

On this new album, the pair have captured an incredible friendship that has had profound ups and downs over the past year, yet has only grown stronger.

Take The Reigns is out now via Spunk! Records / Osborne Again. Stream on Spotify here. 

Ali Barter today released her new album Hello, I’m Doing My Best – a revealing collection of songs that track her most formative relationships: to her body, her instincts, sobriety and the old vices it counteracts, and the people she loves most.

Working with her partner and producer Oscar Dawson (of Holy Holy), she began embracing the qualities that made her individual rather than fight them.

Hello, I’m Doing My Best aims to hone what Ali’s been doing ever since the breakout ‘Girlie Bits’ – using hooky power pop to sugar-coat some hard truths.

To celebrate the release of her new album is embarking on a huge world tour. She’ll be playing Europe and the UK before jetting home for a run of Australian & USA shows through October and November.

HELLO I’M DOING MY BEST TOUR

October 25 – Rosemount Hotel, Perth

October 31 – The Zoo, Brisbane

November 1 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

November 3 – Altar, Hobart

November 7 – Jive, Adelaide

November 8 – Corner Hotel, Melbourne

November 13 – Schubas, Chicago IL

November 15 – Drake Hotel, Toronto ON

November 16 – Songbyrd DC, Washington DC

November 17 – Once, Boston MA

November 19 – Mercury Lounge, New York NY

November 21 – Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco CA

November 22 – Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles CA

Hello, I’m Doing My Best  is out now, stream on Spotify here.