Music 101

13:10 Great Sounds Great Festival kicks off 

Thousands descend on Wellington Central today for the fourth edition of the multi-venue music festival Great Sounds Great. 

Ten stages filled with 40 artists from around Aotearoa, boast a line-up that includes Reb Fountain, Shayne Carter, Anthonie Tonnon, and Jen Cloher.

Kara Rickard crosses live to the festival HQ and speaks with Ben Jones of Eyegum Collective, co-curator of Great Sounds Great.

13:25 Reb Fountain Sounds Great with new song Silver Linings

Reb Fountain has released a new track and is performing at Great Sounds Great Festival later today.

Silver Linings is for the folks that need a little help to get through the day, and comes after her acclaimed album How Love Bends was released earlier this year.

It's Reb's first time at Great Sounds Great and she shares with Kara Rickard which artists she's looking forward to watching perform later today. 

14:10 Jay Epae: the underrated Māori pop singer not forgotten

Jay Epae is a name that’s often overlooked when people tell the story of New Zealand music.

The first New Zealand singer to have number one records in Sweden and Finland, Epae was also signed to US labels Mercury and Capitol. 

A recent compilation makes a strong case for his importance, and in this music feature Nick Bollinger explains why.

15:15 Crystal Chen on debut album, You Can Call Me CC

Crystal Chen invites us into her world which sonically unfolds through her new album You Can Call Me CC.

Crystal is a Chinese-New Zealand singer, musician, and visual artist who has collaborated with many of New Zealand's finest jazz musicians on the album.

She talks with Kara Rickard about having her biggest project yet out in the world. 

15:40 The Sampler: Steve Gunn

American guitarist and songwriter Steve Gunn has released his first solo instrumental album, Music for Writers.

Gunn describes the album as: "A wordless collection of pieces meant to accompany thought and inspire in another way. Music that listens as much as it speaks."

Elliott Childs takes a look at the new album of ambient music from Steve Gunn. 

16:10 The Mixtape: Ipu Laga'aia

New Zealand-born Samoan tenor Ipu Laga'aia has been immersed in music his whole life. He studied classical voice at the University of Auckland and performed alongside Dame Kiri Te Kanawa at the gala for the theatre that now bears her name.

This year marks his professional role debut as Theseus, in New Zealand Opera's Australasian premiere of The Monster in the Maze. He is also a member of The Shades - a quartet of Tongan and Samoan voices who blend gospel, popular music, opera and Pacific Island culture in their performances.

Ipu is driven to share Opera with new audiences, and today on The Mixtape, he talks to Kara Rickard and shares personal songs that helped shape his life.