Nz Music
Blue Smoke: Iwi Waiata
Popular music is not pure; it respects no borders. The only truly indigeneous music from Aotearoa is likely to be bird song. But many birds migrate and bring back jazz, country, rhythm and blues… Audio
Blue Smoke: Bits & Bytes
Predictions that robots would be creating hit pops songs are a virtual reality: artificial intelligence is on a playlist near you. This episode of Blue Smoke looks back to the 70s and 80s and the… Audio
Blue Smoke: Songs for New Zealand Films
For years, the idea of a thriving New Zealand film industry was a dream that seemed against the odds: financial, and the cultural cringe. But eventually regular film production began. This episode of… Audio
Blue Smoke: Out of the Corners
All New Zealand musicians found it hard to get heard with original material in the late 1970s. It was especially tough for female musicians outside the mainstream. The women’s music movement realised… Audio
Flamingo Pier Live at RNZ
Listen to Auckland disco-boogie collective Flamingo Pier performing new music from their latest EP 'Beneath The Neon' recorded live in RNZ's Auckland Studios on Afternoons back in October 2023. Audio
Blue Smoke: Stones Goin’ Down Under
Since the Rolling Stones first toured here in 1965, New Zealand musicians have always shown the band respect. With the release of the Stones’ new album Hackney Diamonds, this episode of Blue Smoke… Audio
Ōtautahi Live: Beacon Bloom
Alex Harmer presents Otautahi Live: a new series showcasing the latest sounds from the Garden City live in the RNZ studios. This week's guests are rising electronic outfit Beacon Bloom whose music is… Video, Audio
M101 Pocket Edition 20 September 2023
In Pocket Edition this week we delve into the roots of ambient music and meet a Wellington musician who explores the links between mindfulness and grief. Trevor Reekie unpeels Tim Finns remarkable… Audio
The Strangest of Angels
An opera that explores a fictional encounter between author Janet Frame and a psychiatric nurse at Seacliff Hospital near Dunedin. Audio
RNZ Music Pocket Edition: 1 June 2023
In this weeks programme Trevor Reekie meets Zambian musical superstar, Sampa The Great. We hear a fresh new single from Aotearoa soul artist AJA and meet a Pacific musician who aims to push Samoan… Audio
RNZ Music Pocket Edition: 25 May 2023
On this weeks programme Jesse Mulligan speaks to a local documentary maker about his favourite kiwi music films. Maggie Tweedie reveals new music from Clementine Valentine and Stephanie Brown pays… Audio
Dimmer: I Believe You are a Star - Live at The Hollywood, September 2022
New Zealand band Dimmer's 2001 album I Believe You Are A Star is regarded as one of the best ever made in Aotearoa. RNZ recorded a unique 20th-anniversary performance in Auckland. Audio
Essential NZ Albums: The Front Lawn - Songs From The Front Lawn
At a time when few New Zealanders seemed to be singing about themselves, The Front Lawn turned the Hutt Valley and Takapuna Beach into musical landmarks. A forerunner of Flight of the Conchords, they… Audio
Essential NZ Albums: The Feelstyle - Break It To Pieces
Using his stage name Tha Feelstyle, Samoan-born rapper Kas Futialo made his groundbreaking album, Break It To Pieces, mixing Pasifika beats with hip-hop, funk and no shortage of catchy hooks. Some of… Audio
Essential NZ Albums: Ardijah - Ardijah
The 80s club scene gave birth to the sound that Ardijah's founder Ryan Monga calls Polyfonk. After a long incubation in the South Auckland club scene, the group burst forth with that sound on their… Audio
Essential NZ Albums: Renee Louis Carafice - Tells You Can Fight
Auckland-raised singer-songwriter Renee-Louise Carafice wrote and recorded her debut album after a spell of clinical depression, and yet it remains an uplifting, even beautiful piece of work. In this… Audio
Che-Fu: Return of the Navigator - Part 2
When Che-Fu released his 2nd album Navigator it charted new territory for New Zealand Hip Hop. Its seamless blending of reggae, RnB and Hip Hop telling real life experiences reflected a truly Pacific… Audio
Che-Fu: Return of the Navigator - Part 1
When Che-Fu released his 2nd album Navigator it charted new territory for New Zealand Hip Hop. Its seamless blending of reggae, RnB and Hip Hop telling real life experiences reflected a truly Pacific… Audio
Essential NZ Albums: Tamburlaine - Say No More
'The new rock - bittersweet and low' proclaimed a Time magazine cover in 1971, heralding the arrival of a new wave of acoustic-based music centred on the likes of Crosby, Stills and Nash and James… Audio
Essential NZ Albums: Fat Freddy’s Drop - Based On a True Story
The 2005 studio debut of the Wellington-based soul-reggae collective Fat Freddy's Drop became the year's second-biggest selling album in their homeland and established their worldwide reputation In… Audio