The Phoenix Foundation's Samuel Flynn Scott extends his mastery of throwaway, fun lyrical imagery to include the name given to his number two band. "If knew if I had another band, I wanted to call it Bunnies on Ponies," Scott enthusiastically explains. "I see the image of bunny rabbits on ponies, wearing checked tops, riding into town." ...more

Founding member of two critically acclaimed alt-pop bands and backing singer for some of our premier musicians and bands, Anna Coddington has been a presence on the local music scene for 10 years already. ...more

Auckland four- sometimes five-piece righteous rockers Eight certainly got off to an unusually slow start, but they had gathered enough momentum by the last of their nine years together for their debut album proper 'Moving' to go gold. ...more

When I last interviewed Elemeno P's Dave Gibson late in 2005, he said he'd felt the pressure to write a follow-up to the band's wildly successful 2003 debut 'Love and Disrespect' "... really, really, really big time". Who could blame the poor guy, having overshot his and record company Universal's initial sales expectations of around 3000-odd sales by about 42,000 copies. He said then he didn't think he "was a very happy dude" in the preparation for writing the 'Trouble in Paradise' album. ...more

Singer/songwriter Flip Grater is a vegan because of her compassion for animals, yet says she has never understood why people get attached to pets. She values quality cuisine yet when on tour insists on minimum comfort and sleeping on people's couches. Her mother is an Anglican archdeacon, her father a New Ageist, and she practises Buddhism. ...more

Fur Patrol recently turned 12. Measured in human development, they'd be adolescent ratbags, still wide-eyed and naïve, with an extra layer of stroppy attitude. But in band years, a twelfth birthday is an accomplishment well worth celebrating - and what better way to do so than with a new album. Just their third LP, 'Local Kid' has been more than three years in the making, but Fur Patrol have relished having this time away, rediscovering their enjoyment in working and playing together, coming up with a swag of considered new tracks and essentially getting their groove back. ...more

Don't know quite how they'll cope with the inevitable confusion in the States, but on July 4 this year indie record label associations around the world will be celebrating 'Independents Day'. By dint of our geography, Aotearoa will be first to kick into a weekend of events intended to bring attention to the independent music sector. ...more

In a manner reminiscent of Portishead's Beth Gibbons, Wellington-based singer/songwriter Jess Chambers possesses a haunting vocal fragility, masking an underlying strength capable of cutting through to one's heart. ...more

Kolab have garnered a strong reputation as a live outfit by playing tirelessly since their conception in mid 2004. In that time the crew have recorded just one EP entitled 'Things To Come', independently released and distributed in June 2006. ...more

Mareko returns with his second solo album providing a more personal, socially conscious and creative look into his experience as an artist, and telling his story as it stands thus far. ...more

"I try to keep it Aotearoa," explains West Auckland's Nat Rose. "I was really inspired by what's going on here, cause we're going alright on a global scale. So I didn't want to distort my influence, I just kept it Aotearoa. Inside that CD [her new album 'Golden Hour'] it says '100% Soultearoa', which is how I represent my album; my music. It's a saying that's been around in the underground circuit, but I definitely feel that this is 100% soul and I'm from Aotearoa. That's me, and all this music is from here, so no influence outside of this country, I try to keep it here." ...more

The multi-talented Oakley (O.G.) Grenell is back with his sophomore 'solo' album, 'Moving On'. His prolific musical output has seen him in the Departure Lounge and heading up the Otautahi Allstars, producing The Eskimo Squad and recording/performing as a solo artist, under the abbreviation O.G. ...more

"I've never really considered myself a songwriter. I find that a bit embarrassing, I feel like a collector of ideas," says Nick Buckton, the brains, body and sense of humour behind the musical persona Side Kick Nick. Be that as it may, this talented Aucklander has assembled an exuberant and highly original collection of what can only be described as songs, for his first solo album, soon to be released by SonyBMG ...more

The phrase 'flax happy' is an old colloquialism used to describe the condition of prisoners or soldiers who experience an emotional flatness, apathy and a loss of motivation. Steve Abel's sophomore album, which takes the phrase for its name, is really the complete antithesis of this. ...more

Colourful Christchurch band, Tiger Tones are pretty pleased with their debut self-titled album. A lo-fi fusion of punk and dance music with stripes of rock and moments of genius, it is a veritable spectrum of genres - the hand-etched cover reinforcing an art school creative ethos. ...more