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Music, let's face it, is fashion, and with musical styles ever changing you have to admire any musician with the passion and belief to stay true to his or her roots and sound. ...more

Try telling Michael Simons, aka DJ Skinny, that rock'n'roll is dead. He will enjoy proving you wrong. Michael has just released 'Rock-N-Roll Music Is My Only Salvation', a compilation album featuring music from some of New Zealand's hardest working rock bands. Pieced together from demos and backyard recordings by the likes of Slave Trader, The Rock and Roll Machine, Shaft and Xanadu, the album is a 14-track tour of seedy pubs and converted garages. ...more

While it seems that everyone from No Doubt to ABS is jumping on the dub and reggae bandwagon these days, the New Zealand dub sound is becoming recognisably unique. ...more

One of the things you tend to notice about creative artists at the more cutting edge of the spectrum is that they are always evolving. The comfort zone that comes with nailing a certain approach may lead the timid into endlessly recycling proven formulas (with progressively diluted results), while those with a more adventurous spirit tend to strike out boldly in new directions. ...more

It's Monday lunchtime in the busiest week of Nesian Mystik's young lives and the group's Awanui Reeder, Donald McNulty and David Atai (rappers Junior Rikiau and Feleti Strickson-Pua are absent) still haven't had any breakfast. Later that evening the central Auckland-based five piece would be opening the week-long World Series, the first act up in the hip hop showcase. ...more

It’s unlikely that Jonathan Bree (Brunette’s vocalist, guitarist, principal songwriter and musical director) has much time for feeding any kind of wildlife at the moment. He’s busy stockpiling. ...more

Band manager and music industry publisher John Woodruff is worried his latest young charges, Fielding rock trio Evermore, are getting too much hype. Not the sort of thing you expect when you talk with a bloke who's managed bands that have sold over 27 million albums across a 28-year career. ...more