Auckland to become a UNESCO Creative City Of Music
Auckland is now officially a City of Music, joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network announced this week.
The cultural arm of the United Nations, UNESCO, launched the Creative Cities Network in 2004 to promote social, economic and cultural development among cities who have identified creativity as a strategic factor and enabler for sustainable urban development. Auckland will join the 116 members from 54 countries around the world covering seven creative fields.
Councillor Alf Filipaina, a staunch supporter of the bid made by Auckland Council working with Recorded Music NZ and APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association), is thrilled to share Auckland’s distinctive sound with the world and strengthen music opportunities in the city.
“From indie folk and brass bands to waiata aroha, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and Lorde, there’s no doubt music is a part of us. It goes right to Auckland’s roots, with waiata woven into our history and everyday culture,” he says.
“Supporting Auckland as a creative city and growing our music industry will enrich city life, the cultural landscape and build community identity and liveability for all Aucklanders.
In 2016, Auckland Council adopted Toi Whῑtiki, an arts and culture strategic action plan designed to promote economic growth in the industry. The city is already home to around half of New Zealand’s creative sector, with more than 18,000 Aucklanders working in the field.
Recorded Music NZ, instrumental in driving the application, brought together key music industry stakeholders including APRA, NZ Music Commission and NZ On Air.
Mark Roach at Recorded Music NZ says he’s excited about the potential the new status will have for Auckland’s future. “Music is a transformative power, not only as a cultural staple but also as an economic driver for the city. We are thrilled to receive this good news; the designation will support the development of a creative eco-system, strengthen the social fabric and position of Auckland as the music capital of the Pacific.”
Research reveals seven in 10 Aucklanders have attended a music event in the last three years, making the most of a plethora of concerts and festivals held in the city. Songwriter Moana Maniapoto, Pacific musician Opetaia Foa’i and Gin Wigmore, are among the many who have propelled Auckland music onto the world stage.
Ant Healey at APRA says, “Auckland is fortunate to enjoy one of the most diverse and unique music scenes in the world. We look forward to bringing together all aspects of the music community, leveraging their special skill sets and collective experience to showcase our musical strength internationally. We want Auckland to be a place where music can thrive for the benefit of everyone who lives here.”
The global network will open up opportunities for collaborations between the music industry and other member cities, opening the door for international cooperation and knowledge exchange.
Aucklanders can be proud to know their city has been recognised alongside 18 other international cities of music, a “creative city” with music as its vital sign, as its heartbeat.
Bandcamp launches new app for its artists and labels
Bandcamp has launched a slick new Android and iOS app, but this one isn’t for its customers, it’s for the artists and labels using the platform to sell their music. “It gives you a real-time mobile view into your stats, helps you manage and fulfil your merch, and lets you directly message your fans, even targeting those messages by fan location and level of support,” explained the company in a blog post announcing the app. Bandcamp says it now has more than one million artists and 3,000 labels with music available on its platform, with the service now up to more than $6m of digital and physical sales a month. It adds that merchandise remains a thriving element of the site, with artists and labels having bought 5.2m merch items. Meanwhile, last year sales of vinyl and cassettes grew by 48% and 58% respectively on Bandcamp. The messaging elements of the new app are particularly interesting: this isn’t just about passively browsing analytics, it’s about communicating with fans – Bandcamp says that messages sent through the app will be delivered via email, as well as within its separate fan app.
Source: Bandcamp – http://tinyurl.com/y9hhpmfu
Music Ally archive: Bandcamp – http://musically.com/tag/bandcamp/
Release Radar is Spotify’s secret weapon for artists
Spotify launched its Release Radar playlist in August 2016 as a companion to Discover Weekly: a weekly playlist personalised for each user by algorithms pulling in new tracks by artists they’ve followed and listened to. It seems the playlist has become a significant generator of streams for artists. “The more followers [you have], the more Release Radar playlists you go into,” said Spotify UK’s director of artists and management Bryan Johnson in a panel session at the BIME conference in Bilbao yesterday. “What we are seeing is that this playlist is becoming a huge driver of streams.” Johnson added that Release Radar even out-streams many of Spotify’s programmed editorial playlists – “the ones that everyone pitches for” – adding that “it’s Release Radar which is driving listens”. The message here is that while pitching Spotify’s in-house curators will continue to be an important task for labels, encouraging fans to not just listen to an artist’s music on Spotify but to follow their profile (and, indeed, add their music to the fan’s library, which is also an important signal to the streaming service’s algorithms) should not be neglected. Read more comments from BIME panellists from Captured Tracks, The Orchard and Music Glue below.
Source: Music Ally – http://tinyurl.com/y6vu74p8
Music Ally archive: Spotify – http://musically.com/tag/spotify/
Girls Rock! Camp Aotearoa
Calling all rebel girls, soul sisters, metal mavens and punk rockers! Girls Rock! Camp Aotearoa is coming to New Zealand for the first time.Launching at MAINZ in Auckland from 15-19 January 2018, Girls Rock! Camp is a week-long holiday programme for young women* where music is the medium to build confidence, empowerment and foster social change. *”Young Women” includes female, trans and and gender non-conforming youth.
The last ever Record Collectors Fair to be organised by Klaus and his team will be on Saturday 4th November 2017, at Freemans Bay Hall.
Early Bird entry time : 9am – cost $10.00
Public entry time : 9:30am – cost $5.00
Finish time : 2pm
Women’s Collective NZ are honoured to be bringing Beyoncé’s Publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure to New Zealand for the first time to speak for Women’s Collective on December 12!
Yvette is one of the biggest players in the music industry who recently topped Billboard’s Women in Music list in 2016. She has worked with an enviable client list which includes music icons Mariah Carey, Prince, Destiny’s Child and Beyoncé to name but a few.
The leading publicist notably helped build careers for artists such as Mariah Carey, who was Yvette’s first music client during the heights of Mariah’s ‘Music Box’ career in the 80s.
She first began working with Beyoncé when Beyoncé was only 14 years old and part of (and then) little heard of group called Destiny’s Child. She helped take them to international stardom and beyond, leading into Yvette’s position as Beyoncé’s own Publicist ever since.
Working alongside Beyoncé for 22 years, she has been a core part if her team, most recently spearheading Beyoncé’s Super Bowl half-time performance and critically acclaimed surprise album Lemonade which she followed up with the “Formation World Tour,” grossing over $250 million.
4/4 is a Pacific music and arts publication based in Auckland, New Zealand. An initiative with a Pacific Island focus, established to inform, profile and promote Pacific creatives, music and arts.
By Duncan HessBusiness reporter, Lodenice, Czech Republic
Whether gathering dust in your loft or currently spinning on your turntable, it’s a fair bet that at least some of your vinyl records came from a small factory in the Czech Republic.
The facility in question is the headquarters of GZ Media, based in the small town of Lodenice, 25km (16 miles) west of the Czech capital, Prague.
GZ is today the world’s largest producer of vinyl records, of which it expects to press 30 million this year, for everyone from the Rolling Stones and U2, to Lady Gaga and Madonna. And GZ still makes albums for small indie bands – the punk and metal bands that kept the company going in the 1990s, but now it also works with massive global stars.
“We’ll still press 100 records for a small metal band,” says GZ’s chief executive Mr Michal Sterba, “but we’re also pressing 100,000 for U2.”
Today sees the release of the latest single ‘Loco’ from Manzo’s second album ‘Outsider’, which entered the IMNZ charts at No 2 and the NZ Album charts at No 8 back in September. This experimental track has received great feedback already, and will be available from all good online providers from Friday.
‘The standout track is that of Loco. With a piano/violin introduction, and stark, polarizing spoken vocals, the track comes off like a modern Pink Floyd; erratic, unconventional and distinctive. An unexpected treat. – muzic.net.nz
Solo artist, Miller Yule has been hard at work on new material. He is releasing “Diamonds”, his first new single since his acclaimed debut EP “Shoot Me in the Heart” in 2016. “Diamonds” sees Miller stepping it up from the successful “Shoot Me in the Heart”. He has ramped up the passion and turned up the volume.
Speaking about his new single Miller commented, ‘You know that amazingly horrible feeling when you start falling for someone and it feels so good that it hurts? That’s “Diamonds”’.
Produced by Stellar* guitarist and engineer/producer, Chris van de Geer (Garageland, Tim Finn, Bic Runga, The Feelers, Strawpeople, This Pale Fire, Black River Drive, Greg Johnson), “Diamonds” will be available on all platforms Friday 3 November 2017.
Celebrating the release, Miller will perform at Auckland’s Wine Cellar with his band on Thursday 30 November 2017.
Kings Releases debut album Chapter One
Out today on Arch Angel Records / DRM NZ
He first caught the attention of New Zealanders in the summer of 2015 with what would become his chart-topping debut single ‘Don’t Worry Bout It’. From then on, Kingdon Chapple-Wilson, the young producer, singer-songwriter and performing artist known to us all as Kings solidified his place in the New Zealand music scene as one to watch.As he rose further through the concrete with his debut release KingsEP released through Warner Music, he showed us his skills as a producer and songwriter, presenting the broad musical influences that inspire him. This led to four Pacific Music Awards (NZ Music Commission Best Pacific Male Artist, Niu FM Best Pacific Urban Artist, MAINZ Best Producer, NZ On Air Radio Airplay Award) and a string of powerful singles including ‘Someday’ and ‘What We Supposed To Do’.Today he releases his debut album Chapter One into the world – a further extension of his exploration into the sounds of hip-hop, house and memorable pop hooks. Released independently on his personal label Arch Angel Records via digital music distributors DRM NZ, Chapple-Wilson hopes to inspire and encourage others to do the same.
“I’ve always encouraged artists and musicians to do things themselves and to study the game thoroughly. It was only right that I do this entire project the way I preach. From directing the music videos to designing the cover art, everything is written, produced, mixed, and mastered the way I intended, with the hope that it inspires people and encourages you to do the same in your industry! Or in your life!”
Every song on Chapter One was self-written, produced and recorded in Chapple-Wilson’s Awataha marae studio, which has been home to his creative process since day one. In August this year, the young artist let the first track off his forthcoming album take flight – the electronic, feel-good party track ‘Kush Rolled x Cup Filled’ which let us into Chapter One through the party entrance. Second single ‘HYLMN’ invited us further into the young artist’s journey, on a track that pays tribute to the hustle and the hard times. The following track‘Intermission’took us even closer to home, as Kingdon reflects on the past, the present and future.
His current single ‘We’ll Never Know’ has spent 6 weeks at #1 on the IMNZ Top 10 Airplay chart, while taking the #3 spot on the Top 20 NZ singles chart and hitting #1 on the Radioscope NZ Singles Airplay chart last month.
Chapter One is an album the supercedes any stylistic genre by blending Kingdon’s favourite flavours of slick electronic textures, danceable beats, underneath memorable melodies – further introducing us to his well-rounded sound. A personal tapestry of stories in a cohesive body of work that documents the young kiwi artist’s rise to the top.
This year, Kings is nominated in three award categories (Best Solo Artist, Best Hip Hop Artist and People’s Choice Award) at the 2017 Vodafone NZ Music Awards being held this November 16 at Spark Arena. To vote for Kings in this year’s People’s Choice Award category, click here.
You can see Kings live this weekend at KFC Edgefest (November 3rd – 5th over Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland) and supporting Six60 with Nico & Vinz this January on the New Zealand leg of their New Waves World Tour.
NORTH WEST WINE, BEER & FOOD FESTIVAL 2018 FLY MY PRETTIES, JULIA DEANS & ALAE
EARLYBIRD TICKETS ON SALE NOW FROM EVENTFINDA
Saturday 10 February, 2018
The Hunting Lodge, 307 Waikoukou Valley Rd, North West Auckland
North West Country is proud to present, returning for 2018, the North West Wine, Beer & Food Festival 2018.
This one-day boutique festival will feature a brilliant musical lineup of Fly My Pretties in their only Auckland summer show for 2018, Julia Deans performing alongside a full band, and Alae, alongside the finest local wine, beer and food the North West region has to offer.
Discounted earlybird tickets are on sale now from Eventfinda. Children 15 years or under are FREE when pre-registered with a parent/legal guardian.
Just 30 minutes North West of Auckland, the beautiful Hunting Lodge will play host to this day long event, which will showcase the amazing wine, beer and food that is on offer in the region from over a dozen local vendors.
Local goodness from vineyards Coopers Creek, The Hunting Lodge, Kumeu River, Soljans Estate Winery & West Brook Winery, and breweries Hallertau Brewery, Colab Brewing & Liberty Brewing Company will be available on the day, plus bespoke food from The Riverhead & The Tasting Shed. Additional food & non-alcoholic options will be available on the day.
2018’s event will see an improved audience experience, including an enhanced beverage offering of wine and beer tasting, more food options and a new kids zone with entertainment on offer.
North West Country and Loop are proud to announce the North West Wine, Beer & Food Festival 2018 will feature live music from:
FLY MY PRETTIES, JULIA DEANS (w/ full band) & ALAE
North West Wine, Beer & Food Festival will see Fly My Pretties’ only Auckland show over summer. The collective will appear following on from the vinyl release of String Theory (The Complete Show) this past August, and will be bringing a 13-strong collective again anchored by Barnaby Weir. Julia Deans will be appearing alongside a full band, showcasing the material that has made her one of NZ’s most beloved musical acts, including material from her solo back catalogue and Fur Patrol, plus forthcoming new material. They will be joined by Alae, who are fast making a name for themselves with their brand of indie/folk.
Return bus tickets to the venue are available now, departing from Auckland City, Muriwai, Helensville, Kumeu & Riverhead. Free parking will also be available at The Hunting Lodge on the day.
A range of vendors will be selling food on the day, however attendees are welcome to bring a picnic. Please note, all liquids are prohibited from being brought into the venue. Free water will be available on site.
Set in the picturesque surrounds of the The Hunting Lodge Wine Estate – just 30 minutes northwest of Auckland City, the North West Wine, Beer & Food Festival is the perfect summer celebration.
Earlybird tickets are available at the discounted price of $49.50+BF
General Admission tickets $59.50+BF
Return Bus tickets $20.50
ABOUT NORTH WEST COUNTRY
North West Country, stretching from Riverhead to Kaukapakapa is a thriving and vibrant destination – Auckland’s playground for discovery, culture, creativity, adventure, fine food and wine. From sublime beach walks to historical buildings; from mountain biking to world-class cuisine; from wine and craft beer tastings to gannet colonies and hot pools, a short drive down State Highway 16 opens up exciting possibilities.
The North West District Business Association has been established to give this area a unified voice to promote the region, and provide visitors with a central hub for information.
Coastella Music Festival Line-Up Announced for 2018
Coastella Music Festival is proud to announce its line-up for 2018, for the return of the vibrant Kāpiti summer festival on 17th February 2018. Building on the growing success of the first two festivals, the 2018 line-up showcases a diverse range of local and international music from energetic folk and indie rock to Japanese banjo, brass and Balkan madness!
Iconic New Zealand band The Black Seeds will bring their contemporary groove reggae rhythms, following the release of their new album Fabric. Singer/songwriter Nadia Reid (nominated for an Apra Silver Scrolls Award for her song Richard earlier this year) joins the line-up straight back from her UK/European tour, and the Hot Potato Band (Aus) blend world music influences with an Australian edge to create a sound of brass and drums ‘known to cause a severe case of happy fever’.
Other international offerings are George & Noriko (Jap/Aus) with a unique sound of Japanese banjo blues, their energetic and original music earning them a place as finalists on Australia’s Got Talent 2012 and favourites at CubaDupa 2017. My Baby (NZ/Nld) join us from Amsterdam with their roots driven hypnotic dance music, and The Young Folk (Ire) have a sound which has seen them compared with Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver and Crosby Stills & Nash. Jordie Lane and the Sleepers (Aus) play psychedelic rock reminiscent of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper.
Our highly acclaimed homegrown talent includes Louis Baker with neo soul sounds, joined by his new band boasting some of the tightest, funkiest, and most solid of rhythm sections in the Wellington music scene. Mermaidens offer a mesmerising dip into the realms of post-punk and psych, and current radio favourites Glass Vaults blend subtle electronics and pulsating percussion to create a unique brand of transcendental psychedelic pop. The Frank Burkitt Band draw upon influences from folk, jazz, blues, swing, soul and all things American Roots, and Neko Ne Zna bring an energetic Balkan Gypsy brass extravaganza. On home turf in Kāpiti are Jeep Road who play a mix of contemporary blues and soul.
For more info and details about the after-party, read on, thanks to The Big Idea!
