New Zealand – a small country with a population of about 4.6 million people is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, it is famous for its natural landscapes and beauty. It is the home of the Hobbits and the world famous rugby team aka The All Blacks. Other than that, this country has produced a plethora of great musical talent. Here to mention this nation features an inherent musical culture which is confident, unpretentious & seemingly unaffected by world trends. So, if you are a passionate music lover, who wants to enjoy the local music of NZ – then this article will enlighten you! (well we hope) 🙂
Obviously, the best way to enjoy the local music of New Zealand is by listening to the soundtracks and tunes that have been produced / compiled / composed by the local musicians or music bands. In this context, this article will acquaint you through the Top Five Great New Zealand Musicians and Bands that you may have not even heard about. They have all made a significant contribution to the NZ music scene and deserve more recognition for their talents. To know more about these Kiwi music artists and bands, keep on reading the following sections below.
Get to Know Five Great Kiwi Musicians:
- Princess Chelsea:
Have you heard about “Princess Chelsea”? If not, then this article will reveal her enormous and epic music contributions. Her original name is Chelsea Nikkel. However, she is widely known by her stage name – Princess Chelsea. She is an experimental producer and a talented musician who originally hails from Auckland. This musician mostly covers the following music genres, such as indie pop, synthpop, and baroque pop etc. She is mainly recognized for her experimental pop – which is unprecedented, unusual, and unique. Her approach to the songwriting is pretty clever in style. Note, she rules the music in the pop realm world.
Here to note, Princess Chelsea is a successful musician who has worked with two bands (in her career) – such as, The Brunettes and Teenwolf. Other than that, she has pursued a solo music career too. Her baroque musical style has been featured throughout her music compositions and compilations. She possesses the angelic vocals with acerbic wit.
Coming to her music contributions, “The Cigarette Duet” – is her best-known music production. It has witnessed a massive press exposure; it has received around 30 million views on the YouTube. Currently, she is active as a musician and her latest album is Aftertouch that has been released in 2016.
- Marlon Williams:
He is an award-winning musician who also belongs from Lyttelton, New Zealand. He is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has received an unparalleled success due to his contribution to the music industry. The folk singer has won the prestigious NZ Music Awards twice. The singer was born on 31st December 1990 in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was quite passionate and enthusiastic about music since his early background. However, his inherent music traits and abilities got a recognition when he performed as a front-man for the band – named as “The Unfaithful Ways”. After receiving a marvelous popularity, recognition, fame, and notoriety, Marlon Williams continued to focus on his music career.
Today, he is considered to be a successful Kiwi musician who possesses one of the most versatile and evocative Kiwi voices; he is a solo musician, plus he has been associated with various music group (including the Yarra Benders). Here’s a list of music genres that are mostly covered by this talented personality, for example, folk, country, blues, and bluegrass. His most recent and latest music work is his self-titled album (that was released in 2015).
- Jol Mulholland:
He is a talented musician who is mostly popular as a multi-instrumentalist. Here to mention, he is a type of music artist who can easily pick up any music instrument and proudly play it like a pro. His sophomore solo studio album, entitled as “Stop & Start Again” earned him a critical acclaim by the music pundits and local audience.
As a multi-instrumentalist, Jol Mulholland has collaboratively worked with several talented music personalities and music bands, for example, Andrew Keoghan, Lindon Puffin, Victoria Girling-Butcher, Nightchoir, Lisa Crawley, Lydia Cole, An Emerald City, Kirsten Morrell, and Motocade etc. Presently, he is associated with Liam Finn’s band. Here to mention, Jol Mulholland is an engineer, in-demand producer, guitarist, bass player, and vocalist. He features an impressive synth & keyboard collection. Currently, he is working with Liam Finn, he is engaged in promoting his solo studio album, also he is collaborating with a much-loved NZ singer cum songwriter (Anika Moa).
- Lawrence Arabia:
Lawrence Arabia is a popular musician of NZ. This is the stage name as adopted by the famous Kiwi artist cum composer – James Milne. This music star (under the guise name of Lawrence Arabia) officially kick-started his musical career in the year of 2003. After a period of three years and with the release of his self-titled maiden album, he accumulated the much-needed acclaim that further inspired him to continue his journey as a musician. Well, this self-titled maiden album was nominated for “bNet awards”. Here to mention, in New Zealand, “bNet awards” is considered to be the public voted alternative radio awards.
In 2009, Lawrence Arabia produced his sophomore solo studio album – named as “Chant Darling”. This particular album (especially the song “Apple Pie Bed) became extremely popular and it was rewarded with “APRA Silver Scroll Award”. Plus, Chant Darling also won the Taite Music Prize too. In 2011, the music artist produced a collaborative album (Unlimited Buffet) in association with “Mike Fabulous” while featuring a great composition of instrumentals, vocal melodies, and lyrics.
Next, in 2012, he released his 3rd album (The Sparrow) which won the VNZMA award for being the Best Male Solo Artist. Coming to his latest music work – a collaborative album (produced in association with Mike Fabulous) – named as “Absolute Truth” was released in 2016. This album too received the nominations for several prestigious music awards.
- Die! Die! Die!:
In the previous section, you have revealed the details of some”Great New Zealand Musicians”. Lastly now, you’re about to find the details of a top-notch NZ music band. The name of “Die! Die! Die!” may seem to be an aggressively sounding name that’s a given. But, this Kiwi group is popular for their melodic tunes. Obviously, the band and their sound are noisy enough! Yet to mention, their post-punk sounds are incredibly melodic and well-constructed beats.
In fact, this group is considered to be one of the top-notch Kiwi music groups that has successfully balanced the muscularity through their melody with an excellent effect. The group mostly covers the following music styles – punk rock, noise pop, and post-punk revival etc. Their current composition is “What Did You Expect”; it was released in 2015.
