#5 - JAH RASTAFARI BY 1814

This 8 piece band from the surroundings of the Whangaroa Harbour are a reggae band that has got people from all over feeling their vibe. With the name coming from the year the Gospel arrived & the first sermon was given, you can hear & feel their positive messages of peace & love through their sound! They're not a fancy band who does extended live reggae cuts or hardcore rasta drum fills, uitar solos & effects but they are a feel good happy reggae band.

In particular is one song, "Jah Rastafari" which has become one of my favourite NZ reggae jams because you can feel the passion of the song & even though it's mellow, it's powerful cause you just get locked into the groove and the vocals are in full effect (not too busy) but hearty & controlled & the lyrics are awesome & easy for everyone to understand (not those have to write it down & decipher the message) it's nice & clear.

Ask everyone that's heard this jam, you play it once, then it's on repeat & chain reaction from there.  If you are into just simple (but tight) feel good reggae, cop there album! I'ma give you the track, so you too can jump on the feel good buzz, wether in NZ, Niue, Raro or those other countries lol.

1814 - Jah Rastafari

#4 - HOMEGROWN, WELLINGTON

This is one of the well known gigs to hit if you wanna see a range of 100% all NZ music.  I haven't been but I heard it goes off the hook! I'm just a fan of the "nothing but NZ music" bands playing for a whole day, that's funkin' solid & will try to go this year; a whole day dedicated to NZ music, amazing!

4 stages, over 30 bands/DJ's, hot chicks & sunshine is nothing short of perfect! Musicians such as Kora, Dick Johnson, Manuel Bundy, Mint Chicks, Ladi6, Black Seeds, Pluto & more, you'll leave knowing why NZ music is the best. Check out who's jammin & how you can get amoungst the hype here & get live with music from the Homefront! Here's a lil of what you can expect:

#3 - LADI6

Ladi6 (Karoline Tamati) One of my top 3 female NZ vocalists easy! Her style, voice & what she can do with a mic is like ooooweee, straight up! She's been around and on the scene since as early as 1999 with Sheelahroc (Woman are the strength) which combined mc'in, dance & turntabilism, going on to create the classic "If I Gave You The Mic". Soon after breaking out as the lead vocalist of band Verse Two including musos Scribe, Julien Dyne & where she met partner Parks, what a lucky dude! lol



Check this clip. Simple as it gets, pretty much nothing at all. It's all Ladi6! The groove is solid and Ladi6 rips up with her smooth sexy as vocals & to top it off, her dancing is simple but in full effect cause not anyone can pull that shit off, but she got the feel on lock! I've been to a few of her live Auckland gigs & when she performed this & Caroline (see that track here) she ripped it up, she was in the zone! Not only can she sing, she can switch it up with a verse on the mic tip; if that's not foxy, I don't know what is!





She's got natural sex appeal with her music! When she runs game on the mic, it's all fire but I don't think she's flossin' it, it's just the vibe you get lol She's got a lot under her name: Touring with Fat Freddys, Touring Europe, Colabing with 50hz, Shapeshifter, Solaa, Salmonella Dub, Sepalot & many other established artists, so she's done her thing & still doing it! Her debut album "Time Is Not Much" showed everyone what's up and was worth the wait. Make sure to cop her album & see her live when you can. She's dope, one of my favourites. The tattoo on her hand is fly too! Here's a track from her, now go get the album!

Ladi6 Ft Scribe - Call You Out

#2 - GEORGE FM PARK PARTIES

I couldn't find the poster or video I had for this (never find stuff when you need it!) but anyways. Last year George FM had a series of FREE parties in the park around Auckland, nothing fancy though. I missed the first but went to every other one because they were funkin' SOLID!  They gave out free water (the best shit for when you're dancing in the sun!), had multiple DJ's spinnin a range of genres, beautiful ladies & the good ol' NZ summer vibe! People gettin horsed as, kickin back under the shade, dancin hard, flossin it, & everyone having a good time all for 6 hours worth of free music & it attracted people of every culture. That's music for you, nothing but a feel good buzz.

I hope that they have some this year, I've been askin around & emailing George but have had no replies so i'll keep trying & let you's know. But It's things like this that we in NZ enjoy in the summer; brews in the sunshine while kickin back to music and a lot of solid ladies. Just goes to show how NZ puts it down with it's simple approach to things, letting the people create the vibe & pump the party!

Bring back the George Park Parties!

#1 - THE CULTURE

I think this pictures pretty solid, be better if it was Hollie Smith, Iva Lamkum or Nikki Montana; just being honest. I like our music culture hardout. It's kick back, mellow, chill, & growing solid! Seeing all the young bands supporting older bands, musos of all calibre jammin, the artwork, the vibe & the strong support from homies on the homefront.

In my opinion, one of the best cultures NZ has around at the moment because of it's solid positivity & nobody can make up rules & restrictions as to who can be apart of it.  There's going to be haters, it's a fact of life, but with the hearty outlook that NZ musicians/supporters have, hate doesn't affect it at all. The only thing is that Goverment should fund it & show it's support more often so it can grow faster, but it's pretty self motivated & made which is pretty fuckin' awesome; like when one person comes up with an idea, everyone just jumps on board to make it happen.

 So to everyone out there who's down with NZ music (or not) jump on the good shit & get into the culture; It's nothing but a feel good thing.

Big ups to everybody on the homefront!

"Never give up on our culture, cause when a culture's lost, another culture's won" - KORA

New Blog!

Wassup, it's TMG & I'm just starting a new blog with a years worth of reasons "Why I Love NZ Music" They're not in any order/rank, I'm just puttin' a number against each one. I'm gonna try and switch it up with videos/links/art and whatever I can, but my bad if I don't.  I'm hardout for the NZ, for those who know me, it's my favourite music & I represent as much as I can & my favourite all time band is KORA. My birthday is May 1st, what a coincidence lol Here's some of my favourite stuff to date:

Best Album: Kora - Kora

Best EP: Home Brew - Last Week

Best Female Vocalists: Iva Lamkum, Ladi6 & Hollie Smith

Best Male Vocalists: Joe Dukie & Laughton Kora

Best Live Acts: Kora & Shapeshifter

This blog may be viewed by many, or none at all, it's all good, I'm just showing how much I'm down for the NZ! I'll aim for a reason a day, but if I'm on the buzz might be more. Hope you enjoy the read! Solid.