Making Tracks with The MOST FM: Artist Interviews

Josette is an Ōtautahi based singer songwriter who began her original music endeavours in 2021 after finishing a Bachelor of Music Arts at Ara. 2022 has already seen her release the well received debut single ‘One Shot’, and with many more projects on the horizon,this next chapter is looking to be full of compelling moments for Josette.

Aotearoa’s wildly successful Mild Orange have dropped 'Oh Yeah' – a gorgeously lush and introspective track that’ll delight the steadfast 'day ones' and no doubt, draw in a whole bunch of new fans. 'Oh Yeah' is a song "intentionally about nothing", says the band’s Josh Mehrtens (AKA Mehrt). "I wanted to write lyrics about nothing, which meant little to me at the time except just to purely feel good."

There’s a groundswell building on the coast of Taranaki and it’s bringing with it indie rock singalongs that’ll make you wanna party. Turn up the volume, you’re in for a treat with three piece unconventional band OTTS' recently released 'Sunday Blue'. It's a whole vibe and we think you'll love it.

Initially formed as Wellington high school band, the Māori-led post-punk four-piece Vietnam first stepped into the music scene c.1981-85. Their self-titled debut EP on Jayrem Records in 1985 is often described as a “lost classic” of New Zealand music. Splitting up just as the EP was released, it would be more than 30 years before the band reunited and when their music would be rediscovered by US and European audiences. Now a six-piece band based between Sydney and Wellington, Vietnam have released latest single 'What Have I Done?'. Written by Workman in 1982, this is Vietnam’s first release since 1985.

Wellington six-piece TOI have carved out a reputation as one of the tightest live acts around, a point reinforced on the release of soulful, funk-based 'I Wanna Rock' (Live). This never-before-released track, and this week's Making Tracks feature, has become a crowd favourite amongst TOI's loyal fanbase. Recorded at the band's home turf, Meow, the track showcases TOI in their element – on stage performing to a sold-out hometown crowd.

Fool's Lagoon is an Auckland-based band with Taranaki guitarist Matt Everest. The five-piece band has launched onto the scene with debut single 'Bizarre' – and our first Making Tracks feature in 2022. This catchy, guitar-pop single is packed with hooks, bound to get added to your favourite playlist. It's tight and modern sound gives us a clear foresight of what’s to be expected from this group.

This week's Making Track featured artist Fin Rah Zel drops new single 'Power' – a song about finding peace within, no matter the external circumstances. "You have the power!"

Tāmaki Makurau’s (Auckland) Goodspace's new single 'Kicking Stones' blends genres by diving deep into hip-hop influences while still retaining a rock’n’roll edge. Written, recorded and produced by the group in their home studio in Auckland, the 4-piece band says the song is "kind of chill, but it has this underlying kind of spookiness to it."

Powder Chutes are coming out blazing with debut single 'Take It Or Leave It'. This week's Making Tracks feature is a statement of intent, and a joyful call to arms for anyone who likes pounding filthy rock, with a firm grounding in melodic sensibilities. Powder Chutes are Wanaka-based garage rock miscreants with an impressive work ethic and an unmistakable groove. The all under-16 band bring a freshness to guitar driven music that combines youthful exuberance with sweat-soaked vintage grunt.

Kiwi psych and surf-rock reggae-heads SOJØURN have dropped new summer gem 'More', which fuses glorious grooves with fantastically psychedelic production elements. This week's Making Tracks east-coast groovers have been earmarked by critics and fans as a band on the rise with lofty ambitions.

Fijian Kiwi artist SAINT LANE releases EP RAINBOWS END alongside new single 'VENOM'. This week's Making Tracks feature offers disco grooves with the audio space of contemporary pop bundled together in the "hip-hop spectrum", SAINT LANE explains. "I've always been an eclectic artist but I feel like 'VENOM' is my most interpolated track. I wanted to make a Daft Punk, Dua Lipa, and Migos hybrid, a combination that might not work on paper but I feel like we found an exciting new groove on this."

Like a blossom-scented spring morning comes Bellodonna's new offering 'Wide Awake' – a gentle, luscious and mood-adjusting track curiously contemplating life's questions. Freshly released and brightening up our airwaves, 'Wide Awake' offers dreamy vocals and ethereal synth and guitar to create a sonic atmosphere that allows this pop melody to float along blissfully.

Magnetic, guitar-pop Kiwi rockers Clap Clap Riot are back again with energetic new single, 'Mama'. This week's Making Tracks feature captures an iconic live energy through a solid, punchy rhythm section matched with unbridled guitar fuzz. The massive, stadium-worthy sing-along choruses deliver what Clap Clap Riot fans have come to know and love. 'Mama' is an emotive call to come home. “It looks at the way we often try and avoid our problems by running away”, Clap Clap Riot's Dave Rowland says. “It’s then about the realisation that we are better to come back to where we all started, and face these problems head on.”

The Black Seeds are the sound of summer for many Kiwis. Their latest single, and this week’s NZ On Air Making Tracks feature, 'Let The Sunshine Through' is every bit the New Zealand summertime banger. The eight piece Wellington band, who for nearly 25 years, have crafted their own brand of South Pacific soul. Skill-fully blending deep grooves of reggae, funk, afrobeat and dub into an undeniably infectious mix that has embedded itself in Aotearoa's collective consciousness.

Blue River Baby's latest track 'Green Cones' is a magical reggae dub track – a cheeky smokey daydream that floats us over the weight of others' expectations. The perfect sound, to kick back with, as we come into the warmer months.

Pretty Stooked stamp their name on the NZ indie pop-rock card with their debut release, 'My Line'. This week's Making Tracks feature embodies the over-reflective person, taking us down the rabbit hole of insecurity. Frontman Eddie Kiesanowski says the words we’ve all felt - "I’d wake up in the middle of the night and randomly start thinking about moments of my life and end up keeping myself awake for hours. It would be the weirdest stuff too, that I hadn’t thought about in years and I’d get myself all down and then have a hard time explaining why I’m in a mood." Eddie tries to make a fun loving environment with 'My Line' to counter those down moments, helping his listeners move forward and not over indulge in worry. Sonically, the song went through a journey of its own, aside from Eddie’s geographical instability - jumping back to Christchurch from Melbourne due to COVID. It started with a hiss and a roar, naturally developing an early 2010s - Kings of Leon-esque guise - in the 30 or so minutes it took to draft. But that wasn’t sitting with the essence of Pretty Stooked, so Eddie revisited the track. With inspirational tunes in his ears from Spacey Jane and Julia Jacklin along with the help of co-producers Josh Logan and Thomas Isbister, Eddie walked away from the studio with a mixed bag of fruity indie rocks. Is there more from Pretty Stooked in the near future? You betcha! This is but the first single on a path towards an EP - expected to be incrementally released over the next 12 months.

The Broken is a five piece band from Aotearoa New Zealand that fuses 80s inspired electronica, slide guitar and laid back vocals to create a sound that is very different, yet familiar. THE BACK STORY Planets form from the debris and particles within the space they inhabit. As they combine, their new gravity grows, pulling more matter around them into this new orbit. The same can be said for The Broken. Previously a three-piece band of Pearl Runga, Justin Maclaren and Simon Finnel, their music and focus on their sound pulled in Gavin Downie on guitar and Ben Phillips on drums. With this new line-up cemented in 2019, they undertook the rehearsing and writing of a new album, only to be stopped in their initial steps by New Zealand’s first Covid lockdown. However, the band was nimble and pivoted to set up home studios where they continued to write and record, eventually releasing what is the band's greatest work to date, 'GRAVITAS'. All of this achieved from their individual isolated bubbles, unable to work together in the same room for months on end. As New Zealand was plunged back into its third lockdown the album dropped unceremoniously and quietly at 10:30pm on a Friday night, without the possibility of a release party, concert, or even a listening party. The Broken is now setting its sights on the next stage一 getting out onto the live circuit in their home country of Aotearoa promoting the album and new line-up. First focussing on New Zealand, while looking to expand across the Tasman and the possibility of Australian dates. THE BROKEN’S ‘GRAVITAS’ is a journey across ten cuts of thick analogue/digital electronica synthwave. It is an open and frank interpretation of the world surrounding THE BROKEN, exploring love, lies and that which lurks in the darkest emotional recesses of us all. You could say it is the soundtrack to a film yet to be written, with nostalgic 80s electronica underscoring film noir imagery, and then clashing with cyberpunk aesthetics.  No great album is solely in a band’s hands alone一so legendary sound engineer Chris Tate was also pulled in to produce the album, while UK mastering icon Streaky gave the tracks their final polish.

Taupō based duo False Heights have been writing infectious pop bops since they started jamming together in 2016. United by a mutual love for storytelling and their eclectic tastes in music, April Pirie (vocals/keys) and Ashley Pirie (drums/guitars/vocals) display an uncanny chemistry, co-creating an adventurous sound and delivering high energy performances. Their latest single, 'Heavy Metal Runaway', features as our Making Tracks song this week.

Michael Llewellyn is a 'Rhaspy and Poetic' songwriter based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Influenced by The Velvet Underground, KEVIN MORBY, Leonard Cohen and the likes, Michael's vulnerable and smokey melodies pack a punch. His first single, and our Making Tracks feature of the week, 'Whangamatā' is bouncy and wild. A psychedelic induced road trip that will throw you beneath the summer skies of Aotearoa. Confronting in his raw honesty, Llewellyn opens and invites you into his heart. Sharing in his battles with love and pain, a seriousness can be felt throughout his work – though we never lose sight of his humour and playfulness.

La Coco is back, unveiling newest single 'Gone' – a romantically ethereal and heartbreaking ode to the space left behind after someone has gone. The song, featuring backing vocals by Freedom Setu and beats by Malachi Samuelu, makes its way to our weekly Making Tracks feature! "Letting go of something or someone is a hard thing to do, especially when it is who or what you love most", says the South Auckland artist. "Memories keep them alive in your mind, the dreams of them returning keep you awake at night. It is never an easy thing to let go." La Coco is a prominent Samoan/Māori artist from South Auckland renowned for her thick soul sound and musicianship, which has seen her nominated for a Pacific Music Award, and winning best RnB album for her work on 'Grateful' at the Waiata Māori Music Awards in 2021.