It’s difficult to find a new world culture that's as musically rich as
that of New Zealand. Picking up your brother’s guitar and starting a
band with your best friend and his sister is a rite of passage for most
Kiwis. The Cool Hunter finds three grown-up versions of these backyard
operations who are now taking the music of New Zealand to all corners
of the globe, and that's just scratching the surface.
Liam Finn is very much a product of his genealogy, but that only partly
explains the appeal of his beguiling music. Finn plays through a
memory of family holidays and kids toying in the backyard while his
delicate arrangements cast you into a spell conducted only by your own
reminiscences.
Equal parts fastidious and inspired, there is barely a hip-hop album
coming out of New Zealand that doesn’t have P-Money's production and DJ
nous behind it. The epitome of the quiet performer, P-Money keeps
schtum and lets the stomp of his gleaming productions blow your
headphones.
In a world plagued by the manic, Fat Freddys Drop stand back, holding
up a ‘hi-tek soul’ elixir. This is music to be shared by close friends
over a quiet cookout that runs from the long breezy summer afternoon
into a warm, star-lit evening. By Matt Shea.