Every week, Rolling Stone AU/NZ highlights our favourite New Zealand music from the past seven days.
Catch up on previous coverage from Marlin’s Dreaming, Molly Payton, and Tami Neilson, and check out fresh tracks from Holly Arrowsmith, KOMMI, Nathan Haines, Cory Champion, Al Park, Katchafire, Wet Denim, and Karl Sölve Steven below.
Holly Arrowsmith – Blue Dreams
Holly Arrowsmith just dropped her new album, Blue Dreams. Produced by Tom Healy and featuring an all-star band—Anita Clark, Cass Basil, Alex Freer, and Tom Healy – this record includes the singles “Desert Dove”, which won the 2024 APRA Best Country Music Song award, plus “Neon Bright” and “Blue Dreams”. It’s a stunning, heartbreaking Americana record that shows why Arrowsmith is one of the country’s top singer-songwriters right now.
To celebrate, she’s hitting the road for a tour across Australia and New Zealand from August to November (tickets available here).
KOMMI, Infectiouss – TAUWHENUA
Ōtautahi rapper KOMMI (Kāi Tahu, Te-Āti-Awa) has dropped a new EP entirely in te reo, made with producer Infectiouss. It’s a seriously fresh mix of beats for your hip hop radar, showcasing the talent and versatility of modern te reo music. The track “Tairo” features a collaboration with Marlon Williams.
Nathan Haines – “Just Holdin’ On”
Nathan Haines has been steadily releasing songs from his upcoming album, Notes, and the slow-tempo, Slum Village-esque feel of “Just Holdin’ On” is a standout groove. The track features laid-back bars from New Zealand-based vocalist and visual artist Eo, formerly of the acclaimed underground collective The Grow Room / Badcrop.
Cory Champion – Creative Writing
Multi-instrumentalist and producer Cory Champion (Clear Path Ensemble) released his new album Creative Writing under his Borrowed CS moniker last week. With thirteen tracks, it’s a smooth, intricately crafted journey of beats.
Al Park – “Twilight Hour”
Lyttelton songwriting legend Al Park is back with his new album Monkey, out August 16th, three years after Pony. Produced by Ōtautahi’s Dick Picton, Park has just unveiled the first single from the record, “Twilight Hour”.
Katchafire – “Commit”
Repping reggae, love, and peace from day dot, Katchafire have released the uplifting new track, “Commit”, aimed at bringing listeners together.
Wet Denim – “Again and Again”
Wellington four-piece Wet Denim drop another installment of catchy pop-rock with “Again and Again”, a track that came together after an all-nighter.
“We’d won a free recording session at Auckland’s Parachute Studios and went overtime, working on the tune into the night, heading directly to the airport afterwards for our 6am flight that morning,” reveals Wet Denim’s drummer, Jack Ledword.
Karl Sölve Steven, Anna Fält – V Ä V A
Thames-based multi-award-winning composer and producer Karl Sölve Steven has released his new project V Ä V A, a full-length collaboration with Swedish-Finnish avant-folk vocalist Anna Fält, via Sunreturn.
Steven shared, “The V Ä V A project is definitely a special one for me. It marks the first time in my musical journey that I’ve had the opportunity to explore my Swedish roots, in particular those of the Värmland / Finnskog regions where my mother’s mother’s family comes from and where my uncle still lives (out in the forest in a house that has sheltered the family for multiple generations).
“The lake behind the house has been a touchstone throughout my life (there’s literally a stone which I touch whenever I visit!); I helped my grandmother set up her loom (vävstol) there as a child, went ice-fishing with my uncle, and explored the forest (and picked berries and mushrooms!) with my mother and family there many times.”
