New Zealand

Premiere: An atmospheric ambient/modern classical collaboration between Joachim Spieth and Andrew Thomas is launched with the shimmering single ‘Shine’
Joachim Spieth and Andrew Thomas are titans in the ambient/modern classical music scene and we are proud to premiere the single ‘Shine’ from their forthcoming collaboration ‘Nocturna’ on the German Affin label. Spieth is a German composer, DJ and producer, founder of the Affin label while Thomas is a New Zealand artist who has worked …

Album Review: Aotearoa/New Zealand’s Nik Brinkman envelopes us in a shimmering veil of dreamy pop in his sophomore album ‘World Within’.
There is a dreamy heartbreakingly beautiful shimmer to the new album from Aotearoa/New Zealand artist Nik Brinkman that glows like the stars over the expansive southern hemisphere skies. Brinkman last blew us away here at Backseat Mafia back in 2021 with his debut album ‘Secret Stairs’ (see my review here) and in the intervening time has …

Track: ‘Where Are You Now?’ – Aotearoan dream pop King, Nik Brinkman, dials up the shimmering jingle jangle sounds with new single.
Ahead of the release of his new album ‘World Within’, New Zealand dream pop artist Nik Brinkman has followed up his first single in a few years, ‘Long Way To Go’, with a second positively shimmering release, ‘Where Are You Now’. With languid laid back vocals channeling Jim Reid from The Jesus and Mary Chain, the …

Track: There’s ‘Nothing Like’ Reb Fountain as she releases another gorgeous track ahead of her new album ‘How Love Bends’
Reb Fountain is building up heady anticipation for her new album ‘How Love Bends’ with the release of another breathtaking track ‘Nothing Like’: an absolutely delicious, shimmering track punctuated by an air of melancholia and with ethereal strings wafting through the ether. There is a carefree romanticism in the track: Fountain’s vocals are like a …

News: Aotearoan indie giants Daily J announce new album ‘Scatterbrains’, Australian tour and unveil sparkling single ‘Cheap Tequila Sunrise’.
Aotearoan band Daily J have just released the soaring, anthemic indie pop of ‘Cheap Tequila Sunrise’, a single that positively sparkles over the top of jangling, chorused guitars, bopping synths and scintillating harmonies. It comes as the band announces the release of their new album ‘Scatterbrains’, out on 21 February 2025, as well as a …

Album Review: Fazerdaze wields her ‘Soft Power’ with aplomb in a majestic new album.
The inimitable and ethereal Fazerdaze (the nom de plume of Amelia Murray) has just released her first LP in seven years – ‘Soft Power’ – via Buttrfly/Virgin Music Group, and it is a wondrous return. Beset by the vicissitudes of life after the universal acclaim that met ‘Morningside’, Fazerdaze withdrew from the world for a while before returning …

Premiere: New Zealand chanteuse extraordinaire Reb Fountain announces new album and unveils the deliciously dreamy single ‘Forever’ as a tasty treat.
We are inordinately honoured to premiere the new single and video of the track ‘Forever’ from the extraordinary Reb Fountain, which heralds a new album ‘How Love Bends’ from the New Zealand chanteuse. ‘Forever’ is a sinuous, sensuous track with a floating dreamy riff and Fountain’s louche cool delivery that’s enchanting and hypnotic. The drums …

News: Aotearoa’s Dream Queen Fazerdaze announces first LP in seven years with delectable new single ‘Cherry Pie’.
Spring has definitely sprung here in the southern hemisphere as it is announced today that the magnificent Fazerdaze will be releasing her first LP in seven years – ‘Soft Power’ – on 15 November via Buttrfly/Virgin Music Group. To add sugar and cream to the delectable treat, Fazerdaze celebrates the announcement with the release of …