Announcing the participants selected for SongHubs UK/Tāmaki Makaurau
Today, we announce the 12 songwriters and producers selected by Jordan Rakei for SongHubs UK/Tāmaki Makaurau. We also welcome Alisa Xayalith (Naked & Famous) who will join UK exports Låpsley and Ben Jackson-Cook as a guest writer at the week-long songwriting camp.
Songwriters: Muroki, Emily Muli, Judah Kelley, NEVERKNOWN, Reiki Ruawai, Edie, HINA, BOY SODA.
Producers: Alex Wildwood, Abraham Kunin, WHO SHOT SCOTT, Kiboko.
Guest writers: Låpsley, Ben Jackson-Cook, Alisa Xayalith.
SongHubs UK kicks off Tuesday 7th February at Big Fan in Morningside, Auckland.
With the generous support of the British Council, NZ Music Commission, NZ On Air, and Recorded Music NZ.
Songwriter & Producers
Muroki
With a string of super chilled bangers under his belt including the platinum hit Wavy, Raglan’s Muroki is delivering on the promise that saw his self released debut picked up by Benee and played by Elton John on his Rocket Hour radio show back in 2020. Collaborations as diverse as Nasaya, Flowidus and Benee show that Muroki can lend his natural vocal flow to any number of styles. On stage and record, Muroki is emerging as a shining talent, bringing a growing audience to his soulful sound.
Emily Muli
Fusing elements of neo-soul, RnB, jazz and her Tongan roots, Emily Muli's eclectic sound continues to reach new heights. A multi-instrumentalist, performer and singer-songwriter, Emily Muli has always endeavoured to purposefully layer her songs, releasing singles like Rhythm & Truth and Self-Care in the hopes that people would relate to the messages in the music. She was awarded the Phillip Fuemana Most Promising Artist Award at the 2021 Pacific Music Awards. Her single “Break”, released at the end of 2021, earned her another two nominations at the 2022 Pacific Music Awards, where she was awarded the Best Pacific Female Artist Award.
NEVERKNOWN
NEVERKNOWN, 19 year old alt hip-hop/pop artist from New Zealand shares their raw and vulnerable lyrics paired with moody and mysterious vocals. Releasing their debut EP at age 17, and recent single ‘DISORDERLY’, NEVERKNOWN experiments with many different sounds and vocal delivery styles and doesn’t hold back on expressing their true feelings.
Judah Kelley
Ōtepoti singer and songwriter, Judah Kelley, has displayed her range of talent and diversity with just her 3 singles. Combining her compelling vocal and creative song writing, Judah captivates the audience and gets them up moving. Influenced by a variety of artists, Judah combines pop, rock and folk to create the foundation for her words.
Reiki Ruawai
Reiki Ruawai is not your usual kiwi lad. He comes from a place on the West Coast surf town called Raglan. Or better known to him as 825. His free-flowing style of surfing and skate living reflects into his output on music. With a fresh new style of harmonies that soothe the stressed head. A new generation of heavy R&B has never heard so much filthy kick and bass. Kick back and relax to the smooth tunes that this Rags fella is producing.
HINA
Sharing her name with a deity of the moon known throughout Polynesia, HINA is an artist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist from Aotearoa. Poised to usher in a richer sonic era with a stellar new band, fresh music has been brewing - ready for your ears early this year.
Boy Soda
As the tide in Australian music culture shifts, a collective of emerging local artists are shaping a contemporary sound on our shores. Central Coast bred, Eora based artist BOY SODA is an undisputed leader in this new school of thought, utilising R&B and intricately crafted pop music to captivate his swiftly growing audience.
Anna Edgington
Anna Edgington aka Edie, is a producer/composer/vocalist based in Pōneke. As a vocalist, producer and composer, she has worked with the likes of Pacific Heights, Rhian Sheehan, Riki Gooch (Cave Circles), Movement of the Human, WoW, Threading Frames and a number of film and TV composers based in NZ and LA, including upcoming internationally acclaimed film composer Emily Rice. Anna is currently doing a creative practice PhD at CoCA Massey looking at ways to increase more gender diversity in music production in Aotearoa.
Alex Wildwood
Since 2017 Alex has had the privilege to work with some of the most promising new artists across New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK. During this time Alex has worked with artists such as; Gracey, Mimi Webb, DYLAN, JC Stewart, Oscar Lang and Jungleboi, as well as UPSAHL, SilverSphere, The Veronicas, Graace, and Jessica Mauboy.
In 2019, Alex was part of the team for creating the soundtrack for the film ‘Yesterday’ alongside the lead actor, Emmy nominated, Himesh Patel (TENENT, Don’t Look Up, Station Eleven), and The film’s Executive Producer Daniel Pemberton (Academy Award, BAFTA). The soundtrack has amassed over 50 Million streams on Spotify alone.
WHO SHOT SCOTT
A boy fled Iraq in the arms of his mother when he was just two years old. Due to the dangers in his home country, they were forced to journey to Moscow, Russia. After some time in the Russian capital, they again packed their few belongings and traveled to New Zealand. Once there, Zaidoon Nasir found comfort in a friend at age 8 and they were joined at the hip. Their shared love for hip-hop resulted in an internationally performing duo with big plans for the future. In 2019 however, his partner, citing new-found religious belief, abruptly announced he will no longer make music, moved overseas and left his closest friend with no goodbye. After some grueling months, experimental hip-hop artist WHO SHOT SCOTT was born from the ashes of that personal and professional apocalypse.
Harry Charles (Kiboko)
Harry Charles is a producer & songwriter from Tamaki Makaurau with an experimental and energetic approach to production. He has worked with artists such as Foley, Luca Goerge, Tom Verberne, There's a Tuesday & Levyne to name a few.
Abraham Kunin
In a career full of moments for which he feels blessed, a standout highlight was the 5 year journey of producing, composing, arranging, and performing on the Dalai Lama's debut album Inner World. This unique project World reached #1 on the Billboard New Age Album Chart, #4 Top New Artist Album Chart, and peaked at #2 on the Global iTunes Album Chart respectively. Among others, he has also worked with Home Brew, Teeks, Anoushka Shankar, Maisey Rika, Melodownz, Olivia Foa’i, Noah Slee, Majic, Avantdale Bowling Club, LIPS, Phodiso, TOI, Jeff Atmajian, L-Fresh The Lion, and Jujulipps.