As we prepare for the next regional SongHubs, we are excited to announce the songwriters who will join the songwriting retreat heading to Dunedin this month! SongHubs Ōtepoti kicks off Monday 21 November, hosted by Te Korokoro o te Tūī, Otago University performing arts centre.
SongHubs Ōtepoti Curator Sam Trevethick (Sambora/Shapeshifter) has gathered some of Aotearoa's most beloved and unique creators, Ladi6, Emily C. Browning, Shayne P. Carter, Abigail Knudson, to collaborate with songwriters from the mainland and around the country.
Songwriters: Jack Panther, Sophie Scott-Maunder (Soft Plastics), Keira Wallace, Georgina Clifford (Gee), Adelaide Dunn, Abby Wolfe, Calla Knudson (Calla), Alayna Powley, ZËxÏÏ, Chris Wethey, Kahu McLean, and Mads Harrop.
SONGWRITERS
Jack Panther
Brought up in the Wellington music scene, Tāmaki Makaurau based queer artist Jack Panther uses his craft to blend tones of melancholy with pop. The NZ artist spent much of his youth with his headphones on, listening to Sky Ferreira and writing angsty poetry, which he wrote to express himself as a closeted teen. Listen to his latest single 'WEEKEND AT BERNIES' a "fun playful track about the panic moment when a relationship fizzles out."
Sophie Scott-Maunder
Sophie Scott-Maunder is a performer and songwriter from Te Whanganui-a-Tara (originally Tauranga). She is the lead vocalist and bassist for alternative shoegaze three-piece Soft Plastics. The trio have earned an excellent reputation with their unique brand of indie rock, playing festivals such as The Others Way and Welcome to Nowhere, and filling opening slots for Silicon, King Sweeties, The Beths and Fur Patrol. Soft Plastics have just finished recording their debut album due for release next year. Sophie is also involved in curating, promoting and organising events for Eyegum Music Collective.
Keira Wallace
Known for their gentle sounds and reflective lyrics, Keira Wallace is an Ōtepoti alternative folk musician whose music embodies the warm, enveloping feelings of nature. From picking up guitar at 11 to releasing their fourth single 'Nothing' in July, Keira continues to grow as a young artist. Recent achievements include gaining 1st place in the Smokefree Rockquest Solo/Duo Otago heats and entering the Play It Strange Lion Foundation Songwriting Competition, being selected as a finalist, and gaining 3rd place for the David Richwhite Lyric Award (judged by Don McGlashan).
Georgie Clifford
Hailing from Ōtautahi, Gee is a musician and songwriter whose music shines jazz and hip hop influences through a (painfully) self-aware lens. Having worked alongside and under the tutelage of Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest) for her first project and accompanying Bruno Major (UK) on his last world tour, her writing aims to transmute shared experiences into sound; to create a vignette for the listener to live in for that moment.
Adelaide Dunn
Ōtepoti songwriter/producer Adelaide Dunn (they/them) first made an impact on the scene for their production and performances with Repulsive Woman's album Relief (winner of the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut at the 2020 Taite Music Prize awards), and as the vocalist for Ōtepoti’s post-punk sweethearts, Milpool (2018 - 2019). Their 2021 album How Does This Sound? became an earworm, with three singles featuring in Student Radio and NZ Music Charts alike, with ‘Moonlit’ reaching #3 on the 2021 SRN Top 10. The album went on to be nominated for the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut at the 2022 Taite Music Prize awards.
ZËxÏÏ
Producer, choreographer, songwriter and artist ZËxÏÏ (pronouced ‘Zee‘) has a combination of talents unlike any other currently making things happen in Aotearoa. An inaugural recipient of a SIX60 scholarship, ZËxÏÏ has been busy building a scene based around his combination of dream-pop and RnB sensibilities and messages of inclusivity, agape and the power of music. A born performer, ZËxÏÏ brings a sound and look that makes him shine on any stage.
Calla Knudson
Calla is a solo female artist project fronted by Calla Knudson, an operatically trained singer whose musical soundscape encompasses ethereal vocals, piano, violin, and deep bass topped with cinematic production. Drawing influences from the worlds of folk, pop, and opera, Calla explores a new genre of music she calls 'Bass Popera'. In October last year, Calla released her debut self-produced album 'My Body of Water' to a sell out show in Ōtepoti Dunedin, which she subsequently toured around Te Wai Pounamu.
Alayna Powley
alayna is a singer/songwriter originally from Rotorua, New Zealand. Her debut EP Sweet Soul released in 2018 included production and collaborations with international artists FINNEAS and Astronomyy which amassed over 20 million streams on Spotify alone. Her follow up independently released Tender EP saw Alayna move further into her songwriting abilities and R&B tinged, organic sound with standout tracks such as 'Glowing' and 'Sugar'. Now set to release her debut album in 2023, alayna continues to lean into her self-exploration, self actualisation and vulnerability through her songwriting and life experiences that shape her.
Kahu McLean
Te Kahurangi McLean is a young singer songwriter born and raised in Dunedin who picked up the guitar for the first time when he was 11. Since taking his craft seriously in Highschool, Kahu McLean competed in multiple rock quests while gigging in Dunedin. Kahu shares, "I use music as a way to express my emotions and tell different stories through my lyrics and more importantly to connect myself to other people. It is a huge honour to be accepted into song hubs."
Mads Harrop
Mads Harrop is a singer-songwriter, composer and musician from the Waitaki Valley in North Otago, New Zealand. Her first song 'Contagious World' written during lock down in 2020 went to number one on the New Zealand student radio Music Charts. Her songs are joyous and poignant and have garnered a lot of critical acclaim. The Mads Harrop Band has supported international acts such as The Chats, Reb fountain, Ha the Unclear and many others. Mads writes songs that are mostly about the challenges she faces, and ideas to do with Neurodiversity (she has Asperger's, Anxiety and Tourette's Syndrome). In between Gigs, work and play Mads is an Hons Student at University of Otago.
Chris Wethey
Chris Wethey is an Ōtautahi-based award-winning producer and bassist. He has collaborated with a wide range of artists and has released two EPs under the moniker Chris William. He recently won the APRA Maioha Award with AJA and Byllie-Jean for their waiata ‘Te Iho’.
Abby Wolfe
Abby Wolfe writes it as she feels it. It is this raw honesty and vulnerability paired with a quiet, yet undeniable, confidence in the Dunedin artist’s sound that commands attention. Abby’s power ballads and upbeat pop bangers sit comfortably in playlists alongside some of the biggest artists in the world. And although her sound and style place her squarely in the pop realm, her heartfelt songs with their conversational-style lyrics and supercharged vocals, also take her into a genre-free territory, where it’s simply her talent for songwriting that shines through.
GUEST WRITERS
MISSY
CURATOR
Sam Trevethick
