APRA AMCOS with the generous support of NZ On Air and New Zealand Music Commission are delighted to announce SongHubs in Tāmaki Makaurau for March 2024. The five-day songwriting retreat is curated by acclaimed songwriter Brooke Fraser.
Today, we announce the 12 artists and producers chosen by Brooke to take part in the 5-day songwriting retreat at Roundhead Studios in Auckland.
AUBRIE MITCHELL
Aubrie Mitchell (writer/producer/artist) is passionate about making waves in the music scene and is currently working as part of the in-house studio team at BIG FAN.
Based in Tamaki Makaurau, Aubrie completed her Bachelor of Music from The University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau in 2021 and majored in Classical Theory and Music Production. Her first foray into Aotearoa’s music industry was via the Music Production development stream through the IGNITE programme in 2018 where she was mentored by NZ Producer Of the Year (2019 & 2020) Josh Fountain (BENEE, LEISURE).
Aubrie has worked in studio with an array of local and international artists such as Alayna, Stan Walker, Rita Ora, TEEKS, Troy Kingi, Ria Hall and Kenedi Anderson to name a few. Over the last few months, Aubrie has travelled to LA to work with promising artists and is actively looking to develop young talent around Aotearoa and beyond. She signed with Page 1 Management and Dryden Music Publishing as a writer / producer / and artist with hopes to release her own music this year, as well as work on as many music projects that come her way.
BROOKE SINGER
Brooke Singer is a songwriter, performer, producer and educator based in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara. She is best known for her work fronting dream-pop band French for Rabbits who have released several well-received EP's and albums including their latest In the End I Won't Be Coming Home which came out in November 2023 featuring the Black Quartet. She has collaborated with a number of other artists as a songwriter, producer or performer over the years (most recently in the Anthonie Tonnon and Flip Grater bands, and as a producer for upcoming artists). When she is not performing music herself, she teaches in the Commercial Music degree at Massey University.
GEORGIA LINES
Emerging as a prominent figure in the vibrant Aotearoa music scene, Georgia Lines is swiftly establishing herself as a household name in New Zealand and a rising global sensation. Known for her infectious personality, chart-topping hits, enchanting vocals, and irresistibly catchy R&B-infused pop, Georgia has captivated a steadily growing fanbase. The momentum from 2022, where Georgia secured the Breakthrough Artist of the Year title at the Aotearoa Music Awards (AMA's) and earned a Best Pop Artist nomination alongside luminaries like Lorde and Benee, carried into 2023. Her EP "HUMAN" soared to the summit of the Official Top 20 NZ Album charts and gained over 7 million streams, with the lead single 'Faith' dominating Aotearoa's airwaves, achieving Most Added status on Radioscope charts and holding the #1 NZ Airplay for a remarkable four consecutive weeks.
GRACIE MOLLER
Doused with indie pop sensibilities and the perfect splash of melodrama, Gracie spent her childhood and adolescence in recording sessions honing her skills and songwriting craft and carving out her own musical path. Following the high of her Debut single ‘mess for you’ released in March of 2023, which garnered the attention of UK boy band ‘Only The Poets,’ Gracie embarked on a UK/EU tour supporting supporting them playing to crowds of up to 2000 people in Cologne, Amsterdam, Antwerp, and London at the iconic shepherds bush empire. She has sinced continued to roll out her debut EP 'didn't peak at 17' including singles such as 'wasn't gonna last forever' and 'make it right' which garnered radio play from Pop stations such as 'The Edge,' 'ZM,' and even QMusic in Belgium. She played her very first sold out headline show in Amsterdam on the 12th of October, the day before her debut EP 'didn't peak at 17' released. She was featured in Rolling Stone's 'Up and Coming Aotearoa Artists' series who pinned her as a 'fledgling pop star'
JAMES MILNE/LAWRENCE ARABIA
Lawrence Arabia is the pseudonym of Christchurch, New Zealand-born singer-songwriter James Milne. Since the release of his first album in 2006, he has become one of the pre-eminent figures of New Zealand’s musical landscape, releasing five critically acclaimed and garlanded solo albums alongside a variety of diverse collaborative work.
Alongside his solo albums, James/Lawrence has maintained a range of side projects including the collaborative projects BARB (with Connan Mockasin, Liam Finn and Eliza-Jane Barnes) and Fabulous/Arabia (with Michael August of Lord Echo), which released records in 2009 and 2011 respectively. James has also composed scores for film, theatre and television, including pieces for Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s vampire mockumentary “What We Do In The Shadows,” sung in the choir for Neil Finn’s “Out Of Silence” album and live performances, co-written with Bic Runga, co-produced part of Connan Mockasin’s “Forever Dolphin Love” album and co-created the psychedelic botanical comedy podcast, “The Mysterious Secrets Of Uncle Bertie’s Botanarium,” starring Jemaine Clement as Joseph Banks and Lawrence Arabia as his devoted and long-suffering assistant, Sydney Solander.
James is also one third of new electro/psych group Half Hexagon alongside Yolanda Fagan (Na Noise) and Julien Dyne (Circling Sun, Avantdale Bowling Club).
JOEL JONES
Joel Jones is an award-winning producer and songwriter based in Tamaki Makaurau. Joel has quickly become a recognisable name in the Aoteoroa production scene having worked with well-known kiwi favourites such as Alayna, Balu Brigada and Will Swinton. He's also played a key role in the development of promising local acts such as Brody Leigh, Taylor Roche, Yahyah and many more. With over 50 releases in the last two years alone, Joel has established himself as someone able to take an artistic vision and enhance it with his unique brand of honest songwriting and forward-thinking production.
KAYLEE BELL
Kaylee Bell is a Country Pop Artist originally from New Zealand moving to Australia at age 21 where she kick started her career by winning the prestigious Toyota Star Maker crown. With over 40 million streams, Bell is the 'Most Streamed Female Country Artist' for Australasia and created history becoming the first ever ‘Independent Female Country Artist’ to be awarded ARIA Gold for ‘The Red EP’ featuring US Billboard hit single 'Keith' making Bell the first Female Country Artist in 20 years since Kasey Chambers.
Bell spent 2023 on Ed Sheeran’s ‘Mathematics’ Stadium World Tour playing six sold out shows across NZ, won a CMA Award for Global Country Artist at the 2023 CMA Awards in Nashville and her single ‘BOOTS’ became a Top 20 crossover hit on NZ Pop radio.
After performing original song ‘Keith’ written as a tribute to coach Keith Urban on The Voice Australia, the song has become a global hit with over 60 million tik tok plays, over 20 million Spotify plays, hit the US Billboard Charts at #12 on Country Digital Sales and spent five weeks at #1 spot on the Australia Country Radio Official chart.
Bell has spent the past 14 years back and forth to Nashville, opened for The Chicks, Ed Sheeran and Brad Paisley and is a winner of APRA Best Country Song and NZ Best Country Album.
Bell recently relocated to Nashville and as an independent, self managed artist and is a force to be reckoned amongst artists on an international level.
MI-KAISHA
“Mi-kaisha’s voice is just like silk,” says Triple J’s Tyrone Pynor. With her honey vocals at centre stage, the NYC-via-Sydney vocalist draws equally from soul tradition and pop melody, guided by hard-hitting lyrics about her experience as a young Aboriginal and Pacific Islander woman. Growing up on the streets of her local music scene, the soundtrack of her childhood included soulful 90s tunes and the island music of her father’s Koori Radio hip-hop show “Island Hopping.”
“My existence is super political, but my music totally doesn’t seem so at first glance,” says Mi-kaisha. “And I think there's power in that.” As an artist and storyteller, Mi-kaisha is also an advocate with a responsibility to actively support her communities and work against the systems that have perpetually oppressed Pacific Islanders and First Nations Peoples in Australia. Splitting her time between Warang (Sydney) and Lenapehoking (New York City), Mi-kaisha has just completed her Bachelors at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, NYU. The vocalist and songwriter has just released her single ‘Eternity’ and is preparing to release more music in 2024.
NIC MANDERS
Multi-faceted music maker Nic Manders takes home the prize for liner note mentions. He’s worked with most of the industry’s national treasures (Brooke Fraser, Six60, Goldenhorse & Katchafire) on some of the country's most recognised albums, running all sides of the desk in the roles of producer, mixer, engineer and session musician. More recently Manders has been sonically responsible for stunning projects by ZED, Georgia Lines and Mōhau. As a composer for film and television, he's created the soundtrack to countless iconic campaigns and provided production music for some of the country's biggest TV shows. Nic's also curated music for high-end corporate events across New Zealand, from bespoke string sections to pop-up orchestras. Recent Projects Future You - ZED - (2023) Reached #19 on Hot 20 NZ Singles chartsI Like You - YAHYAH feat. MOHI (2023)30K+ streams Tōku Tuakiri - Nikau Grace (2023)150K+ streams RWC France (2023) Title trackPepeha – SIX60 (2021)Reached #1 on Hot 20 NZ Singles & Official Top 20 NZ Singles charts10M+ streamsHine Ruhi / Slice Of Heaven - Dave Dobbyn (2021) Reached #7 on Hot 20 NZ Singles
NY OH
Worcestershire-born, Aotearoa raised, LA-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ny Oh is an artist who works at the root of feeling, of consciousness, and of spirit. Ny Oh has shouldered numerous musical projects from Ny Oh’s own solo music, to fronting jazz-psychedelic outfit Neon Gru, to carrying backing vocals on Harry Styles’s record breaking stadium tour.
Since the release of acclaimed EP “Ny Oh’s Garden of Eden” and captivating single “You Are” she has had support from BBC Radio 1, 1News, NZMusician, BBC 6Music, Rolling Stone, Spotify’s Fresh Finds, Apple New Music Daily (NZ/AUS), Double J and more and has gone on to play headline residencies across the UK, Europe, USA and NZ, including an opening slot for Harry Styles at his Auckland Mt Smart Stadium show.
PAIGE
Paige is an award-winning singer-songwriter from Auckland, who has won the world over with her honest and heartfelt songs. In 2020, she released her debut EP, ALWAYS GROWING, which included the singles ‘Too Much To H8’ and ‘Waves’, and dominated the NZ Official Charts; hitting top 10 radio airplay in New Zealand. The EP went on to achieve Platinum accreditation in South Korea last year.
Released October 2023, her debut album KING CLOWN was written predominantly by Paige herself and produced by Simon Gooding (P!NK, Dua Lipa). The record takes listeners through a wide sonic range of RnB, Pop Punk, Electronic, Soul and acoustic influences. The album debuted at #2 on the NZ albums charts and Paige embarked on her first ever headline tour in Australia before returning to Aotearoa for a 4-date nationwide tour, which saw a viral moment when a young fan honoured the artist with a breath-taking haka at her Mt Maunganui show.
ROB RUHA
In high demand as the most decorated Māori Music export from Aotearoa-New Zealand, Rob Ruha is a boundary breaking artist.
He brings indigenous music into Pop-Culture with sold out live shows, major commercial radio airplay, charting success and multi-award-winning titles in Aotearoa, NZ.
Possessing the rare genius of creating undeniable multi-lingual music with broad international appeal, Rob is a viral sensation with hits like ‘35’ and ‘Taera’ racking up millions of views and streams.
“Taera glistens with authentic Aotearoa roots.” (The Rolling Stone)
A powerhouse of progressive Māori music, his third album “Preservation of Scenery” won Best RnB Album at the Aotearoa Music Awards and attracted global attention with the opening track ‘Taera’ hitting number 1# on the Pacific Top 20 Charts while single ‘That’s where I’ll be’ went to number 1 in Aotearoa.
Matt Hales is a Grammy, Dove and Ivor Novello Award winning songwriter, producer and recording artist based in London, UK.
As a writer/producer Matt is best known for his longtime partnership with Lianne La Havas, working closely on all 3 of her albums to date. He has also worked with Disclosure, Mika, Bat For Lashes, Tom Chaplin (Keane), Elmiene, Sara Bareilles, Reignwolf, Paloma Faith, Mikky Ekko, For King & Country, Mansionair, Kina Grannis and many others.
Most recently Matt collaborated with Olivia Dean producing and co-writing much of her acclaimed debut album Messy.
Matt’s beloved artist project Aqualung is listened to all over the world and is now 7 albums old. The most recent record was ‘Dead Letters’ released in 2022.
Shungudzo is an artist, producer and writer whose belief that art can pave the road to a better future, stems from growing up in a dictatorship without freedom of speech.
Her critically acclaimed debut solo album “I’m not a mother, but I have children” premiered on The Zane Lowe Show and was featured in publications such as Billboard, People, Essence, and Paste Magazine.
Shungudzo’s credits include writing, producing and performing on four songs on Angelique Kidjo’s Grammy-winning album Mother Nature; writing 10 songs on Jessie Ware’s BRIT Album of the Year-nominated project What’s Your Pleasure; and writing and producing across Ware’s follow-up album That! Feels Good!, which was nominated for a 2023 Mercury Prize.
Other credits include writing and featuring on Rudimental's ‘Toast To Our Differences’, Chiiid’s ‘Back to Life’, Oliver Helden’s #1 Billboard Dance song ‘Fire In My Soul’, and vocally featuring on Jim James' album, Eternally Even. Additionally, she has co-written songs for Stormzy, Little Mix, Victoria Monet, Pete Tong, Teddy Swims, MØ, Joy Oladokun, Kylie Minogue, The Chainsmokers, Jess Mauboy, Alina Baraz, Gryffin, TMS, Bantu, Wrabel, L. Devine, Yuna, The Record Company, Cosmos Midnight and more. She is also a member of dance collective, KUU, alongside artist/producers Alex Metric and Riton. Their songs have been remixed by the likes of Diplo and TSHA.
Long before becoming a musician, Shun was the first woman of colour to compete on the Zimbabwean artistic gymnastics team. She is also currently developing multiple feature films/musicals.
JOL MULHOLLAND
Jol Mulholland, a seasoned musician and producer hailing from Christchurch and now based in Auckland, has been refining his craft for over two decades. From discovering a guitar at age eleven to mastering multiple instruments, composing, producing, and engineering music, Jol's journey is a testament to his dedication and talent.
Starting with solo songwriting, Jol's musical ventures have spanned indie bands like Gasoline Cowboy and The Mots, as well as solo projects resulting in albums like "Mulholland" and "Eugene Told Me You Were Dead." Praised for his indie-pop and rock sensibilities, Jol's music is marked by catchy melodies and hooks.
Jol's achievements include two Tui awards for production and engineering, along with a Silver Scroll nomination for his single "Perfect Health" in 2015. He's collaborated with a diverse range of artists, bringing his expertise as a music producer to the forefront. His contributions extend beyond music production, encompassing mentorship programs and composing for various media.
Whether in his Auckland studio, The Oven, or collaborating with artists globally, Jol's impact as a skilled composer and music producer resonates throughout the music industry.
Jol has worked with a long list of well-known local and international artists including Daffodils, Anna Coddington, Tami Neilson, Anika Moa, Neil Finn, Liam Finn, Elroy Finn, Troy Kingi, Theia, Alae, Racing, Pluto, Rhian Sheehan, French for Rabbits (Brooke Singer), Lydia Cole, Hopetoun Brown, Andrew Keoghan, Motocade, and many more.
BROOKE FRASER (CURATOR)
Brooke is one of Aotearoa’s most lauded songwriters.
She was the 2007 winner of the APRA Silver Scroll for Albertine and has four times been awarded APRA’s Most Performed Work in NZ and twice been awarded APRA’s Most Performed Work overseas award.
Brooke has nine Aotearoa Music Awards to her name, including International Achievement, throughout a career where she has enjoyed massive commercial success. She has multiple platinum awards for her worldwide hit Something in the Water - a top 10 radio song across Europe - and topped the album, single and radio charts in New Zealand numerous times.
Her 2003 debut What To Do With Daylight is one of the best selling local albums of all time – reaching eight times platinum in her home country. Five of her songs have hit number one on the country’s Radioscope 100 airplay chart.
Brooke released three more acclaimed studio albums, Albertine, Flags, Brutal Romantic, two compilation albums (A Sides and B Sides) and has just released her second album as Brooke Ligertwood (her married name), titled EIGHT.
Her Brooke Ligertwood songwriting catalogue spans multiple dozens of titles that have been been streamed globally more than seven billion times, translated into over 15 languages and topped charts with two Number 1’s and several Top 25’s. These works include “King of Kings” (which she performed on USA’s “The Today Show” in 2019), “Honey in the Rock” (which she performed on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” in 2022), “A Thousand Hallelujahs” and “What A Beautiful Name”, the song for which she won her first Grammy Award in 2018. Her song “I Will Exalt You” also featured on the 2023 Grammy winning album in the CCM Album of the Year category.