We're delighted to announce the songwriters who will be taking part in SongHubs Ōtautahi | Christchurch, at the Christchurch Arts Centre from 22-26 March:
Curator
Delaney Davidson / Lyttelton
One of the most distinctive figures in the NZ musical landscape, Delaney is an NZ Arts Foundation Laureate Recipient and winner of a myriad of other local and international awards including Berlin’s 2010 Sad Song Competition and Zurich’s One Man Band competition.
His inspirations range from Hank Williams and Howlin’ Wolf to The Birthday Party, Johnny Cash and Buster Keaton. Revelling in the darker side of things, Davidson’s lyrical content dredges up classic murder ballads. His collaborators as a producer, performer and writer include Marlon Williams, Aldous Harding, Troy Kingi and Tami Neilson.
Guests
Julia Deans / Auckland
Since the beginning of her career as the lead singer of Fur Patrol, Julia has created an iconic catalogue as a solo artist, performer and writer, and gathered a myriad of accolades and awards.
Her collaborators include Jon Toogood, Shayne Carter, Ladi 6, SJD, Anika Moa and Neil Finn. She’s performed in numerous festival shows paying tribute to the likes of Jaques Brel, Joni Mitchell and Shakespeare; and reimagined her songs in performance with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
Troy Kingi / Kerikeri
Winner of the Taite Music Prize in 2020 for his album ‘Holy Colony Burning Acres’, Troy is an acclaimed actor, teacher and multi-genre musician.
Currently nearing the midpoint of his epic journey to release 10 albums in 10 genres in 10 years (1O 1O 1O Series), Troy has collaborated with a huge number of NZ artists and musicians including Stan Walker, Ria Hall and Maisey Rika - with whom he won a Maioha award for the Reo Māori anthem ‘Aotearoa’.
Tami Neilson / Auckland
Described by Rolling Stone magazine as a “fire-breathing belter on her own terms”, Tami grew up performing across North America with the Neilson Family Band, working alongside country greats such as Johnny Cash.
Her numerous awards and accolades include the APRA Silver Scroll, multiple AMA’s, sold out tours and rave reviews from publications including Rolling Stone, MOJO and the Guardian.
Jol Mullholland / Auckland
With over 20 years experience covering a wide range of musical ventures, Jol has worked around the world as a performer, sound engineer, producer, composer and session musician.
As well as his own solo projects, he’s collaborated with a long list of New Zealand’s finest, including Tami Neilson, all of the Finns, Barry Saunders, Delaney Davidson, Anika Moa, Connan Mockasin and more.
Participants (14)
Ashy / Christchurch
Ashy Batchelor is a pop artist with over 2 million streams across Spotify & Apple Music. She has worked with top producers across both sides of the Tasman including Josh Fountain (BENEE) & Liam Quinn (Guy Sebastian). Her 2020 single 'EGO' was added to Apple Music's Top 100 Songs of 2020.
Brooke Singer / Wellington
Brooke Singer’s band - French for Rabbits – have seven international tours under their belt and have appeared in festivals from Iceland to Austin, performing alongside Agnes Obel and New Zealand luminaries including Lorde, Marlon Williams, Tiny Ruins and Nadia Reid. Their music has featured on TV series’ including The Vampire Diaries, and Being Human.
Byllie-Jean / Christchurch
Byllie-Jean Zeta / Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, has been performing in Otautahi for a decade with The Byllie-Jean Project, and in freestyle house bands. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Ara and teaches lyric writing. She is currently collaborating with Aja Ropata on a single – ‘Te Iho’ and working to showcase Māori women in music.
Chris William / Christchurch
Bassist and vocalist Chris William, has collaborated wide range of artists, including Holly Arrowsmith, Nick Dow and Emily Browning amongst others. As a producer and songwriter he’s recently been collaborating with Byllie-Jean Zeta and Wairere Ropata.
Name UL / Wellington
Emmanuel Psathas - Name UL - is a Wellington based hip hop artist who has recently returned from London. Since He has performed at Rhythm & Vines, Soundsplash and 121 and opened for Mac Miller, Jurassic 5 and Vince Staples. His collaborators include Drax Project, K-Lab, Eno x Dirty & Yancey, and Ariana Tikao.
Emma Dilemma / Christchurch
Emma Cameron - of the band ‘Decades’ - has been writing and performing in rock bands since she was 15. She’s recently completed 11 solo songs under the handle ‘Emma Dilemma’ which are set for release this year.
Harry Parsons / Auckland
Since winning the national solo/duo category of Smokefree Rockquest in 2013, Harry Parsons has been writing and performing extensively. He’s opened for Tim Finn, and Tash Sultana, debuted on Spotify’s New Music Friday and hit #3 on the NZ Singles chart with his single ‘Complicate’.
Jenny Mitchell / Dunedin
Jenny Mitchell won the NZ Gold Guitar at 18 years old and has since toured Ireland & Australia, released two albums and a live EP. She’s opened for Tami Neilson and Julia Deans, as well as selling out her own national tours in 2019 and 2020.
Josie Moon / Wellington
Josie Moon’s first single – ‘Satellite’ was featured on MTV and Coup de Main. She’s played the main stage at Rhythm & Vines and opened for Tash Sultana. Her second single 'After Hours' hit #9 on Viral NZ 50 Chart and her follow up EP received a 4/5 star rating in NZ Herald and went to #1 in the Czech Republic.
Mark Vanilau / Christchurch
Winner of the 2014 Pacific Music Award for Best Song, Mark Vanilau counts Troy Kingi, Mara TK, Dave Dobbyn, Warren Maxwell, Tom Scott and Hollie Smith among his collaborators. He’s recently recorded an album with Tribalincs, and composed and recorded music for the theatre production 'A Boy Called Piano' with The Conch Theatre company.
Mad Frank / Christchurch
Born into a musical family, Raquel Thomas – otherwise known as Mad Frank - is a singer/songwriter with a strong interest in creating experimental sounds and song structures. She has been releasing music on Bandcamp for the last 2 years, slowly building an audience via the internet.
Mousey / Christchurch
A finalist for Best Independent Debut at the Taite Awards in 2020, Sarena Close – Mousey – was a Top 20 finalist for the APRA Silver Scroll in 2019 with her song ‘Extreme Highs’. She’s toured New Zealand and Australia, has opened for The Beths, and performed and recorded with Tami Neilson.
Vallé / Christchurch
Originally from Papua New Guinea, Tali Jenkinson – Vallé – moved to New Zealand as a child to be treated for malaria and remains deeply connected to his culture. He released his first song ‘Love Me’ in 2018, and his recent mixtape ‘Care For Me’ was featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday, as well as on Apple Music and more than 1,000 other playlists.
Violet French / Christchurch
Violet French began her career as a solo performer in Dunedin before moving to Christchurch and becoming a key player in the indie rock scene as a member of Kool Aid, Contact Rock, Tacoma Mould and Dogfish. In 2019, Kool Aid’s ‘Family Portrait’ EP was released to local acclaim and featured in the ‘Sickest Smashes from Arson City’ compilation.
Other information:
A Writer’s Round will be held on Thursday March the 25th at THE LOONS – 7.00 pm – in Lyttelton, featuring all of our guests performing and talking about their work with moderator Victoria Kelly.
Free to APRA members.
SongHubs Aotearoa is a series of collaborative song-writing retreats that APRA AMCOS is presenting in five different locations across Aotearoa New Zealand during 2020 and 2021.
With the generous support and involvement of NZ On Air and the New Zealand Music Commission, we're delighted to be taking the program to Ōtautahi / Christchurch.
Each day the participants will form different groups and each group will write a new song together in a separate studio space. Each songwriter has the opportunity to be a 'lead' songwriter at least once, and will work with different guests during the week.
Our participants will also have the opportunity to work with Mātanga Reo to create lyrics in te reo Māori.
