NEW ZEALAND @ BIGSOUND 2017

August 31st 2017
The New Zealand Music Commission is proud to present the following NZ acts that I have been selected by BIGSOUND to play the 2017 event: Bespin, Merk, October, and Yoko-Zuna. Also performing around Brisbane the same week are indie-folk band, Alae.

Listen to a Spotify playlist for all five acts HERE

BESPIN

When Cut Off Your Hands guitarist Jonathan Lee felt the pull to flex his own material, Bespin was born. Named for a secluded, hazy gas giant, Bespin explore their own secret realm of psychedelic post-rock through the science of sound. Proffering precisely deconstructed guitars and muscular, psychedelic grooves, Bespin combine impeccable pop songwriting with brain-melting hi-fi sonic washes. Think My Bloody Valentine by way of Talk Talk; an 80s crooner splashed with a droll dollop of Suede-esque Brit-pop. Lee's lithe vocals sear incisively through delicately built walls of sound; deftly maneuvering around anthemic guitar riffs and succinctly storming rhythms.

SHOWCASES:
Wednesday 6 September - BIGSOUND, The Zoo -8pm
Thursday 7 September - BIGSOUND, The Brightside - 9.50pm
Thursday 7 September - BIGSOUND, Leftys - 11.45pm

FIND BESPIN:
Facebook | facebook.com/perfecthibernation
Twitter | twitter.com/_bespin
Instagram | Instagram.com/_bespin
Bandcamp | bespin.bandcamp.com

PRAISE FOR BESPIN:
‘driving rhythms, blistering drums and swirling lyricism that combine into a mighty fine debut offering' - Under the Radar
‘a wall of sound. You can feel it in your fuckin chest.'- New Gum Sarn, Noisey
"Their songs are hypnotic, a delicious hybrid of psychedelic-indie-shoegaze-rock." - Ambient Light.
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MERK

From a dark basement below Auckland, New Zealand come the colourful sounds of unassuming wonderkid, Merk. His debut album, Swordfish, was written, produced, performed, recorded and mixed, by Merk. As a body of work, it sensitively rides the line of being homespun at heart while retaining hi-fi pop sensibilities. On the surface Swordfish is an album of whimsical, psychedellic alt-pop tunes, however beneath the glitchy childlike exterior is a depth of emotion and musical complexity that sets this debut apart from the status quo. With his songs now out in the daylight, Merk received the 2017 Taite Award for Best Independent Debut with Swordfish, travelled to Montreal for the Red Bull Music Academy 2016 and has just returned from playing in Europe.

SHOWCASES:
Tuesday September 5th - BIGSOUND Mane Stage, Woolly Mammoth - 8:10pm
Wednesday September 6th - BIGSOUND The Foundry - 8:20pm

FIND MERK:
Email | merksongs@gmail.com
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/merkscoolsongs
Twitter | https://twitter.com/merkscoolsongs
Soundcloud | https://soundcloud.com/merkscoolsongs
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/merkperk/
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YOKO-ZUNA

Formed out of the ashes from one of Auckland's most musically-creative hubs, Yoko-Zuna have in three short years established themselves as one of the most exciting bands in New Zealand. With their combination of unique electronic and hip-hop compositions, and a live show which is rarely bettered, Yoko-Zuna is an act with talent to burn.

With the release of their debut album, This Place Here, in 2015, Yoko-Zuna announced themselves to the greater music scene with an album showcasing a sound which hasn't been previously seen in NZ - sub-electronic frequencies, melodic moments, and immense bass-synth-fuelled drops. The album combined Yoko-Zuna's unique instrumental sound with some of the country's most talented vocalists including David Dallas, Bailey Wiley and Team Dynamite, and in turn created a huge queue of willing collaborators

SHOWCASES:
Tuesday September 5th - BIGSOUND Mane Stage, Woolly Mammoth- 11:30pm
Wednesday September 6th - BIGSOUND Themusic.com.au Stage, The Flying Cock - 7:50pm
Thursday 7 September - BIGSOUND, Lefty's

FIND YOKO-ZUNA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yokozunabeats
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/yokozunabeats
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yokozunabeats/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yokozunabeats

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OCTOBER

A 20-year-old music school dropout from the South Island of New Zealand who writes, records and produces her own music. Her dark pop sound draws on post-punk elements and places it in a modern, electronic setting with percussion driven and synth orientated beats. Since the buzz for her first commercial single ‘Cherry Cola' built, October has landed support and touring slots with Broods, Maala, Lonatlius and Young Lean and spent time in the studio with Alex Wildwood, Joel Little and Thom Powers of The Naked & Famous and she is now ready to share her singular vision with a steadily growing audience around the globe.

FIND OCTOBER:
Website: http://www.page1management.com/artists/october
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/octobrmusic/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/octob_r/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OCTOB_R

SHOWCASES:
Tuesday September 5th - BIGSOUND Mane Stage, Woolly Mammoth- 9:50pm
Wednesday September 6th - BIGSOUND Ric's Big Backyard - 9:50pm

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ALAE

Folk inspired outfit, Alae, is what you get when you mix multi-instrumentalists Alex Farrell-Davey and Allister Meffan; two old high school mates who are talented musicians in their own right, but when they come together, it's something else entirely. They are an emerging, New Zealand band with a world-class sound that needs to be experienced to be understood.

Alae aren't the status quo, they're not sugar-coated or created in a lab - they got together because, for them, jamming together just feels right. And you'll feel that in everything you hear - an emotive brand of soulful sound.

FIND ALAE:
Website | http://alae.band
Facebook | https://facebook.com/alaeofficial
Instagram | https://instagram.com/alaeofficial
Soundcloud | https://soundcloud.com/alaeofficial
Bandcamp | https://alae.bandcamp.com
Youtube | www.youtube.com/channel/UCIq5peVefeonPCItiDsEcCg/feed

SHOWS:
Wednesday September 6th - BIGSOUND The 2nd Annual Going Underground At Bigsound Party Presented By Footstomp Music - Greaser - 7pm
Thursday September 7th - BIGSOUND Lefty's Old Time Music Hall, Petrie Terrace - From 8pm

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Media enquiries should be directed to international@nzmusic.org.nz.

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