Music Industry News

The last six months have been a strong run for Amamelia, she has reigned supreme on the 95bFM Top 10 and Aotearoa’s Alternative Radio, been celebrated on the Aotearoa Hot Singles Chart, and featured in Rolling Stone, Sniffers, NZ Listener and undertheradar.co.nz. Recently Amamelia was honoured with a profile by Martyn Pepperell for Audioculture.co.nz and spoke at the Future of Arts, Culture & Technology Symposium at ACMI alongside Michael Brown (Music Curator at Alexander Turnbull Library).

Fans have had the pleasure of sitting with singles ‘The Floating Opera’, ‘Summerlong’, ‘Theme From Living’ and ‘(Listen To) The Sound Of the Wind’ and now can take in the full listening experience with her new album The Joy of Living. To celebrate Amamelia has made the return journey home to Tāmaki Makaurau where she will perform tonight at Whammy Bar with support from Baby Zionov, Samara Alofa, and, after a 20 year hiatus, the return of Kiss and Make Up Club DJs Lazy Mama and Dustin Diamanté. Tickets are available now from Undertheradar.co.nz.

Amamelia invites listeners to take a deep breath, be present and appreciate the never ending cycle of life & death. The album is a joyous cacophony of big squelchy synth melodies (like the ones you’d find on a junk-shop Moog record) boops, beeps, echoes, delays, fuzzed out guitar solos and field recordings. The Joy Of Living features appearances from Amamelia’s frequent collaborator Madison van Staden (Van Staden & Böhm, Yarn) along with Carla Camilleri (c cada), Moe McGlashan (Bandicoot, FIMO), Hannah Renwick and Sunreturn label mate Baby Zionov.

“Just before I made Bananamelia! I was diagnosed with a chronic illness that made it difficult for me to play music,” Berry. “At the time I genuinely thought it was the last album I’d ever get to make. After a few years and a bunch of medications, making a new album for me was a chance to try and relearn how to play instruments, so where Bananamelia! was a real computer album, The Joy Of Living is an album where I’m trying to play and make everything from scratch.”

“Also, I started hearing pop songs with break beats at the supermarket so I thought maybe it was time to try something else.”

Upon listening to The Joy Of Living, listeners will be reminded of the feeling of the warm sun their face, the smell of fresh cut grass and the love of friends and family. “I think it’s just always worth reflecting on that being alive is this incredible, fleeting gift and while you’re alive you’ve gotta make the most of it, you’ve got to do your best to change the world and to make beautiful things. I think when I was younger I would have thought that was corny or whatever but yeah I think I just wanted to make music that was totally uncynical and joyful.”

“I think that message on the back of the album is important to understanding the name like…. ‘in truth the earth will one day become a place of healing. No prisons. No cops. No colonies’ I think for me the joy of living is believing that we can build a better world, a spirit of change and growth.”

With the albums released Amelia reflects “I’m really proud of this album. I think it’s weird, messy, overwhelming and all over the place. I don’t know if I could make an album like this again but I’m glad I made it this time.”

To celebrate the release of The Joy Of Living Amamelia will return to Auckland to perform at Whammy Bar on April 17 with support from Baby Zionov, Samara Alofa + Kiss & Make Up Club DJs.

“I absolutely had to come back home for the album release, I wouldn’t do it any other way. Tāmaki has always been so generous to me and my music and I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather celebrate. So much of this album is about Auckland or has the sounds of Auckland in it so it just makes sense.”

Tickets are are available from Undertheradar.co.nz

Check out all things Amamelia below:
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Amamelia is the musical project of Amelia Berry (she/her), a musician and songwriter from Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) who is currently based in Naarm (Melbourne). Amamelia’s award winning catalogue (2024 Te Manu Taki Tāhiko o te Tau (Best Electronic Artist) – Aotearoa Music Awards, Favourite Solo Act Award – 2021 Student Radio Network Awards) explores electronica and breakbeat while experimenting with sapphic synthesis.

Amamelia has a wide discography of remixes, lending her hand at recontextualising songs by including Hallelujah Picassos, Imugi 이무기, Samara Alofa & PollyHill, Null Object, Grecco Romank and Baby Zionov. Outside of Amamelia, Berry is involved with musical acts Babyteeth, Van Staden & Böhm (VSB), the Forbin Project, Fimo and Gayblade. In the past she’s been the mastermind behind the romantic jangle of Polyester (who were recently covered by The Beths), and one third of queer DJ trio PWB.