AWME 2013

November 15th 2013
AWME (Australasian Worldwide Music Expo) will take place in Melbourne from 14 - 17 November, 2013.

AWME (Australasian Worldwide Music Expo) will take place in Melbourne from 14 - 17 November, 2013.

Celebrating its sixth year in 2013, AWME has cemented itself as the southern hemisphere's premier roots music industry showcase, conference and trade event. The primary emphasis of the event is to provide a platform to foster stronger relationships with music industry associates by bringing together musicians, industry partners/representatives and festival audiences from all corners of the globe for four days of non-stop music, networking, film screenings and conference sessions.

The following New Zealand acts have been selected by AWME to play the 2013 event: Whiri Tu Aka, Mark Vanilau, Hollie Smith, Sola Rosa and Sons Of Zion.


Whiri Tu Aka

Te Reo Māori is a language built for music, and music is built into the language.
Sung entirely in Te Reo Māori (Māori language), Whiri Tū Aka is a strong reflection of the cultural pride and revitalisation that has been occurring in Aotearoa in recent years.

Whiri Tū Aka are Gaynor Rikihana, Kirsten Te Rito, Betty-Anne Monga, Lisa Tomlins and Mina Ripia.

As an artist and a producer it has always been a dream of Mina's to create a Māori a-capella body of work.

In 2012 she decided to approach four talented, beautiful, and powerful women to join her to create Whiri Tū Aka.

As individual artists they have all brought a wealth of experience, dynamics, knowledge and passion to the creation of Whiri Tū Aka.

As a producer Mina strives to craft a distinctive Māori voice that is traditional in its inspiration, creativity, innovation and that is unique, authentic and sounds like where it originates.

These are the qualities that are the essence and the sound of Whiri Tū Aka.

Mark Vanilau

Samoan Mark Vanilau is a multi-instrumentalist with a velveteen voice and a unique approach to harmonies. Best-known in New Zealand as a session musician (he's a regular member of Dave Dobbyn's band, and has played with Trinity Roots, Hollie Smith, Eru Dangerspiel, Ladi 6 and Scribe) he has stepped into the spotlight with his new band and a wealth of songs.

His first single ‘Giant of the Sea' spoke of the tradition of passing life-stories down through the generations. The video was showcased on Coldplay.com and has already been synched for a doco/drama. He is about to release his debut EP, ‘Dark Horizon'.
Vanilau is being hailed as a new voice in NZ and has performed at Jazz and Arts' Festivals, with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, as support to Dave Dobbyn and recently formed a trio with Warren Maxwell (Trinity Roots/Little Bushman) and Louis Baker. He has been named in the new cast for NZ music collective ‘Fly My Pretties'.


Hollie Smith

Hollie smith is one of NZ's most predominant female musicians, this diminutive Pakeha, in her twenties, has the voice of "a big black mama from a Southern Baptist choir."

Over the last ten years she has toured internationally with her music and worked on numerous collaborations with other Artists including Fat Freddy's Drop, Trinity Roots, and Recloose. The 27-year-old performer who is a beloved star in her home country with her chart-topping 2006 single ‘Bathe in the River' set the stage for the 2007 release of Long Player which was put out on Smith's own SoundSmith Records label and was promoted and distributed by EMI in New Zealand, which has sold near double platinum there.

At the 2007 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, Smith won "Best Female Solo Artist," "Breakthrough Artist of the Year," "Best Aotearoa Roots Album" and "Best Producer". 2010 saw her releasing a second Album ‘Humour and the Misfortune of Others.' Which again landed at Number 1 on the NZ charts in the first week and received rave reviews and sell out shows nationwide and while a grounded spiritual essence imbues Smith's sultry songs and transcendent live performances, the press-dubbed "Kiwi soul sister" is always described as "beyond humble." Smith has opened for such prestigious international acts as Bob Dylan, Coldplay, and Simply Red.

Sola Rosa

With six albums under his belt, a raft of accolades and well over a decade of producing genre-splitting music, Andrew Spraggon's work as Sola Rosa has cemented him as one of the world's most exciting and versatile producers.

From a humble, self-released one man project, Sola Rosa has grown to a high-octane live collective, successfully melding hip hop, reggae, jazz, latin, soul and funk. The group have collaborated with artists such as Spikey Tee (UK), Olivier Daysoul (USA/UK) and Julien Dyne (NZ), while a number of tracks have been remixed by producers as noteworthy as The Nextmen, DJ Vadim, TM Juke and J Star.

If you haven't already heard the Sola Rosa sound feature on international compilations, atop iTunes charts or across episodes of Criminal Minds, The Protector, Gossip Girl and Mob Wives, then it will only be a short time before you do. With their new album Low and Behold, High and Beyond ready to drop in Europe in 2013, Sola Rosa push their unique brand of intercontinental grooves to the wider world.

Sons Of Zion

With their fusion of Reggae, Rock, Dub and Roots, Sons of Zion are a talented 6-piece reggae band, which comprises of 6 young Rangitahi from various locations in New Zealand. Since Sons of Zion's debut gig at the beginning of the "2007 Music Month", Sons of Zion have continued to build momentum, taking out the Soundsplash Band comp, opening for acts such as Katchafire, Cornerstone Roots, Kora, House of Shem, and The Black Seeds. Playing on Festivals such as Raggamuffin, Exodus and Selective Soundz. With television appearances and magazine features already, Sons Of Zion are committed to making reggae music that you can't help but skank to.

After releasing and playing their debut album in 2009 Sons of Zion took the time to write new music. Late 2012 proved their hard work, with their first single "Good Love" being played all over the country on ‘A' rotation with Mai Fm, Flava and Nui Fm and the single being #17 in the official NZ top 20 singles.
Showcase

The New Zealand Music Commission Showcase will kick off AWME 2013 with all five New Zealand acts performing. The showcase takes place November 15th, 12am at Hifi.

The Showcase line up is as follows;

8:30 - 9:05 Whiri Tu Aka
9:20 - 9:55 Mark Vanilau
10:15 - 10:50 Hollie Smith
11:10 - 11:50 Sola Rosa
12:10 - 12:50 Sons Of Zion

 

Back to Commission News