Essential New Zealand Albums

On his 2018 album Avantdale Bowling Cup, Auckland rapper Tom Scott blends powerful, polyrhythmic rhymes with fine jazz and a strong sense of place. In this programme, Nick Bollinger interviews Tom Scott and discusses the personal messages and strong sense of place on his solo debut.

In the late-70s landscape of mainstream New Zealand pop, Sharon O'Neill stood out not only for her pure powerful voice and piano skills but also for a swag of sophisticated self-penned songs. All of that was apparent from her self-titled album, which Nick Bollinger will discuss in this episode of Essential New Zealand Albums.

The 2005 studio debut of the Wellington-based soul-reggae collective Fat Freddy's Drop became the year's second-biggest selling album in their homeland and established their worldwide reputation in this episode of Essential New Zealand Albums, Nick Bollinger looks at this album's homegrown roots.

'The new rock - bittersweet and low' proclaimed a Time magazine cover in 1971, heralding the arrival of a new wave of acoustic-based music centred on the likes of Crosby, Stills and Nash and James Taylor. New Zealand had its own version of this soft revolution, epitomised by the debut of Wellington trio Tamburlaine. Nick Bollinger discusses their album Say No More with its sophisticated original songs, rich harmonies and tinge of psychedelia.

Auckland-raised singer-songwriter Renee-Louise Carafice wrote and recorded her debut album after a spell of clinical depression, and yet it remains an uplifting, even beautiful piece of work. In this programme Nick Bollinger discusses the album, drawing on conversations with Carafice and the New Zealanders who accompanied her to Chicago to record it.

The 80s club scene gave birth to the sound that Ardijah's founder Ryan Monga calls Polyfonk. After a long incubation in the South Auckland club scene, the group burst forth with that sound on their 1987 debut album. This episode looks at the elements of Polyfonk, the multiple talents of Ryan and Betty-Anne Monga and discusses the album's production with Ryan Monga and keyboard player Simon Lynch.

At a time when few New Zealanders seemed to be singing about themselves, The Front Lawn turned the Hutt Valley and Takapuna Beach into musical landmarks. A forerunner of Flight of the Conchords, they combined theatre, song, comedy and film. And they laid the ground for the long career of singer and songwriter Don McGlashan. In this programme Nick Bollinger revisits the group's seminal album and some of the musicians who contributed to it.

Using his stage name Tha Feelstyle, Samoan-born rapper Kas Futialo made his groundbreaking album, Break It To Pieces, mixing Pasifika beats with hip-hop, funk and no shortage of catchy hooks. Some of the music featured prominently in the film Sione's Wedding. In this episode of Essential Aotearoa Albums, Nick Bollinger discusses the album's subtle fusion of styles, including a fresh interview with its producer, Andy 'Submariner' Morton.