Showing posts with label music. Show all posts

KRIZIA

At first i didn't like Zedd's 'I Want You To Know' feat. Selena Gomez, i'm not the biggest fan of her voice, but right now i just can't get enough of it!  Hilary Duff is back and i am so excited! I first heard 'All About You' on the radio and i thought it was old school Taylor Swift, i am loving the country vibes. I pay a lot of attention to the music in TV and movies and one song that really stuck out to me while i was binge watching The Walking Dead this month was 'Lead Me Home' by Jamie N Commons. I haven't been able to stop singing the chorus of 'Sucker' by Charli XCX since she had everyone yelling it when i saw her back at the start of the month. I've been hearing 'Where Are Ü Now' feat. Justin Bieber by Jack Ü and 'Five More Hours' by Deorro & Chris Brown everywhere, luckily i love them both and haven't gotten sick of either yet. 'California' feat. Kaleena Zanders (Chris Lake & Matroda Remix) by SNBRN has been getting a few spins at work and i am loving this remix of the 90s classic. I hadn't heard of the movie San Andreas until i heard about the 'California Dreaming' cover in the trailer. The trailer version isn't sung by Sia but she's recorded this cover for the movie and i am so in love with it. The season 1 finale of How To Get Away With Murder aired in NZ 2 weeks ago and since then i haven't been able to stop listening to 'Music People' by IAMX, another A+ music choice for the show. 'Anything' by Hedley is one of the catchiest songs i've heard on the radio recently, it's a favourite of mine to sing in the car. I'm starting to get a little sick of hearing 'See You Again' all the time, so i'm really glad 'Marvin Gaye' feat. Meghan Trainor by Charlie Puth has entered my life. I've always liked Bebe Rexha so i was so happy to hear her in David Guetta's new hit 'Hey Mama' (although she isn't officially credited in the title ): ) also featuring queen Nicki Minaj and Afrojack.

SOPHIE
This may seem as an odd choice and a bit of left ball but I have this semi secret love for K-Pop, no idea how it came about but there we have it, 'Zero For Conduct' is from the sub boyband of Block B- Block B BASTARZ, next like i said in our Monthly Favourites yesterday was the Tinashe remix of Nick Jonas' hit song 'Jealous', makes me want to bust out those dutty moves! In keeping with the dutty move dance is Jordin Sparks feat. 2 Chains with 'Double Tap' which is a song about an ex still being obsessed with your Instagram account. 'Hole in My Heart' is Luke Friend's brand new single and I honestly can't get enough of it. When I heard it at work I was trying to figure out who it was until I shazamed and was pleasantly surprised! MNEK is another jukebox find at work with 'More Than A Miracle'. With Eurovision been and gone I had to resist myself from not having a purely Eurovision playlist as there were some good songs! However I couldn't not include Guy Sebastian's song 'Tonight Alive' as I LOVE it so much and Nadav Guedji's 'Golden Boy' is defo something you'd find in the Euro clubs and makes you want dance (also the lyrics are ace "I'm the King of Fun// Before I leave let me show you Tel Aviv"). Another song I mentioned in my Monthly Favourites was SAGE the Gemini with his collab song with Nick Jonas 'Good Thing. Alesso feat Roy English's song 'Cool' just makes me want to go on beachside roadtrips with the roof down and the sea breeze in my air. 'Somebody' by newcomer Natalie La Rose has been burning a hole in my playlist, sampling the legendary Whitney Houston and feat. Jeremiah this is defo one I recommend listening too. B.o.B.'s 'Ghost in the Machine' I found while watching Gossip Girl and rounding off my half of the playlist is Miss Taylor Swift with her remixed song 'Bad Blood' I legit can't get enough of the video... which is odd because I also think there are far too many cameo's in it!

What's on your playlist this month?

S. & K.
xx

A mix of our favourite new and old Kiwi songs!



1. K- The Tutts

2. Calvary- The Midnight Youth

3. You and I- Avalanche City

4. Just a Little Bit- Kids of 88

5. Water To Ice- Ruby Frost

6. Bliss- Th' Dudes

7. Gutter Black- Hello Sailor

Six60 are a five piece band who formed in 2008 while studying at Otago University. Eli, Chris, Ji, Marlon, and Matiu all lived together in Dunedin and named themselves after the street number of the house that they lived in (see photo above!). They gained a huge following from uni students around the country, their first single 'Rise Up 2.0' which went double platinum, was *the* song of my third year. The bands self-titled debut album was released in october 2011 on their own label Massive Entertainment and it debuted at number one on the NZ charts, was certified gold in its first week, and its now gone four times platinum! The band also have three EPs 'Rise Up 2.0 (2010), iTunes Session EP (2013), Forever EP (2014), and they recently released their second self-titled album. So far seven of their ten singles have gone platinum, double platinum, triple platinum, and gold. Now the world better get ready to let this incredible Kiwi band blow their minds because they've signed to the legendary LA label Capitol Records!

Benny is a 25 year old from Palmerston North who came in third place in the first season of X Factor New Zealand. But like a couple of other X Factor contestants around the world, he went on to have a slightly more successful career than the winner Jackie. During high school he was in a band called 'The Nerines' before he auditioned solo for the X Factor in 2013. After finishing the competition in third place he was quickly signed up to Sony Music and released his debut single 'Walking On Water' just a few weeks later, which was certified platinum at the end of that year. He released his EP 'Toulouse' and debut album 'Bricks' in 2014 and has since had his songs featured in several NZ and Australian ads, performed at a few big NZ festivals including the massive New Years festival Rhythm & Vines, and his EP earned him an NZ music award nomination. 

K.
X

Before there was Zedd there was Zed! The four piece pop/rock band formally known as Supra, formed while they were students way back in 1998 in Christchurch. Zed were originally Nathan, Ben, and Adrian but two years after they got together second guitarist Andrew was added to the lineup. Their first album 'Silencer' was released in 2000 and debuted at number one on the NZ album charts and quickly went on to go triple platinum. Their single 'Glorafilia' is a Kiwi classic, their other single 'Renegade Fighter' was also NZ's number one song in the year 2000. Zed's second and final album 'This Little Empire' was released in 2003 and re-released in 2004 for the United States, their most well known single overseas is most probably 'Starlight' which was featured in the credits of the 2002 comedy The Hot Chick. The band took a break ten years ago and have since only reunited to perform a handful of small gigs. Nathan went solo before singing for Paper Plane, Ben and Adrian formed a new band Atlas who disbanded in 2008, and Andrew is still working in music. 

Also listen to:

Don't Worry Baby

Renegade Fighter

Hard To Find Her

Glorafilia

K.
x

Beyonce and Nicki Minaj dropped their joint single 'Feeling Myself' today, however viewers could only watch it if they had a Tidal account (Jay-Z's music sharing and streaming business he created earlier this year).
The word on the street is that the girls filmed this over Coachella weekend, with even a clip from the audience making an appearance. The video itself is a collection of shots of each of the ladies bringing the sass and showing us all why they are at the top of their game. 

After trolling through YouTube for most of the day hoping to find a copy that had been uploaded, I found out that the big-wigs at Tidal have been hot on the trail to bringing down the music video every time someone managed to upload a copy.

Thankfully one of my friend's pointed me in the direction of a Facebook page. So for all our readers (in which I probably expect to be all of you) who don't have a Tidal account feast your eyes on the collaboration of the world's fiercest female musicians!

We can't guarantee this link will evade the Tidal bosses forever so check it out quick!

Feeling Myself

S.

x

also check out

Bridges

Mother & Father

Jamie McDell is a 22 year old singer/songwriter from Auckland and New Zealand's answer to Taylor Swift. She used social media to get herself out there before she sent an acoustic demo tape to EMI at 16, shortly after she was signed to the label.  At the start of 2012 Jamie released her debut single 'You'll Never Take That Away' which was certified gold in NZ and led her to release her acoustic EP 'All That I Wanted' which was then followed by her debut album 'Six Strings and a Sailboat' at the end of the year. Jamie's second album 'Ask Me Anything' was released 2 months ago and she also had the opportunity to open for ex Disney star Demi Lovato last month. 

Goodnight Nurse

Goodnight Nurse were/are New Zealand's answer to all the pop-punk goodness life could offer! Forming in 2001 the Auckland based group were originally a three piece before finding Rowan to create their four-piece. The band released two studio albums 'Always and Never' in 2006 and 'Keep Me On Your Side' in 2008. The band consists of Joel Little, Sam McCarth, Rowan Crowe and Jaden Parkes.

After going on hiatus in 2010, you can now find Joel Little being a sought after writing partner- Lorde, Broods, Sam Smith and Ellie Goulding all being part of his clientele.

Some more songs to check out:

Our Song

My Only

Death Goes To Disco

Lay With Me

The Feelers

The Feelers were formed in the early 90s and are one of New Zealand's premium rock bands. After releasing their first album 'Supersystem' in 1998 which gave us the above hit single 'Venus' (and a personal fave of mine) the band shot to New Zealand fame and released two more albums after that ('Communicate' and 'Playground Battle') before releasing a 'Greatest Hits' album in 2008.
It has been noted that The Feelers (comprising of James Reid, Hamish Gee, Andy Lynch & Clinton Harris) have sold more albums within New Zealand than any other New Zealand band!

Here are a few other songs you can check out:
Larger Than Life
The Fear
Fishing For Lisa
As Good As It Gets

S.
x

Brooke Fraser is a 15x platinum selling artist and one of our favourite modern NZ artists here at LGC!

Ever since she broke into the music scene in 2003 with her first single 'Better', i've been hooked.

Later that year she released her debut pop album 'What to Do With Daylight' where it reached the number 1 spot in the New Zealand charts and managed to get its later singles 'Lifeline' and 'Arithmetic' (which i'm 80% sure I want as my wedding song when/if I get married...). Two years later she released another chart topper with her sophomore album 'Albertine' coming in at number 1 on the NZ Music charts, however this time her musical influence favoured the more pop/folk vibe, which produced singles like 'Deciphering Me' (which always makes me feel homesick) & 'Shadowfeet'. 

After a four year hiatus Fraser released 'Flags' which again charted at number 1 in NZ, again keeping with the pop folk vibe 'Flags' turned out hit singles (and featured in the summer promotion of TV2) 'Something in the Water' and 'Betty'.

Brooke has released her fourth studio album 'Brutal Romantic' (you go girl) where it was recorded in Kosten's West London studio.

Brutal Romantic is out in the UK today, so fellow English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish dwellers go pick up a copy and support NZ Music and a general all round great artist!

The thing that I love about Brooke Fraser, is her talent and passion, at heart she's just a girl from New Zealand who writes amazing pop/folk songs and you can tell she's in it for the music and not just for the fame.

We here at LGC wish nothing but the best for her and congratulate her on the announcement of her first child!

Check out below her new single 'Kings & Queens' & 'Deciphering Me'




S.
x

The Mint Chicks

The Mint Chicks are no longer together, but they're still one of my favourite Kiwi bands. Their style can be described as noise rock/power pop or troublegum as the band used to say and they're known for their crazy exciting live performances. The foursome, brothers Ruban and Kody and their friends Paul and Michael, met in high school on Auckland's Hibiscus Coast in 2001 and spent the next nine years moving between New Zealand and Portland, Oregon. During this time they released 3 EP's 'Octagon, Octagon, Octagon' (2003), 'Anti-Tiger' (2004), Bad Buzz (2010) and 3 albums 'Fuck the Golden Youth' (2005), 'Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! (2006), and 'Screens' (2009).
Some more Mint Chicks for your ears:
Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!

Walking Off a Cliff Again

Bad Buzz

She's Back On Crack

Goodshirt

'Sophie' by Goodshirt was released 14 years ago and was the bands only New Zealand number-one single. The alt/rock/pop band are also from Auckland and like The Mint Chicks also consist of two brothers Murray and Rodney, Gareth, and Mike. Goodshirt released one EP 'E.G.' (2002), and two albums 'Good' (2001) and 'Fiji Baby' (2004) between 2000 and 2005. After a seven year hiatus the band reformed in 2012 to support gigs for 'Hall & Oates' and 'Icehouse' and have since released a new EP 'Skinny Mirror' which includes the track below, 'So Charming'
Check out some more Goodshirt tracks:
Buck It Up

Fiji Baby

Cement
So Charming

K.
x

Steve Dykes for iHeartRadio.

When Charli XCX was announced as part of Australia's 'Groovin the Moo' lineup, i had my fingers crossed for a NZ sideshow. Unfortunately there was no sideshow announcement, there was however a free IHeartRadio show!

Charli came out looking like the 90's had thrown up all over her and i loved it! She rocked sunglasses, matching sparkling zebra print crop and skirt, and chunky platform heels. Her equally amazing all girl band were dressed in silver sequin clothing and holographic shoes. Where can i sign up to be part of this tour?

From the second Charli came out she put in SO much energy to the show, you don't even want to look anywhere else because one minute she's rocking out with a giant inflatable guitar and then she's rolling around on the floor dressed as a cake and rapping along to 50 cent (it was her bassist Vicky's birthday), you never know what she's going to do next. I'm surprised she could still sing flawlessly while she was running around, and that she could bust all those moves without falling in those massive heels!
It was just really unfortunate that the crowd didn't show her the same amount of enthusiasm, it was probably one of the more duller crowds i've seen which is odd because i don't understand how you can not move to Charli XCX. Maybe it would have been different if the room was full of her fans and not a mix of people who only entered to win tickets just for the hell of it? Or maybe Kiwi crowds just suck, probably the latter. She also confessed she was starting to get bored of performing the same thing every night, and at some points i could see that. I don't think the unenthusiastic crowd helped.

But i hope the lack of crowd enthusiasm won't put Charli off visiting New Zealand again, she's such an incredible performer who deserves a lot more recognition than she gets! and so do her band! The world needs more of these four amazing fierce ladies. 

I can't begin to describe how much i love Mumford & Sons, so i've been patiently waiting for their third album 'Wilder Mind' to drop.

The band made it no secret that they were switching up their distinctive sound for their new album, and they kept their word. They've ditched the banjo for electric guitars, which i'm really sad about, and the folk-rock band that gained huge mainstream success three years ago is no more. The bands new sound to me, is very U2/Coldplay (minus the piano), it's very simple and straight up rock but it's a big change that fans should embrace even if it's not their cup of tea. Frontman Marcus, who previously wrote most of the bands tracks on 'Sigh No More' and 'Babel', also shared the writing responsibilities with the rest of the band for Wilder Mind.

"I think all of us had this desire to shake it up. The songwriting hasn't changed drastically; it was led more by a desire to not do the same thing again. Plus, we fell back in love with drums! It's as simple as that."

It's taken me a lot of listens to enjoy the album, but now i'm starting to get into it and i can see that it works and just feels right. Although it's different and in my opinion not their overall best release, Wilder Mind is still a great album...even though it's missing that special Mumford & Sons spark that i love.
(R.I.P Banjo)

My Top 4 tracks are:
Cold Arms
Broad-Shouldered Beasts
Wilder Mind
Only Love

K.
x

As the Southern Hemisphere says goodbye to the sun, you lucky people in the North get to say hello. So LGC have put together a little playlist full of all our new and old favourite Summer songs.

Enjoy!

1. Runaway (U & I)- Galantis

2. Big (John Dahlbäck Radio Edit)- Sneaky Sound System

3. Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)- Omi 

4. If You Wanna- The Vaccines

5. National Anthem- Lana Del Rey

6. Falling (Duke Dumont Remix)- Haim

7. Young Blood- The Naked and Famous

8. Kids in Love- Mayday Parade

9. I Got U- Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones

10. Electric Dreams- Shapeshifter

11. Never Let You Go- Third Eye Blind

12. Walking On A Dream- Empire of the Sun
13. In The Summertime- Thirsty Merc
14. Bloodstream- Ed Sheeran & Rudimental
15. Lean On feat. MØ- Major Lazer & DJ Snake
16. Someone New- Hozier
17. Burnin' Up- Jonas Brothers
18. So Freakin' Tight- Tough Love
19. Wish You Were Mine- George Phillip
20. Best Fake Smile- James Bay
21. Yellow Flicker Beat- Lorde
22. I Really Like You- Carly Rae Jepsen
23. Trouble feat. Jennifer Hudson- Iggy Azalea
24. Girl Almighty- One Direction
25. Pray To God feat. Haim- Calvin Harris

KRIZIA

Starting my playlist this month is 'Satisfy' by Nero, I would always catch this song when it was halfway through on the radio and always confuse it for 'Slow Acid' by Calvin Harris for some strange reason. Nova Rockafeller is an LA based rapper who I heard randomly on the radio one day, her single 'Made in Gold' has some serious Icona Pop vibes and it's catchy as hell. 'Walk' by Kwabs and 'Can't Stop Playing' (Oliver Heldens & Gregor Salto Remix) by Dr. Kucho! & Gregor Salto are two more awesome radio finds! 'No Fun' by Australian duo The Presets was featured on 'How to Get Away with Murder' (bless whoever makes the shows music decisions, they've all been A+) and it was a song that I haven't heard by them before so I was a little shocked when Shazam broke the news to me. I don't think I will ever stop obsessing over 'Shower' by Becky G, but right now I am loving her new single 'Lovin' So Hard' which is supposedly about Austin Mahone! Another track I heard for the first time on the radio this month is 'Figure 8' by Maliibu N Helene. I haven't been able to get this song out of my head for weeks, it's so catchy! I'm a little mad at myself for not discovering 'Feeling Myself' by Nicki Minaj feat. Beyonce sooner. I was introduced to it by my friends boyfriend one night and it blew my mind. I hear 'Bills' by LunchMoney Lewis  everywhere! But you can't help but smile and dance along to the beat whenever it's on. 'Lean On' is the brand new single from one of my favourite groups Major Lazer and DJ Snake featuring MØ, that I cannot stop listening to, Major Lazer never disappoint. I've added 'Runaway (U and I)' by Galantis to my roadtrip playlist, it's such a fun song to blast in your car! Nutcrackerz is the awesome new track from Dizzee Rascal featuring Giggs which is getting quite a bit of airplay at the moment at work and I don't hate it, I love the sampling of the classic composer Tchaikovsky. The last pick for the playlist this month is 'See You Again' by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth, if you're a Fast and Furious fan you would have probably heard this emotional song already, watching the video clip definitely tugs on the heart strings!

SOPHIE


My first pick is 'Should Have Known Better' by Sufjan Stevens, I first heard this song at my boyfriends over the holidays and I instantly fell in love with it. It's so mellow and sweet and just perfect chillaxing music. Next is an old fav, 'Poppin Champagne' by All Time Low. This song is one of my all time favourite ATL songs! Since seeing them last month i've been getting back into listening to them again. Die Antwoord is a bit of a random track for me, but there was something about them after my boyfriend showed me them on YouTube, since then they've been at the back of my mind. 'Baby's On Fire' in particular, it's one of those songs especially if you watched the video first where you're just like WTF! but one that gets stuck in your head. This next one is my FAV song at the mo, and has been on my playlist for the past few months.. Nick Jonas 'Jealous'! I'm so glad 1/3 of the JoBros is back making music, this song is just a perfect car song. I'm loving playing Jessie Ware's new song 'Champagne Kisses' on the jukebox at work. It's that perfect spring to summer song, the song that isn't too in your face but still mellow and just fits the weather so perfectly. 'Sober' by Childish Gambino is an absolute tune and I can't speak more highly for it, the music and the drop mid way is amazing, Donald takes a break from rapping and serenades us with his amazing vocals... and i'm just a massive Childish fan in general! Rihanna 'Pour It Up' is on my playlist this month after rediscovering it and finally getting her album 'Unapologetic' I feel so sassy driving along in the car when this song comes on. Even though my dissertation has been handed in I still have 2 more bits of coursework, so I thought i'd listen to Miley Cyrus' album 'Bangerz' and discovered '#Getalife', which is a bit of a tune if i do say so. Normally i'm not a Bring Me The Horizon fan but was pleasantly surprised that I like their new song 'Drown'. Florence and the Machine are another jukebox fave with me with their new song 'What Kind of Man' (love me a bit of Flo) and 'Recovery' by James Arthur is a song one of my friends played for me which made me remember why I liked James on X-Factor. Kygo 'Stole the Show' and Gwen Stefani's new single 'Baby Don't Lie' round off my half of this months playlist.

What have you been listening to this month?

S. & K.
xx
 

Meet Hey Violet

Hey Violet are a little rock back from California made up of two sisters Rena and Nia, Miranda, and Casey (who are all between 16-20 btw). If you're a fan of 5 Seconds of Summer you may have already heard a lot about the group already. The band were just announced as the first band signed to the 5SOS label 'Hi or Hey Records' and they're opening for the boys on their upcoming tour.

The three ladies were all members of an all girl rock band Cherri Bomb who were incredible for only being 13-16 during the peak of their career, opening for bands such as Bush, Foo Fighters, and The Smashing Pumpkins as well as playing major festivals in the States and Europe! Lead singer Julia left the band at the beginning of 2013 and Casey joined a couple months later, it wasn't until February this year that the band decided to change their name to 'Hey Violet'.

I was a big fan of Cherri Bomb and loved Julia's vocals, so once she left i kind of forgot about the band until i saw the 5SOS news. Youngest member Rena now takes care of the lead vocals, and they're still blowing my mind with how awesome and talented they are!

Here is their new single 'This is Why'

K.

x

KRIZIA

I'm loving Linkoban this month! Ling Ly is her real name, and her song 'Oh Oh' has been on repeat for weeks since I first found her online! I always forget just how amazing M.I.A. is, 'Come Walk With Me' is a few years old but it's one of my favourite tracks of hers and i love the build up to the drop. Canadian gal Grimes is one of my current favourite artists and 'Go' is one of her newer tracks that i can't stop listening to! I'm not a huge fan of Aussie Chet Faker, but i'm in love with his cover of one of my favourite songs 'No Diggity', it's such a cool spin on the classic track and it's perfect to listen to on a lazy sunday afternoon. 'No One's Here to Sleep' by Naughty Boy featuring Dan from Bastille was featured during one of my favourite scenes at the end of episode 4 of How to Get Away With Murder, it was the perfect song choice for the scene! I stumbled across this beautiful acoustic version of 'Wildest Dreams' by Taylor Swift on tumblr, the account is now deleted so i don't know who to credit for this, but i think it's so much better than the original. Another artist i'm obsessed with this month is The Weeknd, his voice is so dreamy and i'm loving his song 'Wicked Games' right now. 'Water to Ice' is a bit of an oldie but a goodie from Kiwi bird Ruby Frost, as is 'Never Give Up On Love' by Kiwi drum and bass group Concord Dawn- a must for a kiwi summer playlist. Jack Ü is a side project of DJ's Diplo and Skrillex and their first official single 'Take Ü There' featuring Kiesza is such a sick tune! and Kiesza's vocals are so perfect for it. 'Jubel' by Klinglande and 'Classic' by The Knocks featuring Power are two of my most played songs this summer, definitely add these to any road trip playlists! I found Years & Years last year and have been patiently waiting for them to blow up ever since, and now their new single 'King' is everywhere! (Thanks MTV for making them your push artist!) I cannot get enough of this song! 'Basic Instinct' by 'The Acid' was featured during last weeks episode of Shameless and it's another A+ song choice for that long-awaited Gallovich scene. 

SOPHIE
First off let me say sorry for my lack of presence in Feb's monthly playlist, I was snowed under with uni assessments and then I was in Brussels for my anniversary...BUT I'M BACK and i'm ready to share with all you lovely readers what songs I've been listening to this month. First up is 'Doing It' by Charli XCX feat. Rita Ora, I love the sass Charli brings in the music video and just the other week me and two friends saw her play at the O2 Shepherds Bush where she killed it and even bought Rita on stage! Next is 'Ayo' by Chris Brown feat. Tyga, there's always something about Chris Brown songs that gets me hooked. Spending so much time in the library as of late has meant me getting to listen to A LOT of new albums and artists, one being James Bay, I highly recommend his new album and the song 'Best Fake Smile', along with that I managed to get a hold of the new Veronicas album (used to love those Australian twins when they were first introduced to the music world) one song i've been loving off the album is 'Born Bob Dylan'. I think I first heard the 'FourFiveSeconds (DJ Mustard Remix)' by Rihanna, Kanye & Paul McCartney when I was waiting to go to the movies with a friend, and I love the original version but I'm loving this remix! Funny story with the new Jason Derulo song 'Want to Want Me', when I first heard it I didn't even click that it was him! Since shazam-ing it, it's been a fixture to all my playlists (ok I only have one playlist but still...). Next up is 'New Problems' by another Australian Cody Simpson, the beginning guitar intro has a very Jack Johnson vibe, before Cody starts serenading us with his easy listening pop voice. Like Krizia, The Weeknd's hypnotising voice earns a spot on my playlist with his song 'Earned It' (from 50 Shades of Grey, but i'll let that slide), I was first introduced to him about 4/5 years ago when my sis first bought him to my attention and i've thanked her ever since. His voice is just so easy to listen to! Another remix features on my playlist in the shape of 'Thinking Out Loud (Alex Adair Remix) by Ed Sheeran. My friend Sophie introduced to me to the next song, Jess Glynne 'Hold My Hand', and it's fast become a fave car song of mine. With the news of Zayn leaving One Direction I thought it was only fitting having one of their songs and for some reason 'Clouds' stood out to me as the perfect song to represent this. Finally to round off this months playlist i've been getting into EDM a tiny bit and whilst i'm still navigating through this new music genre (so forgive me if i've miss-classed this song) I really like Marion Roudette's 'When the Beat Drops'. Like I said i'm still new to this scene so i'm just easing myself in slow!

What have you been listening to this month?

K. & S.

x

I love me some EDM, so of course I had to get myself to the last epic gig of the summer!

Future Sound System is a new festival to hit Auckland, and the little brother/sister to Australian festival Future Music.

After a huge mix up with public transport, my friends and I managed to get to the stadium about half way through Martin Garrix's set. He's the one I've been wanting to see since he dropped 'Animals' in 2013 so I was a wee bit pissed about arriving late. Luckily we got there about 2 songs before he played 'Animals' and it went off! It's so hard to believe that he's only 18 years old and yet he knows how to work a crowd better than more experienced DJ's. Hopefully I get to catch a full set soon!

I saw Afrojack at Creamfields in 2013 and all I remember is being really bored, so I wasn't really looking forward to seeing his set. But he surprised me and actually ended up being my favourite of the night! He didn't even play 'Take Over Control' (or he might of and I was just too busy dancing to notice haha) which is one of my favourites of his and I still loved it. There wasn't a dull moment in his set, he had the crowd moving and jumping the entire time. I don't know why I didn't like him 2 years ago, but I definitely have a soft spot for him now.

I also saw Avicii at Creamfields and he was so good I had to see him again at FSS. Unfortunately he played such an average set! It was fun at times but he was lacking something that I can't quite put my finger on. The crowd were super pumped for him, and singing along to all his hits (except for his new single 'The Nights' and 'Levels' which was disappointing) but he just wasn't as good as the two before him. 

Overall, it was an awesome night and I was actually really surprised at the turnout, especially for an EDM event. Here's hoping it's not the last time little old New Zealand get a festival like this!

K.

x

KRIZIA