INTERVIEW | ISSUE FIVE | PUORO O AOTEAROA / LOCAL MUSIC An Interview with Maebh McCurdy (she/her) | @leighapparently | Contributor Interviewed by Finn Johansson (he/him) | @finnjohansson2006 | Contributor Transcribed and edited by Tashi Donnelly (she/her) | @tashi_rd | Editor-in-Chief In this interview, Finn Johansson sits down with Maebh McCurdy to talk chaotic songwriting, buried punchlines, and the strange alchemy of turning dreams into music. Find yourself a nice tree to

FEATURE | ISSUE FIVE | PUORO O AOTEAROA / LOCAL MUSIC Written by Jey Min Lam 林洁敏 (they/them) | @_jeymin | Contributing Writer It becomes exceedingly tough to live in true tandem with your culture, the one that feels like home, when you find more belonging in the Western sphere than you ever had in your place of origin. I can’t go home without feeling like I no longer belong, yet I am no doubt still an outsider in New Zealand. I don’t know its ins and outs, its unspoken rules,

TE AO MĀORI | ISSUE FIVE | PUORO O AOTEAROA / LOCAL MUSIC Written by Ivy Lyden-Hancy (she/her/ia) | @tekaraipiture | Contributing Writer There has been a wave of new sounds, aesthetics, and lyricism that is reshaping how we, as a nation, see music. Artists nationwide are stepping into their artistry, showing us what the future sound of Aotearoa is. I am privileged to be in spaces surrounded by these talented artists. People I call my friends and family have shaped how I see m

CULTURE | ISSUE FIVE | PUORO O AOTEAROA / LOCAL MUSIC Written by Te Atamea Boynton (she/her) | Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Ruapani | @tayatamea Contributing Writer When I hear a waiata, my taringa lock in. I catch a sound and want to know what it is. What instrument, how it’s been made. I jump on the rorohiko and start searching, moving from track to track, going down a rabbit hole of endless buzzy hardware until I’m somewhere completely different from where I started. Mu

NEWS | ISSUE FIVE | PUORO O AOTEAROA / LOCAL MUSIC Written by Liam Hansen (they/them) | @liamhanse.n | Associate Editor Marlon Williams - Image courtesy of Independent Music New Zealand The Taite Music Prize has held stature as Aotearoa music's scrappiest little award show for over a decade and a half. With New Zealand Music Month just around the corner, indie musicians packed into the intimate Q Theatre, celebrating the incredible records of 2026 whilst keeping all award win

INTERVIEW | ISSUE FIVE | PUORO O AOTEAROA / LOCAL MUSIC Interview with Arabella Devine (she/her) | @_ringlets | Interviewed by Mads Bradley (she/her) | @shutupmads Debate Mag: What’s something about the music industry that’s surprised you since being part of the scene and growing as a band? Arabella: Oh, there’ve been a few surprises for sure. One thing I’d been made aware of recently is how people want to assume that if there’s one female member in the band, then she must b

EDITORIAL | ISSUE FIVE | PUORO O AOTEAROA / LOCAL MUSIC Written by Tashi Donnelly she/her | @tashi_rd | Editor If you love plugging hot tunes directly into your ear holes, you’ve come to the right place. We’re talking about puoro o Aotearoa, local music, because our homegrown musicians deserve a spotlight, or five. So store your Taylor Swift, Olivia Dean, and even your Tame Impala in the overhead compartment, because this is a domestic flight. Destination: NZ music. These day

RICK'S REEL RECOMMENDATIONS | ISSUE THREE | WHENUA Written by Ricky Lai (he/him) | @rickthelai & Letterboxd | Film Columnist I Don’t Hate Las Vegas Anymore (Caveh Zahedi, 1994) A warning: mileage may vary for this road trip documentary. Caveh Zahedi is perhaps the documentarian most committed to self-sabotage since the time Morgan Spurlock ate 270 Big Macs to conceal his alcoholism in Supersize Me . Zahedi, an impolite, offhanded nebbish who is openly manipulative, is as h

ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS By Know Your Stuff NZ | @ knowyourstuffnz | https://knowyourstuff.nz/ Hi! We’re KnowYourStuffNZ, a peer-led drug harm reduction organisation. We’ve been checking people’s drugs and helping people reduce their drug-related risks in Aotearoa since 2015. We got the Misuse of Drugs Act permanently changed in 2021 so we could do our job without our clients or us getting arrested, which made life WAY easier. Why get your drugs checked? If you’re

COLUMN | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Written by László Reynolds (he/him) | @laszloreynolds | Contributing Columnist It is recommended to read your rising sign first, then the Sun after. You can read for your Moon sign as well, especially if you were born at night. Aries The vengeful God of War and sinister Father Time have one hand each enclosed around your throat. This has made speech impossible. Conserve what energy you’ve left; the grip will loosen as April winds up.