New Music 25/09
This week we’ve got new music from across Aotearoa, with fresh releases spanning dream pop, indie, alternative R&B, soul, hip-hop, electronic and pop. There are new EPs from artists including Sabreen, Jordan Hunter Hyland, CHARIS and Vicious Villain, alongside singles from Echomatica, Julia Belle, Lucy Gray, InDuna, Niamh Crooks and more. Have a listen through this week’s picks below.
Are you a Kiwi artist with a new song coming out? Send me a message at ryanfromroots@gmail.com to get a feature!
44kyn — Reflections
Te Whanganui-a-Tara artist and producer 44kyn has released Reflections, an introspective alternative R&B track that moves away from the spacey energy of his previous single Live It Up. Drawing inspiration from Mac Miller and Frank Ocean, the track pairs a simple piano melody with unprocessed drums and a conversational, stream-of-consciousness vocal style, with 44kyn handling the writing, recording, production, mixing and mastering himself. The song explores self-doubt, avoidance and the conflict between rushing through life and remaining stuck in the past, offering another look at his upcoming debut album.
Becca Caffyn — Caroline
New Zealand-born, London-based indie-folk singer-songwriter Becca Caffyn has released Caroline, the first single from her upcoming EP Isn’t It Romantic?. Recorded on a vintage Gibson J45 and produced by Will McGillivray, the track explores the conflicting feelings of unexpectedly falling in love after the end of a long-term relationship, while also reflecting on Caffyn’s changing sense of self. Caroline follows her previous EPs The Replacement Blonde and Hallways, the latter’s title track winning Radio One’s Favourite Song of 2024 at the Aotearoa Alternative Awards, with Isn’t It Romantic? set to showcase a more full-band sound while retaining Caffyn’s autobiographical songwriting.
Niamh Crooks — Personal
Ōtepoti Dunedin pop artist Niamh Crooks has released Personal, a sharp pop track about watching a once-close friendship unravel beyond repair. Written with producer EDYONTHEBEAT at Parachute Studios in Auckland, the song uses biting lyrics and humour to explore dishonesty, broken trust and the point where giving someone another chance is no longer worth it. Crooks previously released her debut EP Blush after winning Spark’s Open Audition competition in 2023, and has continued building her catalogue through emotionally honest songwriting and expressive vocals.
Katie-Lee — Strangers
Tāmaki Makaurau artist, songwriter and producer Katie-Lee has released Strangers, the latest look at their upcoming debut EP Destined for Loneliness. The indie pop and singer-songwriter project explores the disconnect and loneliness Katie-Lee has experienced throughout their early 20s, drawing on more than a decade of songwriting and their experiences growing up in Papakura and performing at open mics and pub gigs. Destined for Loneliness brings together nostalgic synths, lush harmonies and raw, vulnerable lyricism, with Katie-Lee using their music to explore vulnerability, finding connection and learning to be comfortable with who you are.
Tiger Lotiss — Python
Tāmaki Makaurau alt-soul artist Tiger Lotiss has released Python, a slow-burning soul and hip-hop track looking back on his late-teen years, navigating relationships, desire and heartbreak. Created with hip-hop artist AKIYA and produced by Tiger himself, the track draws on a past relationship from when Tiger was 19, blending nostalgia and melancholy with soulful vocals and cinematic production. Python follows Chameleon and Tiger in the Garden as the fourth release from Tiger’s upcoming debut album, continuing his focus on emotional honesty, identity and the more uncomfortable parts of looking back on his past.
Robots In Love — Cease and Desist
Ōtepoti electronic rock band Robots in Love have released Cease and Desist, the second single from their upcoming album OVERRIDE. The dark and heavy track explores extreme obsession and the inability to control it, with vocalist Elenor Rayner drawing on the concept of limerence and the feeling of being unable to reason your way out of an obsession. Following Convergence, the new single features guitarist Henry Flynn Wall from Rebirth to Ruin and comes with remixes from Australian cyberpunk band Sirus and Alex Burchell under his Magnetique alias.
InDuna — Favourite Colours
Wellington-based Aotearoa-South African artist InDuna has released Favourite Colours, an atmospheric track blending Afro-pop and folk influences with warm acoustic guitars, emotive vocals and cinematic production. Using colour as a metaphor, the song explores how anxiety, grief, depression and personal disconnection can change the way we experience the world, before finding a path back to yourself. Recorded with support from NZ On Air, Favourite Colours was recorded by Lee Prebble and Toby Lloyd, with InDuna set to premiere the accompanying music video on 16 October ahead of a headline show at Moon in Newtown on 30 October.
Ciorstiadh — Finally Free (Nanas Song)
Based in Wellington and originally from Scotland, Ciorstiadh is a 20-year-old artist whose music focuses on expressive storytelling and themes of love, self-discovery and personal growth. She has been performing since 2017 and began writing her own music after creating Finally Free as a way to process the loss of her Nana. Drawing inspiration from artists including Noah Kahan, Conan Gray and Olivia Rodrigo, Finally Free is her debut single, offering an honest and personal account of working through grief and loss.
Vicious Villain — V2K (EP)
Based in Auckland and originally from Palmerston North, Vicious Villain is a rapper working in dark underground boom-bap and horrorcore, with a history that stretches back to his 2013 debut album A Cause for Concern and a stint in the New Zealand battle scene. His earlier work includes the Palmy video featuring YS, as well as Creepy Crawl and Off The Chain, before returning with MAIN CHARACTER and BLACK STATIC as part of his latest project. His new EP V2K brings those releases together with TRANSMISSION ZERO and Palmy 2, moving from cinematic paranoia and technical rap into a Palmerston North hometown track built around old vocal callbacks and scratch transmissions.
Diamond Langi — Wish You Well
Multidisciplinary artist Diamond Langi has released Wish You Well, an Island R&B track about love, closure and choosing peace after letting someone go. Of Tongan, Cape Verdean and Portuguese heritage, Diamond blends her music with her work across film, fashion and visual storytelling, with the new single produced by NT GOT BEATS and co-produced by Diamond and Christian Mausia. The release is accompanied by a cinematic short film directed by Diamond herself, set around a wedding and church and exploring acceptance, new beginnings and moving forward, following her previous releases YODELAY with JKING and Side of the Bed.
VÏKAE — ONE X ONE
Ukrainian-born, Aotearoa-based artist VÏKAE has released ONE X ONE, a cinematic protest-pop track moving between English, Ukrainian and Russian. Built around pounding electronic production, distorted textures and industrial sounds, the song explores propaganda, authoritarianism and the way human lives can become statistics, drawing on VÏKAE’s perspective of watching the invasion of Ukraine from afar. ONE X ONE follows WELCOME TO THE END OF THE WORLD and offers another look at VÏKAE’s upcoming seven-track EP of the same name, which combines dark pop, electronic production and raw storytelling and is set to follow in October.
SorchaLula — Love For My Hater (feat. Samuel)
Wellington producer and DJ SorchaLula has released Love For My Hater, the second single from her upcoming debut EP. Following her first release’s organic house sound, the new track moves into breaks and UK bass, combining intricate percussion, field recordings and a heavy bassline with soulful vocals from Pōneke artist Samuel. SorchaLula has been part of New Zealand’s bass scene since 2019, performing at festivals including Northern Bass, Shipwrecked, AUM and Twisted Frequency, before diving further into production in 2023 and developing the collection of tracks that will make up her debut EP.
Echomatica — Atomic Girl
Auckland dreamwave trio Echomatica return with Atomic Girl, a bass-led track wrapped in hazy chromatic dream pop and inspired by the retro-futuristic fantasies of 1960s B-movie science fiction. Following their self-titled debut album in 2025, the band have picked up support across Aotearoa’s student and alternative radio, with Love Isn’t Always reaching No. 1 on the 95bFM Top 10 and Month of Sundays topping the RadioScope Alternative Airplay Chart. Atomic Girl explores the idea of a promised perfect future that never quite arrived, while also marking Echomatica’s first release to feature live drums, recorded at Auckland’s The Lab by Grammy-nominated engineer Scott Seabright with production from Greg Haver.
Flynn Adamson — Sucks (Acoustic Version)
Christchurch artist Flynn Adamson has released an acoustic version of his single Sucks, stripping back the upbeat pop track for a more stripped-down take. Flynn wrote the original song about the uncertainty of missing someone after they moved overseas, with the new version offering a different presentation of the same track.
CHARIS — Catching flights n feelings (EP)
CHARIS is a pop/soul artist known for her energetic performances and vulnerable storytelling, building her music around themes of freedom, self-discovery and chasing big dreams. Her new EP Catching flights n feelings reflects a period of travelling, meeting new people and discovering different sides of herself, with the experiences becoming inspiration for her music.
Lucy Gray — I get it from u
Christchurch singer-songwriter Lucy Gray has released I Get It From U, following their recent single The Bug. Known for their melodic songwriting and storytelling, Gray continues to build on the sound developed across their earlier releases.
Jordan Hunter Hyland — Waste (EP)
Auckland-based singer-songwriter Jordan Hunter Hyland has released his debut EP Waste, a four-track collection exploring moving on, guilt and lost love. Alongside working as a doctor, Hyland has spent years writing songs, with the EP carrying an understated sound built around hushed vocals, stripped-back instrumentation and tape hiss. Following the release of its title track, Waste brings together See You Around, Obviously, Waste and Amphetamines.
Sabreen — Forget Me When I’m Gone (EP)
Auckland singer-songwriter Sabreen has released her sophomore EP Forget Me When I’m Gone, exploring memory, mortality, growing up and the fear of being forgotten. The six-track project follows her previously released singles Therapy and Land Mines, with the new single Nina telling the fictional story of two best friends whose lives take very different paths as one finds fame. Drawing on influences including Hozier, Paris Paloma and The Beths, Sabreen brings together nostalgic live instrumentation and personal storytelling across the EP.
Julia Belle — Aurora
Pōneke singer-songwriter Julia Belle enters a new chapter with Aurora, an atmospheric indie-pop single exploring longing, nostalgia and the fantasies we create around people we can’t let go of. Following her debut EP Dreamland and a collaboration with fellow Wellington artist Danica Bryant on Narcissist, Julia expands her folk-pop foundations into a more cinematic and layered sound while keeping her intimate songwriting at the centre. Inspired by a surreal night listening to Pink Floyd with an old flame, Aurora reflects on missing past relationships, romanticising memories and learning to leave parts of the past behind, while also serving as the first taste of her upcoming sophomore EP.
DESTIN — What Will We Become
Arizona-based indie band Destin have released their debut album Place Of My Dreams, with What Will We Become opening the 11-track project. The band blend indie-folk with atmospheric and contemporary textures, bringing together electric guitars, keyboards, mandolin, banjo, accordion and drums across music they describe as “message music”. Singer, songwriter and bassist Ala’Di Goodman is originally from Lyttelton, Ōtautahi, while the album explores themes of community, purpose, spiritual renewal and humanity’s relationship with the world around us.
