Home Grown music is something dear to the hearts of many kiwis. Names such as Dave Dobbyn who featured in bands such as Hello Sailor, DD Smash and The Dudes to the Finn Brothers who garnered fame both as solo artists and with bands such as Split Enz and Crowded House. As well as the classic artist in recent years Kiwis breaking through in recent years such as Lorde, Six60 and Benee. New Zealand has a strong track record of musicians with unique sounds.
In this series According to Aidan, we will be taking a deep dive into the hit songs that are being put back into the spotlight on Rewind 96.1. These songs are from the 90’s and 2000’s and have since cemented themselves into kiwi culture.
Time to rewind and revisit some Classic New Zealand Anthems.
Crawl by Atlas
Atlas were a New Zealand rock band who formed in 2005. Consisting of the former bassist of Zed, Ben Campbell, his sister Beth Campbell, American solo artist Sean Cunningham and drummer Joe Mcallum. Atlas released Crawl in 2007 where it charted on the New Zealand recorded music charts for 7 weeks and was certified gold in New Zealand selling 5000s copies. This anthem features emotionally charged lyrics, a steady beat, and a powerful chorus. Sean Cunningham explained in 2009 that the song is about not giving into other people’s expectations of what you should be. It’s really no wonder this song was so commercially successful
Sophie by Good Shirt
Goodshirt are a Alternative pop rock band who formed in Auckland in 2000. They rose to fame after submitting their debut song “Green” to a radio competition on 9inety6dot1, with then station manager Grant Hislop becoming there manager. In 2001 Goodshirt released Sophie which was a number one single in nz and was also released in Canada, Australia and Japan. Originally written by Gareth Thomas the lead singer of good shirt, Sophie is about a girl whom he had affection for in his high school drama class and eventually went on a date with. With lyrics like “She is just so sweet so fine, so polite too, Sophie I’d like to be with you” its no surprise that This love ballad became an iconic New Zealand song. Possessing a catchy chorus and a mellow sound, ts just a shame that there was never a second date with the infamous “Sophie”
Always on my mind by Tiki Taane
Tiki Taane formerly of Salmonella Dub left the Reggae group in 2006 to purse a solo career and in 2007 he released his debut solo album “past present and future”. The biggest song of the Album “Always on my mind” reached double platinum (0r 30,000+ sales) and charted for 52 consecutive weeks. The slow acoustic melody, coupled with strong lyrics has gotten most kiwis to “sing with some melody” to arguably Tiki Taane’s magnum opus.
Brother by SmashProof and Gin Wigmore
Smashproof are a hip pop group from Auckland who worked with Gin Wigmore who at the time was an up and coming singer with a noticeably blue’s sounding voice. Together they released “Brother” a song which focuses on the social injustices, gang affiliations, “Discrimination and often warped portrayal of south Auckland by the media” (Jorgai Bhett, spinoff, https://thespinoff.co.nz/music/07-05-2019/ive-got-questions-in-my-mind-smashproofs-brother-10-years-on ) The music video for this song features a retelling of the stabbing of Pihema Cameron, a story which rocked New Zealand and was a landmark legal case. This powerful song with haunting lyrics is New Zealand’s longest running number 1 on the New Zealand singles charts and reached Double Platinum
Lydia by Fur Patrol
Fur Patrol are a Wellington rock band who formed in 1996. The band consisting of Julia Deans, Andrew Bain, Simon Braxton and Steve Wells released their debut album “Pet” in 2000. “Lydia” was the most popular song off the album, with a moody sound and strong lyrics that punch through the slow drum and bass beat. Lydia reached number 1 on the New Zealand music charts and won four awards at the 2001 New Zealand Music awards.
