Josh Fountain's band LEISURE have just come off a sell-out USA tour, and have over 400 million streams on Spotify. His song “Supalonely” written and produced with BENEE surpassed 1 BILLION streams by 2022. Josh has been awarded NZ Producer of the Year twice. Josh is BENEE’s producer and main writing collaborator. He’s also worked with TEEKS, Ladyhawke and Muroki. In LEISURE, Josh produces, sings, and plays keyboard
Bic is one of New Zealand's most iconic singer-songwriters, with nearly 75 million streams on Spotify her song “Sway” quickly became a part of Aotearoa’s identity. Her second album, Beautiful Collision (2002), solidified her status as a musical icon, earning multiple New Zealand Music Awards. Bic’s contribution to New Zealand music was recognised in 2006 when she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) and In 2016, she was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.
Rewind to 2009 and young Mona Sanei had a dream. Writing, releasing and performing original songs to rooms full of music lovers. 2009 was the same year Mona recorded her song 'QuoiChiWat (Mix Up)' with Alexandra Jost, Jasmine Plows and Niloofar Mohammadzadeh for Play It Strange. Getting a taste for writing, recording and releasing music Mona knew this was something she wanted to pursue full time. She honed her craft and began releasing music under the moniker CHAII.
Dave Johnston is an absolute weapon when it comes to music: he is a mixing engineer, producer-composer, musician, lecturer and songwriter. Not only is he a founding member and drummer of Villainy – 3 times winner of Best NZ Rock Artist at the NZ Music Awards - Dave is one half of Delivery Boyz, a powerhouse producer DJ duo. And if that’s not enough, he produces indie-electronic and EDM music under the name n1ghtmar3cat.
A legend in New Zealand music, Dianne has led an extraordinary career. Dianne first gained recognition as part of When the Cat's Away, the iconic Kiwi supergroup of the late 1980s, then moving to the UK and forming band The Julie Dolphin, before returning home and cofounding The Bads. Dianne has been nominated for the Taite Prize, and in 2021 was inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame.
Soulful singer-songwriter Louis Baker kicked off his musical journey in Pōneke (Wellington), making waves as a top 5 finalist in Play It Strange back in 2007. From a young age, Louis soaked up his parents’ epic and eclectic record collection. That early love for music led him to release his self-titled debut EP in 2014, and he hasn’t looked back since!
Matt Kidd is General Manager of Domestic Arts and Brand Partnerships at Universal Music New Zealand. Matt is responsible for working with some of our most prestigious local artists, helping them realise their artistic vision and connecting them with a passionate, international and local fanbase. He’s incredibly passionate about New Zealand music, and he is the guy that you want to get your music in front of.
Mike Chunn’s journey with music started as a founding member of one of Aotearoa’s most iconic bands Split Enz. Following his time in Split Enz Mike formed Citizen Band where he continued slapping the bass in front of audiences across Aotearoa. Mike has listened to every Play It Strange entry for the past 21 years and seeing the potential in iconic kiwi artists Kimbra, Louis Baker, CHAII, Georgia Knott and Frankie Venter who have all gone on to slay the New Zealand music industry.
Rebel the icon Reid has a very special place in our hearts. We first discovered our love for Rebel when she was a Play It Strange finalist in 2005, since then we have witnessed her flourish into the icon that she is. Rebel is a producer, songwriter, killer guitarist, and “one of the best in the business” according to RNZ.
Georgia Lines AKA New Zealand Music’s number 1 SWEETHEART 💖 💖 needs no introduction. Just tell Alexa to play “The Letter” and prepare to fall in love. Georgia released her first album in lockdown and she’s been capturing hearts with her soulful vocals ever since. With well over a million streams on Spotify and an Aotearoa Music Award for Break Through Artist of the Year under her belt, Georgia Lines is real deal.
When it comes to music royalty in Aotearoa, there is only one King.👑 As well as holding the record for New Zealand’s longest-running single (the kiwi anthem “Don’t Worry Bout’ It”), he is a rapper, producer, singer, songwriter, and CEO of Arch Angel Records. Kings has won multiple Aotearoa Music Awards including "Breakthrough Artist of The Year", "Best Pacific Male Artist", "Best Urban Artist", "Best Producer" and been nominated for countless more. He was an APRA Silver Scrolls finalist in 2018.
