Gizzyborn 2024 is a platform (of many, thankfully) for local music

This Saturday Smash Palace book-ends NZ Music Month with Gizzyborn 2024 pt.2. In the 80’s Smash’s owner, Darryl Monteith & other musicians protested for a 20% quota of NZ music on our radio waves. In a time when this has become a reality, Gizzyborn 2 could feel like a throwback to a time, when “our own music couldn’t reach us.” But this Saturday night will be anything but nostalgic.

The acts are made up of local heavy hitters across a range of genres & encapsulate new and developing sounds. Here’s a breakdown:

ATRAX came out of Build-a-Band, the weekly institution that builds bands each Thursday night at Smash. Direct descendants of Ethnic Roots, they play Pacific Reggae.

Eastborne 4010 is a 13-piece posse of rap & hip-hop artists who sold-out their first gig at Smash Palace. Each member brings their unique persona to the stage translating into a powerful collective performance. Eastborne 4010 is made up of positive role models & is a band to keep your eye on.

Ben Aperahama has played brass in Soul Society & bass in Supafly Killa. Doing his own thing, his performances are explorative journeys of cool, dance-y electronic music, overlaid with live rap.

Ash Sales transports audiences to unexpected places with his epic soundscapes, composed on stage with just a guitar, looper, effects pedal & his voice. Pera Wilson is a new artist on the local hip hop scene. Get in on the ground floor of his emerging talent. Nathan Seaver, lead singer of Oceanspace, plays groovy, dreamy dance music as a solo artist.

Last Moon Ticket (formerly Model Citizen) play original rock that harks back to an alternative 90s & UK sound. They're led by Darren Byrne, who you might know as the owner of the Wave Room recording studio.

Mr Redpath is the newest band on the scene, composed of Ben Aperahama, Hilton Goldsmith & Fergus Taylor playing atmospheric groove rock.

The hard-fought battle to expose our airways and earways to home-grown music might feel like an issue of the past. But we can do that fight justice by valuing our own in the here & now. This Saturday, let’s pack out Smash Palace and take in the very current music by some of our best home-grown talent.

Photos by John Flatt

Words by Sarah Holliday Pocock