
PHOEBE RINGS Share Talking Heads Inspired New Single 'Fading Star'
May 8, 2025: Rising Tāmaki Makaurau band, Phoebe Rings share 'Fading Star,' the charming new single from their forthcoming debut album, Aseurai, due June 6th on Carpark Records.
Fading Star is the final single to be released from Aseurai and follows 'Aseurai', 'Drifting' and 'Get Up', which have seen support and acclaim from Pitchfork, Paste, Flood, Rolling Stone, Happy Mag, Northern Transmissions, plus adds to Spotify Fresh Finds AU&NZ.
Phoebe Rings have just announced a 35-date US tour including supporting The Beths this Oct-Dec and a string of headline shows.
The groove persists with 'Fading Star,' through which the dream pop quartet continues to evolve their sound by adding rhythms that snap into place and steely jazz/rock guitar solos. 'Fading Star' sees the group return to work with Punctum Productions and director Nahyeon Lee for their office themed music video, which was made with assistance from NZ On Air Music.
'Fading Star' was conceptualised by drummer and producer Alex Freer after seeing musicians and bands that he loved and respected tour NZ to smaller crowds, and feeling like the size of their audiences was not equal to the impact they had on his, and everyone else's lives. Freer shares, "'Fading Star' was built upon harmony inspired by city pop and disco jazz. I wanted the verses to have more of a Talking Heads/Orange Juice rudimentary groove while the choruses have twinkly, dreamy layers with string synth and warbly guitar. The bridge allows a moment of full disco excess with percussion, clavinet synth, and a tube screamer guitar solo.'
To celebrate the release of 'Fading Star' and Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa (NZ Music Month) Phoebe Rings will perform in-store at Real Groovy on May 16 with Bub and George Villa. The event kicks off at 6PM and entry is free!
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RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
'Come for the haka, stay for the healing': Auckland celebrates haka without the competition
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This is our space to stand together. To celebrate who we are." It was a chance to honour te ao Māori on their own terms - without the pressure of competition, he said. "We've all just come off the whakataetae (competitive) stage, and the whole wairua is different. Whakataetae, you're pretty intense, everyone's a little bit uptight, but at whakangahau you can go out there and have a bit of fun." Wehi said the kaupapa also offered space to nurture new talent and pass the legacy of haka on to the next generation. "We had a few young ones with us today; this is the time to introduce them to the big stage and celebrate together. "Look around - the sun's shining, the young people are here. We're celebrating our culture. We're celebrating our reo." Te Waka Huia leader and haka expert Tāpeta Wehi said Tāmaki Hakangāhau was a place for Māori to stand together and celebrate who they are as a people. Photo: Supplied / Te Matatini Enterprises Wehi, like many kaihaka, performed alongside his whānau, including his six-week-old mokopuna. "The waiata we were doing was about our tamariki and mokopuna - the future of who we are," he said. "I brought my mokopuna out to the front because she's going to grow up in that world." "She's going to grow up in te ao Māori, in te ao haka. We grew up in that world, and this is just a time to pass it all on to our mokopuna. They're the future." Tāmaki Hakangākau also celebrated te ao Māori off-stage, hosting a kaupapa Māori market featuring kai, taonga, kākahu and fundraising stalls in support of local whānau, kura and Māori-led initiatives. Among those fundraising were Adria and Gianne from Te Kōhanga Reo o Kākāriki, who were offering $5 moko - glitter options included. Te Kōhanga Reo o Kākāriki were offering tāmoko to whānau at Tāmaki Hakangāhau - raising pūtea for their kōhanga. Photo: Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ They said the day created a space for tamariki to see te ao Māori celebrated unapologetically. "It's really nice to be in a Māori environment, to be with your own people," Adria said. "It's also really nice for those who aren't Māori to come and be with us too, in a Māori environment." Gianne said the kaupapa created an environment where tamariki could see themselves reflected proudly on stage and in the crowd. "All of these things come naturally to all of us, especially being in kōhanga reo. "This is what our kids see and breathe, live every day. So, it's normal, normal to me. Therefore, it's important to remain in these spaces." Nga Tumanako who placed 3rd at Te Matatini 2025 took the stage at Tāmaki Hakangāhau with young and passionate kaihaka. Photo: Supplied / Te Matatini Enterprises Adria said it was also beautiful to see tamariki wearing moko proudly. "It's so fun and they love it. Why would you take something away from our tamariki that they're enjoying? Why would you disparage that? It's unnecessary." Gianne added that no matter what ministers say in Parliament - referencing NZ First leader Winston Peters calling Rawiri Waititi's mataora "scribbles" - they will continue to be unapologetically Māori. "And we're trying to normalise scribbles. It's beautiful. Come and tautoko our mokopuna and scribble the world!" Ākonga from Te Wānanga Takiura o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa, Rawiri Howard, Terina Taia, Charlie O'Sullivan and Jaksyn Hepi-Ngarongo. Photo: Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ Ākonga on their reo Māori journey from Te Wānanga Takiura o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa were also in attendance, supporting their kaiako and soaking in the performances. "The muscle fritters were really good but I loved watching the babies performing with the ropū," Terina Taia said, adding that it was heartwarming to see kaumātua and tamariki alike on stage. "It was also really cool to be able to understand the kaupapa," "Being able to understand the kōrero from the kaimihi without asking someone else - that was amazing." Fellow ākonga Jaksyn Hepi-Ngarongo said while he didn't catch every word, he felt the essence through the wairua. "I didn't understand some of it, but I could feel it. That was my understanding - I could feel the meaning." The group said it was a day of being proud to be Māori. Te Poho o Hinekahukura closed their performance with a mihi to Te Pāti Māori, singing the waiata 'Be Proud to be Māori.' Photo: Supplied / Te Matatini Enterprises On the day, many haka rōpū didn't shy away from politics, some directing pointed messages at government ministers, including Winston Peters. Wehi said the stage was the right place to share those narratives. "Our action song was about this - the kōhanga reo movement, the kura kaupapa, and our children," he said. Despite some of the "low blows" Māori have faced this year, Wehi said the community had only grown stronger. "We're strong people, we're resilient. And this is what we're all about - keep moving, whānau. Kotahitanga, unity, is what's gonna get us over the line." Another key message across performances was the importance of voting, with many rōpū encouraging Māori to "kaua e nōti, puta ki te pōti" ahead of the upcoming election. "Kua tae te wā. This is the time. We have to vote. We saw what's been going on in Whare Pāremata (Parliament) this week," Wehi told RNZ. "If you don't vote, then don't moan, whānau." Te Kapa Haka o Te Wharekura o Hoani Waititi Marae – the top qualifying rōpū from Tāmaki Makaurau for Mana Kuratahi ki Mataatua 2025 – delivered a powerful bracket on Saturday. Photo: Supplied / Te Matatini Enterprises Haka expert and leader of Te Rōpū Manutaki Paora Sharples said kapa haka remains a powerful platform to reflect the lived realities of Māori. "It's a way of acknowledging what's happening to us as Māori - not just in the past or future, but right now." He said the political kōrero of the week - including comments by NZ First leader Winston Peters and the debate around Te Pāti Māori - echoed in many brackets over the weekend. "It's an example of the power of kapa haka and our ability to keep our language and our customs alive through these forms of expression." Kaihaka from Te Rōpū Manutaki at Tāmaki Hakangāhau 2025. Photo: Supplied / Te Matatini Enterprises Sharples also urged whānau to take that energy to the ballot box. "That's what we should all be doing - voting. That's where it counts. It's no good us marching up and down the street if we don't vote." He encouraged Māori to keep the kōrero going - whether that be online or on stage. "That's something we need to keep talking about in all our different mediums, online, as well as in physical manifestations like kapa haka." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.


Scoop
4 days ago
- Scoop
PHOEBE RINGS Release Their ‘Quietly Beautiful' Debut Album Aseurai
June 6, 2025: Tāmaki Makaura dream-pop quartet Phoebe Rings – dubbed an 'indie supergroup' by RNZ given its members' involvement in other notable projects such as Tiny Ruins, AC Freazy, Princess Chelsea, Fazerdaze and Lucky Boy^ – today release their anticipated debut album Aseurai via Carpark Records with the focus track 'Playground Song', alongside a string of new live dates including supporting Japanese Breakfast in Auckland tomorrow night + their first live shows in South Korea and Japan this month (full details below). Stream/order Aseurai HERE. A lullaby-like, cyclical track which reflects on childhood friendship and nostalgia, focus track ' Playground Song ' features stereo acoustic guitars, warm synth textures, and gentle wave-like noises, with its centrepiece – a flute solo played by Lukas Fritsch – adding a dreamy, reflective touch. It's released alongside its floral-adorned live performance video directed by Nahyeon Lee – watch HERE. On Aseurai, Phoebe Rings continue to explore their disco and city-pop influences while staying true to the dream-pop sound of their self-titled debut EP released last year. 'Aseurai means around you in the atmosphere, hard to reach, fading away,' singer Crystal Choi says, 'it's a poetic expression. You wouldn't say it in normal conversation, but I like that.' Across its four singles so far – 'Aseurai', 'Drifting', 'Get Up' and 'Fading Star' – the album has garnered praise from international outlets like Pitchfork, FLOOD, Beats Per Minute, Rolling Stone, frankie, Happy, Northern Transmissions and Paste Magazine, who said the album finds the band 'sharply in the pocket that makes them terrific.' While Phoebe Rings – named for the outermost ring around Saturn which is known to be the largest, but the least visible – was originally a solo project of singer Crystal Choi, who is also a university-trained jazz pianist, Aseurai marks a shift with contributing songwriting credits from the whole band, which includes guitar/synthesist Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent, bassist Benjamin Locke and drummer/producer Alex Freer. With a more ambitious collection of instruments, Choi says this album heralds the start of true collaboration: 'I feel more precious about this LP because it includes everyone's gems.' The broth is richer with more cooks in the kitchen, and the brewing of textures creates a distinct ' Phoebe Rings ' sound. If their S/T EP was spacey, then Aseurai settles on earth, rooted in tangible moments. 'Without getting too gloomy, it's a weird world out there. A lot has changed in the world since the EP came out,' says Kavanagh-Vincent on this transformation. The album delves into hope and longing across all possibilities, and this exploration of holding on and letting go is organically threaded throughout. They mark out a brilliant new constellation in their sky, bringing their individual compositions to the fore whilst seamlessly threading them into one celestial body all underpinned by their ongoing inspirations: Studio Ghibli films, Zelda and Stardew soundtracks, Bossa Nova, Stereolab, and 90's Korean ballads. Phoebe Rings' storytelling ranges from tongue-in-cheek musings on gentrification, to commentary on the housing crisis (' Mandarin Tree '), musicians moving on in their careers (' Fading Star '), finding small oases in everyday life (' Not A Necessity ') and tender autobiographical memories – including on the title-track and 'B lue Butterfly ' both wrapped in grief, Crystal yearns for people she can't see anymore, in this case her late grandmother who she was separated from for a large period of her life (she also thinks that's why she wrote ' Aseurai ' in her mother tongue of Korean, in a way using it to be closer to her grandmother through song and shared language), ' Get Up ' on which drummer Benjamin Locke talks of the paralysis of extended periods of struggling with mental health and leaning on the famous scene from The Matrix to try to will yourself out of it, and ' Goodnight ', a tender, loving ode to our cats and the comfort they bring us.


Scoop
4 days ago
- Scoop
PHOEBE RINGS Release Their 'Quietly Beautiful' Debut Album Aseurai
June 6, 2025: Tāmaki Makaura dream-pop quartet Phoebe Rings - dubbed an "indie supergroup" by RNZ given its members' involvement in other notable projects such as Tiny Ruins, AC Freazy, Princess Chelsea, Fazerdaze and Lucky Boy^ - today release their anticipated debut album Aseurai via Carpark Records with the focus track 'Playground Song', alongside a string of new live dates including supporting Japanese Breakfast in Auckland tomorrow night + their first live shows in South Korea and Japan this month (full details below). Stream/order Aseurai HERE. A lullaby-like, cyclical track which reflects on childhood friendship and nostalgia, focus track ' Playground Song ' features stereo acoustic guitars, warm synth textures, and gentle wave-like noises, with its centrepiece - a flute solo played by Lukas Fritsch - adding a dreamy, reflective touch. It's released alongside its floral-adorned live performance video directed by Nahyeon Lee - watch HERE. On Aseurai, Phoebe Rings continue to explore their disco and city-pop influences while staying true to the dream-pop sound of their self-titled debut EP released last year. 'Aseurai means around you in the atmosphere, hard to reach, fading away,' singer Crystal Choi says, 'it's a poetic expression. You wouldn't say it in normal conversation, but I like that.' Across its four singles so far - 'Aseurai', 'Drifting', 'Get Up' and 'Fading Star' - the album has garnered praise from international outlets like Pitchfork, FLOOD, Beats Per Minute, Rolling Stone, frankie, Happy, Northern Transmissions and Paste Magazine, who said the album finds the band 'sharply in the pocket that makes them terrific.' While Phoebe Rings - named for the outermost ring around Saturn which is known to be the largest, but the least visible - was originally a solo project of singer Crystal Choi, who is also a university-trained jazz pianist, Aseurai marks a shift with contributing songwriting credits from the whole band, which includes guitar/synthesist Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent, bassist Benjamin Locke and drummer/producer Alex Freer. With a more ambitious collection of instruments, Choi says this album heralds the start of true collaboration: 'I feel more precious about this LP because it includes everyone's gems.' The broth is richer with more cooks in the kitchen, and the brewing of textures creates a distinct ' Phoebe Rings ' sound. If their S/T EP was spacey, then Aseurai settles on earth, rooted in tangible moments. 'Without getting too gloomy, it's a weird world out there. A lot has changed in the world since the EP came out,' says Kavanagh-Vincent on this transformation. The album delves into hope and longing across all possibilities, and this exploration of holding on and letting go is organically threaded throughout. They mark out a brilliant new constellation in their sky, bringing their individual compositions to the fore whilst seamlessly threading them into one celestial body all underpinned by their ongoing inspirations: Studio Ghibli films, Zelda and Stardew soundtracks, Bossa Nova, Stereolab, and 90's Korean ballads. Phoebe Rings' storytelling ranges from tongue-in-cheek musings on gentrification, to commentary on the housing crisis (' Mandarin Tree '), musicians moving on in their careers (' Fading Star '), finding small oases in everyday life (' Not A Necessity ') and tender autobiographical memories - including on the title-track and 'B lue Butterfly ' both wrapped in grief, Crystal yearns for people she can't see anymore, in this case her late grandmother who she was separated from for a large period of her life (she also thinks that's why she wrote ' Aseurai ' in her mother tongue of Korean, in a way using it to be closer to her grandmother through song and shared language), ' Get Up ' on which drummer Benjamin Locke talks of the paralysis of extended periods of struggling with mental health and leaning on the famous scene from The Matrix to try to will yourself out of it, and ' Goodnight ', a tender, loving ode to our cats and the comfort they bring us.