Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
locally and has spawned internationally renowned acts such as Concord Dawn and Shape-
shifter.
THE BROTHERS FINN
There are certain tunes that all Kiwis can sing along to, given a beer and the opportunity. A surprising proportion
of these were written by Tim and Neil Finn, and have been international hits.
Tim Finn first came to prominence in the 1970s group Split Enz. When the original guitarist quit, Neil flew
over to join the band in the UK, despite being only 15 at the time. Split Enz amassed a solid following in Aus-
tralia, NZ and Canada before disbanding in 1985.
Neil then formed Crowded House with two Australian musicians (Paul Hester and Nick Seymour) and one of
their early singles, 'Don't Dream It's Over', hit number two on the US charts. Tim later did a brief spell in the
band, during which the brothers wrote 'Weather With You' - a song that reached number seven on the UK charts,
pushing their album
Woodface
to gold sales. The original line-up of Crowded House played their final show in
1996 in front of 100,000 people on the steps of the Sydney Opera House (though Finn and Seymour reformed the
group in 2007 and continue to tour and record occasionally). Tim and Neil have both released a number of solo
albums, as well as releasing material together as the Finn Brothers.
More recently, Neil has also remained busy organising a set of shows/releases under the name Seven Worlds
Collide - a collaboration with well-known overseas musicians including Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Johnny Marr (The
Smiths) and members of Radiohead. His latest band is the Pajama Club, a collaboration with wife Sharon and
Auckland musicians Sean Donnelly and Alana Skyring.
Neil's son Liam also has a burgeoning solo career, touring the US with Eddie Vedder and The Black Keys and
appearing on
The Late Show with David Letterman
. Both Tim and Neil were born in the small town of Te
Awamutu: the local museum has a collection documenting their work.
New Music
Since 2000 the NZ music scene has developed new vitality after the government con-
vinced commercial radio stations to adopt a voluntary quota of 20% local music. This en-
abled commercially oriented musicians to develop solid careers. Rock groups such as Shi-
had, The Feelers and Op-shop have thrived in this environment, as have a set of soulful
female solo artists (who all happen to have Maori heritage): Bic Runga, Anika Moa and
Brooke Fraser. NZ also produced two internationally acclaimed garage rock acts over this
time: the Datsuns and the D4.
Current Kiwis garnering international recognition include the gifted songstress Kimbra
(who sang on Gotye's global smash 'Somebody That I Used To Know'); indie anthem alt-
rockers The Naked & Famous; singer-songwriter Ladyhawke; the arty Lawrence Arabia;
and the semi-psychedelic Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Aaradhna is a much-touted R&B
singer currently making a splash with her album
Trebel & Reverb,
which won Album of
the Year at the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards.
