Write Said Paul

Swedish metal, Spanish choruses, Nordic collaborations and one very unexpected yodel, Nick Johansson explains why TUNGSTEN’s new album Ashes is about not being afraid to try stupid ideas.

Interview by Paul Marshall

There are probably easier ways to promote a…

Live at Whammy

26 September 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

Other Voices Bring Siouxsie and the Banshees Back to Life at Whammy Bar.

There are nights when you go to a gig because you know exactly what…

Live at Spark Arena 

25 September 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

The Melbourne rock ’n’ roll survivors prove that some songs simply refuse to die.

There was something wonderfully appropriate about walking into Spark Arena and finding…

Live at Spark Arena 

25 September 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

The Kiwi hard-rock juggernauts bring the mosh pit, the mayhem and a bass-flinging finale.

There was something wonderfully appropriate about walking into Spark Arena and finding…

Live at Spark Arena 

25 September 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

Villainy deliver the rock, but leave some arena magic on the table.

There was something wonderfully appropriate about walking into Spark Arena and finding the place…

SABREEN — Forget Me When I’m Gone EP

EP Review

There is absolutely nothing wrong with admitting you like pop music. I’m from London, England, so perhaps I was always destined to be a sucker for a good pop song…

James: Getting Away With It

Saul Davies on Yummy, Laid, four decades of James, and why the band still refuses to stand still.

Interview by Paul Marshall

There are interviews, and then there are those moments when you…

Live at The Tuning Fork

14 September 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

ASH — 1977, 30 Years On: Still Burning Baby Burn.

There are nights when Auckland feels like it has been deliberately designed to discourage you…

Live at The Powerstation 

11 September 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

Happy Mondays: Pills, Thrills, Maracas and One Wet Auckland Night.

The Madchester legends bring 35 years of Pills ’n’ Thrills and Bellyaches to a sold-out Powerstation…

Live at The Powerstation

8 September 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

The Damned at The Powerstation: 50 Years On, Still Neat, Still Nasty, Still Damned.

There are gigs where you arrive wondering what kind of night…

Live at Whammy

2 September 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

Three Bands, One Very Loud Wednesday: Buzz, Lipstick & Frank On Tap Turn Whammy Into a Sweatbox

There are two kinds of people on a Wednesday night…

Live at The Powerstation 

1 September 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

The Swedish pirates of the Kattegat bring the freakshow to Auckland.

There are some buildings where you go to see a concert. And then there are…

Down the Rabbit Hole at The Civic: A Circus Spectacle That Defies Gravity

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

There are opening nights, and then there are opening nights that feel like somebody has ripped a hole in reality…

Live at Whammy

28 August 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

Going Global 2026, Day Two: When the Showcase Becomes a Gig

There comes a point during every music industry showcase when you stop thinking about the business…

Live at Whammy

28 August 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

Going Global 2026, Day Two: The Search for the Next Big Thing.

If Day One of Going Global was about discovering what Aotearoa’s music industry has to…

The Business of Getting Aotearoa’s Music Out Into the World.

Review by Music Journalist Paul Marshall

There are music conferences where you sit in a room, listen to people talk, collect a few business cards and go home with a…

Live at Whammy

27 August 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

Going Global Night One: Aotearoa Turns Up the Volume at Whammy

There are nights in Auckland when you go to a gig to see a band. Then…

Live at Whammy

27 August 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

Going Global 2026: Auckland’s K’ Road Becomes Ground Zero for Aotearoa’s Next Wave

There are nights in Auckland when you go to a gig to see a…

Live at Whammy

27 August 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

Going Global 2026: Auckland’s Next Wave Takes the World Stage at Whammy.

There are nights in Auckland when you go to a gig to see a band…

Going Global 2026: Where Aotearoa Meets the World

Day One at New Zealand’s most important music industry conference.

Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

There are music conferences, and then there are music conferences where you realise, somewhere between the…

Live at The Tuning Fork

26 August 2026

Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall 

More Than a Concert: Play It Strange Celebrates the Future of Aotearoa Music.

There are concerts where you go to be entertained, and then there…

OBSCURA: The Long Game

An Interview with Steffen Kummerer

Interview by Paul Marshall

There are musicians who join bands, musicians who front them, and then there are the rare few who become the engine room, the people who refuse to…

MAD MAX: Stories Of Destiny, 45 Years, A Box Of Old Cassettes And The Songs That Refused To Die

Interview by Paul Marshall

It’s another late night, another time zone, another conversation with a musician whose career stretches back further…

Johannes Eckerström: "I'd Rather Fail Doing Something I Love Than Succeed at Something I Never Wanted to Do”.

Interview by Paul Marshall

Johannes Eckerström has always been an intriguing figure. Face paint, a wicked grin and the air of a…