• An aspiring singer, songwriter, rapper, producer and/or beat maker based in Tāmaki Makaurau?
• 16 – 34 years old and no longer in school?
• Available once a week for about two hours to attend 1-on-1 mentoring or a workshop?
• Self-motivated and driven to improve your skills and knowledge?
• Passionate about the music and cultures of Aotearoa and the South Pacific?

POETIK

Born in New Zealand, but raised in Apia Samoa, the world got its first taste of POETIK on his three independently released street albums ‘The Ambassador’, ‘For The Ville’, and ‘Poetikly Done’. ‘Hamofied’ ep debuted at #1 on Itunes New Zealand Hip Hop chart in 2017.

Known for his outspoken opinions on racism, polynesian culture, mainstream media and for putting Samoan Hip Hop on the map, Poetik (real name Ventry Parker) has brought a distinct Pasifika blend to his 90s West Coast flows, earning him nominations and winning awards such as:

• 2018 – Awarded Philip Fuemana Most Promising Pacific Artist Award
• 2019 – Nominated 4 times for Best Pacific Male Artist, Best Pacific Hip Hop, Best Roots/Reggae artist (Runtingz Family) and Peoples Choice
• 2020 – Awarded Best Pacific Male Artist and nominated 3 times for Best Pacific Hip Hop Artist, Best Pacific Hip Hop Album
• 2023 – Awarded Best Pacific Hip Hop Artist 

His background is a testament to his strength and drove him to always stay true to himself, his fans and his sound. Not afraid to speak about the struggle of poverty, love, the hood, culture, racism, street violence, the devilish side of the music industry, and prevailing.

Poetik also recently opened his own retail shop and creative space ‘Big Village’ in Avondale, where he hopes to see “more of our community in the music industry work together, collaborate together, help each other out”.

HUIA

Huia Hamon is all about legacy projects, aligning with music and art scenes worldwide.

“Indigenous collaboration is my heart, as is empowering wāhine. It must be greater than me.”

From DnB, to dancehall, through to acoustic and ambient sounds, Huia’s waiata/music goes deep into themes of love, nature and our life lessons. 

Expressing in Māori, English and a touch of Spanish, her live shows are a mix of organic vibes, layered harmonies and pulsing electronic subs.

PUNIALAVA’A

Punialava’a was first formed in the Samoan village of Vailele in 1966 by former school teacher, Reverend Iosefa Lale Peteru. He performed with his parents until 1968 when they recorded their first song. 

Then together with friends, Reverend Peteru wrote and produced hits during the 1970s that were played by the Samoa National Broadcasting Service, and the rest is history.

The group has changed members over the decades, but the music and lyrics stay true to the heart of Samoa and Pacific culture, as Reverend Peteru explains.

“We’ve done that cos we wrote different  songs, different genres, different themes that help people during times of tribulations and other hard times of life.”

Punialava’a won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 Pacific Music Awards in New Zealand.

SUNSHINE SOUND SYSTEM

Sunshine Sound System was formed in 2000 when Downtown Brown (Simon Hendl) moved to Queenstown after finishing his medical degree, instantly connecting with the extraordinary talents of both P Digsss (Paora Apera) of Shapeshifter and KPZ (Kyle Popham). 

They have been smashing shows the length of NZ ever since with their trademark soundsystem-style celebration of hip-hop, reggae/dub, dancehall, original skool soul and funk, all the way through to glitch, jungle and trap. 

Numerous luminary collaborators regularly drop in on the Sunshine Sound, including MC Switch, DJ Turbohag, and featuring more recently MC Tali, Laughton Kora (Kora & LAB), and Tyra Hammond (Opensouls).

SANDY MILL

Born in Gisborne, New Zealand of Ngati Porou descent, Sandy Mill has a diverse list of releases, collaborations, live and guest appearances as a vocalist, songwriter & percussionist in Aotearoa / NZ and the UK. Sandy is well known for her generosity as a musician and her breadth of talent and accomplishments. 

She is as proficient performing sixties pop melodies and harmonies for New Zealand super-troupe, The Bellbirds (with Victoria Kelly, Don McGlashan, Sean Donnelly), as she is improvising, using her voice as an instrument to recreate gregorian monk chants (with producer Flood reworking of Gary Numan’s Cars), and across layered irregular time signatures in celebrated 90’s avant-garde, free jazz / dance quartet, Spacesuit. 

“The Basement Jaxx boys asked me to scream and yell a lot. Not much singing went on in that session, but I learnt another way of approaching the recording process”, she laughs.

She was a finalist in the Waiata Maori Music Award 2018 for her solo debut ‘A Piece of Me’ and came in at number 20 in the Top 20 NZ charts. Sandy recently added her voice to Don McGlashan’s ‘Korokutia (Bathe in the River)’ with Hollie Smith, Pere Wihongi, Laughton Kora and Annie Crummer for  Waiata Anthems 2.

SOLA ROSA

Sola Rosa (Andrew Spraggon) is an alchemist in the studio who amalgamates elements of soul, R’n’B, funk, jazz, hip-hop, pop and more. He is an intuitive collaborator who places emerging talent alongside established artists to create music which is warm, distinctive and polished.

After a short period as singer/guitarist in the rock band Cicada in the mid 90s, Spraggon escaped the constraints of indie rock to explore the wider palette and colours of the studio – giving birth to Sola Rosa. The debut album Solarized picked up Best Electronica album at the 2001 New Zealand Music Awards, and marked the beginning of a remarkable musical journey.

His 20 year-plus Sola Rosa project has seen Spraggon working with international artists like Tom Bailey (Thompson Twins/International Observer) as well as locals such as Fat Freddy’s Drop, signing to global distributors and touring internationally playing at huge festivals (Secret Garden Party, Green Man, Kendal Calling among many others).

BEV ADAIR

Bev is an extremely established Media & PR guru with decades of experience in mentoring and professional development for aspiring music artists and creatives. 

Her mission is to Co-designing a life plan to reach your full potential as a professional creative.

Stan Walker – Bev is someone I speak highly about. She has been there for me both in my music career. and my personal life. I can highly recommend Bev. She was my P.A., and she was thorough. trustworthy and reliable. She was an amazing asset to my team. I highly recommend Bev as a mentor and an industry professional. Her working knowledge of the music industry combined with her passion for rangatahi to reach their full potential, using music and the creative arts is something she can do.  With her industry pathaway programme, she will open many doors for our rangatahi to reach their full potential and help them realise their dreams and aspirations to become independent artists in our music industry. Bev has been helping and empowering our rangatahi to embrace who they are, their culture, find their purpose and their personal value for many years. 

Joel Little – songwriter and music producer Lorde. KhaUd. Imagine Dragons and Taylor Swift. Grammy Award winner and two Silver Scrolls. With Bev’s extensive knowledge and the experience gained from her years in the industry this is a wonderful opportunity to pass on her wisdom to the next generation as a mentor and professional development coach. I know she will make an invaluable contribution to the lives and careers of every person she has the opportunity to work with. Just as she made an invaluable contribution to mine. 

Olivia Foa’i -New Zealand-born singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer and director (Tokelauan, Tuvaluan and British heritage) Lead female singer/dancer for internationally acclaimed Polynesian band, TE VAKA /  Singer Disney’s Moana soundtrack (Tulou Tagaloa, Logo Te Pate, Know Who You Are.) 

“Having been in the entertainment industry since a child and working with many industry professionals all over the world I can say with confidence, Bev is a rare find. She has the vigour and industry instinct to compete with the world’s top managers but also the heart to truly care for the wellbeing of all those she deals with. 

Hearing about Bev’s plans for mentoring, I can think of no one more suited than Bev. Not only is she over qualified (having worked with most if not all of NZ’s top artists), but more importantly she cares profoundly about young people and is a passionate mentor.” – Olivia Foa’i

And more, such as Sam V, Rei, Pati AF, Tha Feelstyle, DJ Scissorhands…

Facilitated by Island Base Trust with the support of Sky City Trust and in partnership with
Auckland City Council, BeatSpun Studios and Niu FM.