Music

If you're in the market for endurance EDM, upbeat pop bangers or heavy-based rap when you need to dig deep on your next run or gym session, we’ve got the playlist to keep you hitting goals.

From curated lists of the very best cinematic music moments to coveted playlists emulating every major hip artist you need to know about right now, this line-up is a sure-fit for any kind of gathering.

There’s a lot to love about music festivals in the Aotearoa summer. Racing between stages, dancing like no one’s watching, and snapping up some epic memories. 

 Deck the halls with sounds of Michael Bublé and the Queen of Christmas—Mariah Carey.

It's about damn time.

If there's one thing hip-hop group, 0800 Collective is going to do—it's keep things fresh. 

We're going to cut to the chase—JessB is the moment. 

A successful New Year’s Eve party—the kind people talk about for years to come—always has a few key ingredients; a rad crew of people, an endless grazing platter (preferably one that’s ‘gram-worthy), free-flowing booze and one seriously cracking playlist. While we can’t help with most of those things, we can ensure your party’s vibe remains high with our edit of the very best music out there.

With a hotly anticipated album on the horizon and the release of her latest single 'Miles Away', she's showing no signs of slowing down.

We might be biased, but one thing is for sure; Aotearoa punches above its weight with our homegrown music talent. 

Music has always been a family affair for alt hip-hop artist Taebz.

With her beaming smile, a flick of eyeliner and a strong coffee in hand, there's no stopping SAMMIE in her tracks.

Movie lovers and entertainers, we’ve got just the thing to level up your next binge-watching session or weekend crew hang. 

Ever wanted to hear Calvin Harris' One Kiss in C Minor with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra? Yeah, us neither, come to think of it. But it does sound like one awesome mash-up.

Hot on the heels of Te Marama Puoro O Aotearoa NZ Music Month we caught up with eight of Aotearoa's most exciting up-and-coming DJs to hear about life on the scene.

Nestled in the beating heart of Surfers Paradise, we’ve found the perfect place for the ultimate fun day out. Think: epic games, live sport and a total foodie nirvana. So where can you find this awesome spot? Perched on the corner of Surfers Paradise Boulevard and Cavill Mall, boasting a 100-metre frontage opposite the world-famous Surfers Paradise Beach, is Paradise Centre. Home to over 90 stores, an alfresco dining precinct and a buzzing entertainment hub, gather your crew and make tracks here stat.

Aotearoa is home to incredible talent. Music, art, design, hospitality—it's fair to say we have creative inspo in spades. 

While we don’t like to play favourites here at Urban List, we can’t deny that when it ones to One Direction, Harry Styles has always been our number one! 

Auckland’s Smoke & Spice Festival will be bigger and better than ever with plenty of barbecues, booze, live music, demos and events on the agenda but this time spread over two days.

Interesting Places: The Subterranean Sessions is set to be an absolutely awesome series of musical matinee shows, as part of Elemental AKL, featuring performances by the best musicians in town. 

Ditch the booze and bust some moves at this epic morning rave. 

Isol-Aid Homegrown is a collaboration providing creative and financial support to emerging acts across Australia and New Zealand.

Winter is coming, and that means ski party season is too. So, dust off your boots and grab your warmest jackets, because things are about to get seriously cool.

It’s her first tour since 2017.

Just imagine the scene if Snoop Dogg or Dr. Dre picked up a trumpet and smashed out some good ol’ bangers. Well, New Zealand’s very own MC Slave, aka “The Logg Cabin'' is giving us all a chance to witness just what this may sound like, right here in Auckland.

There’s always that one friend that doesn’t vibe with your choice in music, isn’t there? Well, now you can dance to the beat of your own drum, quite literally, at this highly anticipated event coming to Auckland this weekend. 

Forget whatever you had planned for September 3rd, Galatos is the place to be.

Cross St. Music Festival is back, baby. After the March lockdown rained on its parade, a new date has been released, and it’s only a couple of weeks away! 

Load Up your boot on covetable botanical goodies at Auckland Plant Market happening on March 21 at Smales Farm. Expect botanical art, live music, cute planters, colorful pots, jewelry, and skincare so whether you’re looking for adorable little succulents or kokedamas, you can find it all here.

It's going to be a big year for music.

For the swooners, the crooners and antics under the doonas.

We’re a sucker for a good playlist, allowing our favourite Netflix series to live on, way after the credits roll.

This is not a drill! Despite blessing our ears back in July—AKA the epicentre of lockdown life—with her surprise album Folklore, Taylor Swift has gone and done us all a solid, gifting us yet another EP. And yes, she’s here to save 2020, one dreamy track at a time.

 Just like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, Six60 are sharing their story on the big screen. Till The Lights Go Out hits cinemas 26 November and trust me when I say the boys don’t hold anything back. From each member's origin story to internal struggles within the group, they give fans a true insight into their lives. 

With grim lockdown and border restriction news dropping on the daily, sometimes you just need to turn the telly off and plug into a good playlist. It’s amazing what a solid dance sesh around your lounge room can do for your soul, which is why our mates Boo Seeka decided to create a collection of absolute bangers for Urban List readers to take your day from a two to a 10.

Rhythm and Vines have just dropped their stellar line-up and boy, are we in for a treat. 

Filmed around the world in the US, the UK, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Belgium—and featuring the likes of Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong’o and Pharrell Williams—this album is Beyoncé’s biggest triumph yet.

While the release of her last album, Lover, involved an international Easter egg hunt, in true 2020-style Swift has delivered the news of her surprise eighth studio album in the form of a mic drop. Simply posting a black and white pic of herself on Instagram, Swift informed her legion of adoring fans (ok we’re kinda one of them) that her new album Folklore, will be dropping in the US at midnight tonight—which fortunately is 2pm AEST for Australian and 4pm for NZ. 

If you’ve spent lockdown mourning the loss of live music and having a damn good boogie fear not. The Good Vibes winter tour is locked and loaded and will be hitting major cities around New Zealand from July until August.

We reached out to some of Hamilton's coolest business owners to find out what they've been up to in lockdown.

We’ve turned to some of Auckland’s coolest businesses owners to find out what they’re getting up to over the next four weeks. 

Couch-ella at your service.

It’s not all doom and gloom thanks to the guys behind Isol-Aid Music Festival.

If you’re one of the many people who have started working from home, then welcome to our rad crew. By now there’s a chance the novelty of wearing pyjamas all day long is starting to wear off, but because we’re experts when it comes to nailing the WFH life, we’re here to help. 

We jumped at the chance to chat to talk to Milk & Honey Festival co-founder, Lani Purkis. Best known as the bassist in Elemenop, these days she’s working behind the scenes so other women in music can shine.

We’re just a little bit obsessed with Aussie songbird Jack River. The ARIA-nominated artist has been tearing up the charts since dropping her debut LP Sugar Mountain in May 2019. The track premiered on triple j Breakfast before quickly becoming the number one most played song and we have been digging her tunes ever since.

His single "I Got Your Back" is shining a light on mens' mental health.

We’ve got some seriously epic news for your Monday. Following legendary performances at Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera, and Splendour in the Grass, homegrown hero Tame Impala is headed back to our sandy shores for their biggest ever Australian and New Zealand tour. 

When we listen to the mixtape of the 2010s, what does it actually sound like?

Fact: the noughties served up some of the best damn music of all time. Don’t fight us on it. 

The shadowy mouse empire is moving, and it’s coming for your bank account.

Fire up, guys. The FOMO 2020 is around the corner, and freaking Lizzo is headlining. There’s no denying it, 2019 was Lizzo’s year. The flute-playing queen has been ripping up the charts (if you haven’t belted out Truth Hurts in the shower you’re lying!) and now you’ve got the chance to witness her magic live.

Ever wanted to hear Darude’s Sandstorm in G Minor with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra? Yeah, us neither, come to think of it. But it does sound like one awesome mash-up.

​If there’s one thing we can’t get enough of right now, it’s all things horoscope related. We’re more than happy to live our lives according to our zodiac—but maybe that’s just the Gemini in us. Either way when Spotify announced they were releasing Cosmic Playlists today we lost our collective minds.

Who revolutionised the charts for EDM DJs, genre-bending music and women?

If you ask us, Post Malone can do no wrong, except when he makes us wait for his new album to drop. Well praise the hip hop lords because the Sunflower singer has revealed he’s officially completed work on his latest album.

It’s been three long years since Kid Cudi graced our playlists with a fresh album and thankfully the wait is now over… sort of. The Grammy-winning artist just announced Entergalatic, his first solo album since 2016’s Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’, is in the pipeline but even better, it will soundtrack a new adult animated series coming to Netflix.

As part of Urban List Music Month we're bringing light on the artists that are shaping the music industry from the ground up.

With her distinctive long purple hair, the talented creative has played at some of the biggest clubs, both in the City of Sails and the Pacific Islands.

This Barcelona festival is making headlines for its 50/50 talent split including Tame Impala, Miley Cyrus, Charli XCX, Future and Nas.

It’s almost been a whopping four years since her last album, but we’ve finally gotten word that Grimes is coming out with a new LP, so drop everything you’re doing and listen up. A few weeks ago, Grimes took to social media to unveil details about her forthcoming LP titled Miss_Anthropocene, a concept album about the anthropomorphic goddess of climate change.

His close team of songwriters and musicians have worked to finalise the late DJ’s unfinished album.

This is the moving story behind Beychella.

Bring on April 13.

Cancel Culture is undoubdtedly one of the most powerful digital movements today affecting the music world.

We couldn’t kick off the first week of music month at Urban List without chatting to pop music’s most coveted duo right now. In their first project together, Troye Sivan and Lauv’s I’m So Tired cracked top 10 in the UK—a first for both performers—reached the top 20 on the Billboard charts, has been streamed nearly two million times on Spotify and performed everywhere from Jimmy Kimmel Live to The Late Late Show with James Cordon.

Plus Chance The Rapper, Tame Impala, SZA, Hayden James, Matt Corby and Ziggy Alberts.

An ode to all things friendship, freedom and protecting your own energy.

Debuted at sacai’s Fall/Winter 2019 runway show in Paris, we now have a release date for the Japanese brands collaboration with Beats by Dre. 

She’s the eclectic pop slash hip-hop sound in everyone’s ears right now and considering she’s just 20, that’s a pretty huge feat.

Cliff top oasis and Bali beach club Ulu Ciffhouse has been redefining beachside nightlife since it opened its doors in 2017. With direct access to the beautiful beaches of Uluwatu, this beach club boasts a 25-metre infinity pool, resort, music recording studio, art space, world class food and drinks, and an oceanside deck that hangs above the waves.

The EDM duo remember their years DJ-ing at Kit & Kaboodle and now they’ve dropped their first album, there’s no turning back.

Females dominated the Album Of The Year nominations and the award ceremony made firsts in the world of hip hop. 

Behold, the rise and rise of Billie Eilish.

And what to expect when you hit play? Think glitchy transitions, hip hop vibes, over-sized jackets, all the bisexual lighting and chunky sneakers. In other words, it’s a sure-fire mirror of everything cool right now.

Hate deep house music? Maybe you just never listened to it the right way.

The South African-born, Australian-raised DJ has been hitting the decks at festivals like Your Paradise and Coachella.

Got an entertainment buff you need to please? From retro arcade games to stylish sound systems, we’ve got something that will have them cancelling all their plans for 2019.

It was... awesome.

Over the weekend musician slash actor slash creative genius Childish Gambino graced the southern hemisphere with his presence, bringing his highly anticipated PHAROS experience to New Zealand.

2018, we'll let you finish, but Cardi B had one of the greatest albums of all time.

In the middle of Mojo’s national tour, we sat down with her to talk about her latest album aptly named, Native Tongue. What we weren’t prepared for was her searing honesty, her ability to be relentlessly real and how refreshing the truth can be. 

The trio has just dropped a new LP and is set to tour Australia in 2019.

His music and loveable smile has won the hearts of those around Aotearoa and beyond and, after an incredible and heartbreaking health battle, Stan Walker is back doing what he does best—making and performing music.

It’s 10 glorious lazy Sunday tunes and we’re already fans.

If you’ve ever felt personally victimized by your wardrobe cause you didn’t have anything to wear (especially to a music festival), we hear you.

Dark, seductive and cheeky. As it should be.

We speak to Aqua's René Dif about pop's greatest era and making Barbie Girl live forever. 

Grime institution Eskimo Dance has just announced they’ll be hitting our side of the globe and we are ready.

​Childish Gambino is a man who thinks breakfast, lunch and dinner’s for beginners so it only makes sense that his live shows will be out of the ordinary

Get your crew sorted stat.

All your Sunday inspo wrapped into one handly lil' package.

Forget about tape players and CD’s, today’s music is all about streaming—or is it? There’s one form of music that’s been making it’s way back onto the scene and we love it.

Auckland’s favourite New Year’s Eve festival, Wondergarden is back for round three and better than ever!

You mean you’ve never been?

We’ve caught wind of a rockin' new space opening next week that’s unlike anything Auckland has seen before. 

You better swing / shake / move / make it to the online shop RN.

In a move so refreshing Aperol Spritz will surely jump on board as a sponsor, Drake has a released a music vid with nary a mention of ‘bitches’.

There is, quite frankly, no better way to end one’s weekend than with a cheeky Sunday sesh. Because let’s be real… embracing your inner sloth via TV binges and pizza ain’t the way a perfectly good week should wrap up, especially when the sun is out and about. Don’t let the frightful idea of Monday morning cramp your weekend fun—finish it off on a high note by partaking in a spot of Sunday session-ing. 

When it comes to live music, we like our venues sneaky. We’re talking basement bars tucked away in hidden laneways that house bands and DJs alike. 

In need of some gym-spiration? You’ve come to the right place! Straight from our aptly named “let’s get sweaty” playlist, these absolute bangers will get the heart pumping and muscles burning. 

Here at The Urban List, we love an upbeat playlist to keep us pepped up during a day at the office. Here's a selection of super smooth tunes that won't piss people off.