Pōneke musician Sam Fowles shares his perfect weekend playlist.
“Punchy”, “psychedelic” and “introspective”: Pōneke singer Sam Fowles describes his debut album, After Dark, as a genre-bending “musical exploration of my inner world” driven by groove. “It’s a modern take on the blues – today’s blues, just dressed up differently. These songs are born from my life experiences,” he says. “I hope to share some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way, connecting with anyone going through something similar.”
Co-produced by The Black Seeds’ Barnaby Weir, the 10-track album record (available now) bounces between reggae funk and psychedelic rock, transporting the listener between a dive bar and the beach: there’s the stumbling to the park in ‘After Dark’, and the cicadas chirping away in ‘Sitting On Top of The World’. In Fowles’ words: “it’s an album that invites listeners to reflect on their own journeys while moving to the rhythms and getting lost in its sonic textures.”
He reckons the best place to enjoy his music would be a road trip mish somewhere with the windows down, and volume up. And to create the perfect weekend vibe, Fowles says all he needs is a slow morning, good coffee and tasty kai. “I’d spend time hanging with friends, cruising around the coast with tunes we’ve been digging lately,” he says. “Throw in a sunset bonfire, followed by shooting some pool with a couple of cold ones, and then heading out to catch some live music. If I’m feeling it and the groove is just right, maybe even a bit of a boogie.”
From naughty grooves to rock’n’roll that refuses to sink into the swamp, here are 10 tunes that make Fowles’ weekend perfect.
Khruangbin – ‘May Ninth’
The morning birds are tweeting outside, coffee’s brewing, I’m chilling in my favourite chair in the sun. This track’s nostalgic vibes set the scene perfectly for a slow morning of coffee and contemplation.
Takuya Kuroda, José James – ‘Everybody Loves The Sunshine’
A good friend of mine showed me this track a few years back and it’s never been far from my rotation. A naughty groove and an epic re-imagining of a classic tune. Perfect for Saturday morning brunch with the homies.
Jimi Hendrix – ‘Highway Chile’
I’m a massive Jimi Hendrix fan so he’s a natural inclusion into any weekend playlist for me. I particularly dig this one for its bluesy swagger and ferocious lead guitar. The day’s starting to get a bit of momentum now.
Leon Bridges – ‘Coming Home’
What’s a cruise around the bays without a good singalong? Leon provides here with what has become a classic for me.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – ‘Layla’
Something about this tune hooked me when I first heard it. I still can’t put my finger on it, I promise it’s not just the tasty guitar solo. Perfect for watching the last of the day’s rays fade into the night with the warm crackle of a beach bonfire.
Arctic Monkeys – ‘R U Mine?’
Jump back in the car and we’re starting to ramp things up a bit now, with a bit of rock’n’roll innit.
Groove Armada – ‘Suntoucher’
This tune is tuff. I love the heavy vibe and that bass line … it’s hard. Perfect pace for shooting the shit, while shooting some pool.
AHoriBuzz – ‘Turnaround’
This tune is an absolute stonker, the intro, the riff (What a riff!) and the epic journey that it takes you on. It’s one of my all time favourites. We’re really starting to have a good time now.
Bill Withers – ‘Kissing My Love’
I’ve gotten into Bill’s music in a big way over the last few years. He’s such a great songwriter. I’m a sucker for a groove and this tune is chock full of that. Featuring possibly one of my favourite wah-wah guitar parts of all time. It’s so funky here, you can smell it.
Busty and the Bass, Macy Gray – ‘Out Of Love’
Things are getting a bit silly here, in a good way. Perfect tune to boogie down into the night.
Guy Williams, Robyn Malcolm and Bella Kalolo were all winners at the 2024 NZTVAs (Photos: Supplied)
Here’s your chance to catch up on the best local shows you might have missed this year.
This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here.
The best of New Zealand television was honoured last week at the 2024 New Zealand Television Awards Ngā Taonga Whakaata O Aotearoa. It was a night that celebrated everything from news coverage to reality TV, editing to cinematography, and given the past 12 months have seen huge highs and distressing lows in New Zealand television, the awards heralded a well-deserved chance to pay tribute to the talent, dedication and hard work of our TV industry.
After the Party was the big winner on the night, taking home a whopping nine awards. Gongs also went to Q&A (best current affairs programme, with host Jack Tame winning best presenter: news and current affairs), Kiri and Lou (best children’s programme), NZ Wars: Story of Tauranga Moana (best Māori programme) and Dame Julie Christie was awarded NZTV Legend 2024. Shortland Street actor Bella Kalolo was voted television personality of the year, while Karen O’Leary was named best presenter: entertainment for her work on Paddy Gower’s Got Issues.
We called After the Partythe best TV drama we’ve ever made, and it seems the NZTVAs agreed. As well as being named best drama for 2024, After the Party won awards for best actress (Robyn Malcolm), best actor (Peter Mullan), best supporting actor (Elz Carrad), best supporting actress (Tara Canton), best editing, best cinematography, best director comedy/drama and best script: drama for Dianne Taylor. Is there a shelf big enough for this haul? Let’s hope so.
If you haven’t watched After the Party yet, there’s no better time. The six-part drama about a woman dealing with the fallout after she accuses her husband of sexual assault is “a dark, tense and highly provocative drama which will rattle uneasily around your mind for days”. It’s currently earning high praise in both Britain and Australia, where critics called it “a modern masterpiece”.
The Motherhood Anthology – Give Me Babies (TVNZ+)
Screengrab: TVNZ
Motherhood is a collection of five short stories inspired by the Māori, Pasifika, Pan-Asian and LGBTQIA+ communities of Aotearoa. Each episode tells its own unique story, but they’re joined together by the shared theme of motherhood. In Give Me Babies – which took out the NZTVA for best comedy – Ari (Roxie Mohebbi) decides she’d rather have an MMA career than find the perfect partner and have the perfect child. She enters an illegal underground fight but makes an enemy of the most dangerous man in town, and when he tracks her down at a family wedding, chaos unfolds.
“These stories celebrate Aotearoa in a variety of vibrant and unexpected ways, but at the heart of each tale is the power of connection, the importance of whānau and community, and a strong sense of belonging,” we wrote earlier this year. “If you need an antithesis to the ‘traditional’ idea of motherhood, look no further than this anthology series.”
Family Faith Footy: A Pasifika Rugby Story (TVNZ+)
Winner of the best NZ On Air documentary, Family Faith Footy: A Pasifika Rugby Story is an inspiring documentary that celebrates the stories of Pasifika rugby players across the globe and highlights the sacrifices it takes to succeed internationally. “The transformational journey this doco takes us through gives Pasifika rugby players the spotlight they deserve for their contribution to the sport, given the challenges they have faced,” Sela Jane Hopgood wrote last year. “What I admire most about the film is how rugby superstars such as Charles Piutau and Malakai Fekitoa share their compelling personal stories in a way that traditional media never could.”
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Escaping Utopia (TVNZ+)
Escaping Utopia (Photo: Supplied)
This compelling three-part docuseries reveals what it’s really like to live in – and leave – the West Coast religious community of Gloriavale, and took out the award for best factual series. ”The extreme religious sect has been a source of public curiosity for years, and this isn’t the first television show about life there,” we reviewed in March. “Escaping Utopia will certainly satisfy people’s curiosity about Gloriavale, but it takes us far beyond the bonnets and butter churning and into a much darker reality. It will enrage and upset you, and break your heart several times over.” Escaping Utopia also won NZTVAs for best editing: documentary/factual, and best original score.
Down For Love (TVNZ+)
Down for Love is a dating show with a difference, and won the award for best original reality series. Down for Love celebrates disability and neurodiversity within the traditional TV dating show format, by following the highs and lows of New Zealanders living with Down Syndrome or intellectual disabilities as they look for love through a series of blind dates. Executive producer Robyn Scott-Vincent told The Spinoff that series producer Rachel Jean “adopted Attitude’s kaupapa ensuring people with disabilities took the lead across the series. She highlighted their desire to experience love – and independence – and showcased their incredible empathy towards one another.”
New Zealand Today (ThreeNow)
Guy Williams chats with the infamous Jack Karlson in New Zealand Today (Photo: New Zealand Today)
Best entertainment, thy name is New Zealand Today. “New Zealanders can be an odd bunch, especially in the presence of a camera and microphone, and nobody knows this better than New Zealand Today,” we wrote earlier this year, as Guy Williams’ popular series returned for a fourth season. Travelling everywhere from Oamaru to Paraparaumu, the comedian and self-proclaimed “volunteer journalist” serves up a slice of authentic New Zealand that continues to both surprise and entertain its viewers.
Kid Sister (TVNZ+)
Simone Nathan’s semi-autobiographical comedy series about a young woman and her Jewish-New Zealand family returned for a second season in 2024, and was awarded the win for best comedy script. With 30-year-old Lulu continuing her train wreck of a journey to maturity, Kid Sister “is a show about family and all the weird eccentricities that push us apart and pull us back together. Season two gives us the hope that one day, we too will grow up and start behaving like proper adults – or at the very least, channel just a fraction of the frenzied energy of glorious matriarch Keren,” our review said.
Dynamic Planet (Neon)
Sophie Musgrove and Siddharth Nambiar won the best director: documentary/factual award for Dynamic Planet, a NHNZ docuseries about how people around the world are responding to our changing climate. Narrated by Cliff Curtis and with music from New Zealand composer Karl Steven, the series was shot in 30 different locations across seven continents over four years, and shared stories in 12 different indigenous languages. Earlier this year, series producer Ben Lawrie told The Spinoff that Dynamic Planet isn’t your normal climate change series that spreads doom and gloom. Instead, it focuses on offering hope about how indigenous knowledge, science and natural history can combine to prepare us for a fast-changing future.
Ruamata: It’s More Than Just Hockey (RNZ/YouTube)
Ruamata took out the prize for best sports documentary, but it’s also the first hour-long sports doco in te reo Māori (with English subtitles). The groundbreaking film follows Te kura kaupapa Māori o Ruamata as they become the first kura kaupapa Māori in 100 years to qualify for the Rankin Cup, the most prestigious secondary school hockey tournament in Aotearoa. It’s a classic David vs Goliath story, but like the title says, this documentary is about more than just hockey – it’s about normalising te reo Māori and championing its use on the sports field, and is an inspiring journey filled with both pride and passion.
