Interview

Reuben Bonner on risk, discovery, and building the world of Strange Universe

Few people have shaped the path of independent touring in Aotearoa quite like Reuben Bonner. Through his work with Banished Music, Bonner has spent years bringing adventurous international acts to local stages while championing artists from across the country. His latest venture, Strange Universe, expands that vision into a loose constellation of shows scattered across Tāmaki Makaurau’s favourite venues.

In this conversation, Bonner reflects on the fragile state of live music, the thrill of discovering new artists, and the simple idea that sits at the centre of Strange Universe: gather bands you love, place them in the right rooms, and let the unexpected happen.

The Rions chase honesty and sonic exploration as their audience grows louder

They never set out to recreate a past era and yet The Rions have an instinctive spark that listeners keep circling back to. It's loose, guitar driven - a little rough around the edges in a way that cuts deeper than your standard trending indie pop. As their

Five years in the making, Hanne Jøstensen's EP holds onto distance and light

Hanne Jøstensen did not rush her EP into the world. She built it slowly, quietly, over years when life was pulling in different directions. The Lighthouse is shaped by patience. Carrying the weight of time, the notion of distance, and the focus of someone who chose to finish what she

Breaches push alt-pop into darker territory on debut EP ‘Seeds’

Breaches debut EP lands in the middle of alt-pop’s shift toward a rougher, heavier, and more texture-led sonic quality. Across four tracks, the Pōneke duo trade polish for pressure. Guitars that crackle alongside low sitting synths in a mix that holds slow brooding intensity at the forefront. Singles ‘Seeds’

Just Janie tears into the fantasy of the 60s and asks who we chose to forget

Just Janie draws from the past without getting stuck in it. With Mythology of the Girls, she pulls threads from the counterculture era and ties them to the urgent and misguided(?) modern age. The resulting output gives a familiar warmth at first listen, then becomes suggestively unsettling once the stories

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The Rions chase honesty and sonic exploration as their audience grows louder

Five years in the making, Hanne Jøstensen's EP holds onto distance and light

Breaches push alt-pop into darker territory on debut EP ‘Seeds’

Just Janie tears into the fantasy of the 60s and asks who we chose to forget