Nick Bollinger

Award-winning writer, musician, and broadcaster Nick Bollinger delves into diverse corners of Aotearoa's musical past and present to investigate what it is that differentiates New Zealand pop music… Video, Audio

At a time when few New Zealanders seemed to be singing about themselves, The Front Lawn turned the Hutt Valley and Takapuna Beach into musical landmarks. A forerunner of Flight of the Conchords, they… Audio

Using his stage name Tha Feelstyle, Samoan-born rapper Kas Futialo made his groundbreaking album, Break It To Pieces, mixing Pasifika beats with hip-hop, funk and no shortage of catchy hooks. Some of… Audio

The 80s club scene gave birth to the sound that Ardijah's founder Ryan Monga calls Polyfonk. After a long incubation in the South Auckland club scene, the group burst forth with that sound on their… Audio

Auckland-raised singer-songwriter Renee-Louise Carafice wrote and recorded her debut album after a spell of clinical depression, and yet it remains an uplifting, even beautiful piece of work. In this… Audio

'The new rock - bittersweet and low' proclaimed a Time magazine cover in 1971, heralding the arrival of a new wave of acoustic-based music centred on the likes of Crosby, Stills and Nash and James… Audio

The 2005 studio debut of the Wellington-based soul-reggae collective Fat Freddy's Drop became the year's second-biggest selling album in their homeland and established their worldwide reputation In… Audio

In the late-70s landscape of mainstream New Zealand pop, Sharon O'Neill stood out not only for her pure powerful voice and piano skills but also for a swag of sophisticated self-penned songs. All of… Audio

On his 2018 album Avantdale Bowling Cup,  Auckland rapper Tom Scott blends powerful, polyrhythmic rhymes with fine jazz and a strong sense of place. Video, Audio

Nick Bollinger and Chris Bourke discuss and share New Zealand musicians responding to Bob Dylan. Audio

What exactly is counter culture? Were Baby Boomers ever actually cool? Musician, historian and critic Nick Bollinger has been on a mission to find out what the cultural moment of the late 1960s and… Audio

James Brown is the undisputed inventor of funk music, the singer, bandleader, raconteur and entrepreneur lived more life in his seven decades than most. Nick Bollinger and Yadana Saw share their close… Audio

It's a big day in the music world - Bob Dylan turns 80 years old today.

The musician is often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and in 2016, was awarded the Nobel prize in… Audio

Nick Bollinger identifies some of the many and various musical references on Rough and Rowdy Ways - Bob Dylan's epic 2020 album - from Jimmy Rodgers to Chopin. Audio

New Orleans rap duo The 79rs Gang draw on the rich cultural and musical traditions of their hometown. Taking their 2020 release Expect The Unexpected as a starting point, Nick Bollinger traces some of… Audio

In a turbulent year, this clandestine British collective produced an album that plays like a Black Lives Matter soundtrack. Nick Bollinger discusses these new Black protest statements and recalls a… Audio