The 1990’s to today: New Zealand rock’n’roll now has confidence and diversity. Radio and television champion local music, and for record companies, New Zealand acts are a “must have”, no longer a “could have”, to sign up. In the   mid-nineties, a new sound blows in from South Auckland, and one young group of rappers, the Otara Millionaires’ Club, emerges to produce the extremely catchy “How Bizarre”, which becomes New Zealand rock ’n’ roll’s biggest hit to date.

New Zealand Popular Music

Episode 6: Land of Plenty: Watch this episode and pay particular attention to the information and music on OMC and Nesian Mystic.

OMC - How Bizarre
The band “Otara Millionaires’Club” formed in 1995 with Pauly  Fuemana as the lead musician.  The song How Bizarre was number 1 in NZ, Australia, Ireland, South Africa and Canada in 1996, and number 5 in the UK. It was the most-played song on the radio in the USA in 1997. The album, also called How Bizarre, is still New Zealand’s biggest-selling record. (The full music video of this song is on the Nature’s Best DVD)

Questions to answer on your own document:
HOOKS: in Music a “hook” is a catchy idea that is repeated throughout a song. Often it is also the title of the song. There are two vocal hooks in How Bizarre, what are they?
INSTRUMENTS: there are some instruments that feature in this song which you don’t usually find in a pop/rock band. What are they?
KEY FEATURES: what are the key features of this song that you think made it so internationally appealing?

Nesian Mystik - For the People
Nesian Mystik formed in 1999 when the band members were at school in Auckland. They entered the annual schools’ rock music competition Rockquest in 2000 winning the Smokefree Pacifica Beats section. They had top 10 hits in 2001 and 2002 with the songs “Nesian Style” and “It’s On”. Their album “Polysaturated” was number 1 in NZ in 2002.

HIP HOP: describe some differences between Nesian Mystik’s Hip Hop music and the sorts of Hip Hop more common in the USA.
STYLE: think about what makes this piece sound like it must come from New Zealand.  Describe the aspects of “New Zealand” style you can hear in it.
KEY FEATURES: what stands out in this song? How and why?

Evaluation:
Write down the aspects of each of these songs that you think are effective.
Explain why you think they are effective.
Do you like these two pieces? Explain why/why not?