Soul singer Lou’ana has carved out a place for herself in Auckland’s vibrant music community for the past six years. A proud second generation Samoan/New Zealander, she’s been compared to singers like Etta James, Stevie Knicks and Amy Winehouse. Here, she reflects on her career and on the influence of her Pacific roots.

Of Māori/Cook Islands descent, Lomez Brown has built a career by fusing roots reggae with some sweet melodies. His 2019 single Tell Me went to Number 1 on the iTunes Reggae charts and gained over 1.5 million views on YouTube in only two months.

Auckland rap duo Church & AP were school buddies who connected over a shared appreciation for American artist Chance the Rapper. Their first single, Ready or Not, hit number 1 on Shazam when it came out two years ago, with more than 3 million streams. Before the lockdown they were touring locally and overseas, but lately, they’ve been locked up in a recording studio laying down some tracks.