Every weekday between 1 and 5pm we play tracks from our #spotlightartist. They’re an artist with a body of work which has stood the test of time. We’ll play the hits – but also some deep cuts. Listen ad-free through New Zealand via @tunein at https://goo.gl/VL6m3NS
Janelle Monáe can probably vie credibly for artist of 2018. She certainly isn’t a new artist. Her first (unofficial) album The Audition was released in 2003, and she has already released scores of great singles as well as albums like The ArchAndroid (2010) and The Electric Lady (2013). However this year’s Dirty Computer really captured the zeitgeist. Although the openness of her sexuality undoubtedly helped in raw commercial terms with the publicity regime the album fully deserved its commercial and critical success. It wasn’t the one we listened to the most necessarily, but it certainly stood out for its freshness, sexiness and incredible funk and new wave sounds. This week in our Spotlight Artist spot we’ll track back over some great songs from Monáe’s career, stretching from The ArchAndroid through to today.
Something a bit different this week. We love contemporary music, but just lately have had a bit of a craving for some ‘savoury with the sweet’, good raw simple rock’n’roll with really simple production. This week we’ll Spotlight 1956 and some great pop music and Rock n’ Roll – artists like Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry and The Platters. Nothing like variety – in fact its our passion.
Well the music year is winding down, and everyone has already started trotting out the “Best Of” lists. Although new releases are quieting we’ll look back a few weeks to an album that got a bit crowded out (and didn’t get enough attention). Ziggy Alberts is an Australian folk musician who has put together a sweet and contemporary set of songs with great melody and singing. Enjoy!
Mark Ronson – Nothing Breaks Like A Heart featuring Miley Cyrus
Cheat Codes x Kim Petras – Feeling Of Falling
Amila – Somebody Like You
Alessia Cara – Out Of Love
Jeff Tweedy – I Know What It’s Like
The new film Bohemian Rhapsody is already the highest grossing music biographical film ever. Undoubtedly the performances and production of the film play a part, but we would say this is largely a reflection of their continued popularity. 36 million monthly listeners on Spotify can’t be wrong, and a 
This album doesn’t seem exactly new – a bit like Rita Ora’s recent album, in the streaming age albums seem more like roundup compilations of recent singles. Some of these have been around a while – “I Miss You” featuring Julia Michaels has been around since October last year for example. That said, the classically trained musicians have kept producing consistently great pop. With 22 collaborators in tow we’ll enjoy some familiar and new tracks this week. “Baby” with Marina & The Diamonds and “Mama” with Ellie Goulding are particular standouts among the new material.