Features

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January 24, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Ex-Radio Head: No Longer A Music Writer/Always A Music Writer

I’m always looking for music to write about. Which is not my ‘job’. But it is my ‘role’. Something I selected for myself a long time ago, long before I was ever published or paid. Music started speaking to me on the level where I felt I had to speak back to it – and […]

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January 20, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

Radio Head: RNZ Features and Reviews

In 2015 I started reviewing albums on RNZ – a quick chat, mentioning a couple of artists, playing a couple of songs. I loved it. I love talking on radio. Love the medium. Love the challenge of “reviewing” music that way. It’s different from writing about music – or should be. Some radio reviewers write […]

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January 7, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

My 2021 RNZ Features

Once a month or so I get to have a chat on RNZ and present a feature – 40 minutes or so of talking and music selections around a theme or particular act. These are fun. And challenging. It’s live radio. This year was particularly challenging given the pandemic and lockdown precautions meant recording live […]

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May 12, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

RNZ Feature: Whistling

I’m usually on RNZ once a month to have a chat about some new albums. But the other day I got the call up to present a Music Feature for the Afternoons show. This topic was Whistling – songs with whistling; what is it about whistling in a song? Is it happy, sad, both? Is it joyous and infectious […]