Today marks the start of a New Zealand Music Month like no other, with the works of Kiwi artists taking on new meanings in wake of Covid-19.
However, Benee shouldn’t be spending it cooped up at home in Auckland; right now the 20-year-old would be on tour playing sold out shows in the United States if it weren’t for coronavirus.
“It’s kind of nice to just know everyone is on the complete same boat, no one's playing shows right now,” she said.
It’s the global shutdown that’s seen one song from last year’s EP, Stella and Steve, take off.
Supalonely , a song written about a breakup, has adopted a whole new meaning with much of the world stuck at home.
“It's just weird how it's been picked up now and people are relating to it for a very different reason and it’s now become this isolation anthem, which is insane.”
The song now has more than 150 million streams on Spotify alone and counting, breaking into the streaming service’s top 10 this week, as well as soaring in popularity on video sharing platform TikTok.
Benee, or Stella Bennett, is getting regular updates from her parents on the success of Supalonely .
“It's like every day they come in and it's like ‘that's enough!’” she said. “But it's pretty insane.”
Music Helps trustee Don McGlashan says it’s been really hard for everyone, from musos to venues.
Her work isn’t the only New Zealand music that’s facing a change in interpretation in the times of Covid-19.
The lyrics “lockdown, lowkey” and “I can’t wait to see you again” of dream pop artist Chelsea Jade’s new single Superfan are hitting in a different way.
Quotidian , the just-released album of Dunedin band Marlin’s Dreaming, is also hauntingly prophetic.
In the first line of the opening track Cabbage Tree, lead singer Semisi Maiai declares, “I’ve been stuck inside for a while now” – a lyric that couldn’t ring truer for most.
“I do hope that people can kind of relate to those lyrics, especially in these times,” Maiai said.
The lockdown could see the birth of a whole new era of New Zealand music, according to Mike Chunn from Play It Strange.
“It's the perfect environment because they've got time on their hands,” he told 1 NEWS.
“It's a great inspiration for song writing and I think we'll see more and more songs through the year come through.”
Benee, for one, has been working on new content and is anticipating a flood of fresh sounds.
“People dropping music after things go back to normal; I feel like there's going to be some crazy music.”
With so many in the industry struggling with revenue drying up due to concerts and gigs being completely off the cards, there’s arguably never been a better time to get behind local artists.
The message for New Zealand Music Month simple: support, stream, follow and buy local.
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