logo
PHOEBE RINGS Release Their ‘Quietly Beautiful' Debut Album Aseurai

PHOEBE RINGS Release Their ‘Quietly Beautiful' Debut Album Aseurai

Scoop06-06-2025
June 6, 2025: Tāmaki Makaura dream-pop quartet Phoebe Rings – dubbed an 'indie supergroup' by RNZ given its members' involvement in other notable projects such as Tiny Ruins, AC Freazy, Princess Chelsea, Fazerdaze and Lucky Boy^ – today release their anticipated debut album Aseurai via Carpark Records with the focus track 'Playground Song', alongside a string of new live dates including supporting Japanese Breakfast in Auckland tomorrow night + their first live shows in South Korea and Japan this month (full details below). Stream/order Aseurai HERE.
A lullaby-like, cyclical track which reflects on childhood friendship and nostalgia, focus track ' Playground Song ' features stereo acoustic guitars, warm synth textures, and gentle wave-like noises, with its centrepiece – a flute solo played by Lukas Fritsch – adding a dreamy, reflective touch. It's released alongside its floral-adorned live performance video directed by Nahyeon Lee – watch HERE.
On Aseurai, Phoebe Rings continue to explore their disco and city-pop influences while staying true to the dream-pop sound of their self-titled debut EP released last year. 'Aseurai means around you in the atmosphere, hard to reach, fading away,' singer Crystal Choi says, 'it's a poetic expression. You wouldn't say it in normal conversation, but I like that.' Across its four singles so far – 'Aseurai', 'Drifting', 'Get Up' and 'Fading Star' – the album has garnered praise from international outlets like Pitchfork, FLOOD, Beats Per Minute, Rolling Stone, frankie, Happy, Northern Transmissions and Paste Magazine, who said the album finds the band 'sharply in the pocket that makes them terrific.'
While Phoebe Rings – named for the outermost ring around Saturn which is known to be the largest, but the least visible – was originally a solo project of singer Crystal Choi, who is also a university-trained jazz pianist, Aseurai marks a shift with contributing songwriting credits from the whole band, which includes guitar/synthesist Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent, bassist Benjamin Locke and drummer/producer Alex Freer. With a more ambitious collection of instruments, Choi says this album heralds the start of true collaboration: 'I feel more precious about this LP because it includes everyone's gems.' The broth is richer with more cooks in the kitchen, and the brewing of textures creates a distinct ' Phoebe Rings ' sound.
If their S/T EP was spacey, then Aseurai settles on earth, rooted in tangible moments. 'Without getting too gloomy, it's a weird world out there. A lot has changed in the world since the EP came out,' says Kavanagh-Vincent on this transformation. The album delves into hope and longing across all possibilities, and this exploration of holding on and letting go is organically threaded throughout. They mark out a brilliant new constellation in their sky, bringing their individual compositions to the fore whilst seamlessly threading them into one celestial body all underpinned by their ongoing inspirations: Studio Ghibli films, Zelda and Stardew soundtracks, Bossa Nova, Stereolab, and 90's Korean ballads.
Phoebe Rings' storytelling ranges from tongue-in-cheek musings on gentrification, to commentary on the housing crisis (' Mandarin Tree '), musicians moving on in their careers (' Fading Star '), finding small oases in everyday life (' Not A Necessity ') and tender autobiographical memories – including on the title-track and 'B lue Butterfly ' both wrapped in grief, Crystal yearns for people she can't see anymore, in this case her late grandmother who she was separated from for a large period of her life (she also thinks that's why she wrote ' Aseurai ' in her mother tongue of Korean, in a way using it to be closer to her grandmother through song and shared language), ' Get Up ' on which drummer Benjamin Locke talks of the paralysis of extended periods of struggling with mental health and leaning on the famous scene from The Matrix to try to will yourself out of it, and ' Goodnight ', a tender, loving ode to our cats and the comfort they bring us.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Masterchef contest headlines 2025 Indian Independence Day plans
Masterchef contest headlines 2025 Indian Independence Day plans

RNZ News

time12 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Masterchef contest headlines 2025 Indian Independence Day plans

Indian Independence Day celebrations in 2024. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom With the opening of an Indian Consulate General in Auckland in September last year , celebrations for the 79th anniversary of India's Independence Day promise to be bigger and better next month. "This year we are organising a multi-city, multi-day Indian festival titled 'The World and Us', bringing together the shared values of culture, cuisine and commerce between India and New Zealand," said Madan Mohan Sethi, consul general of India in Auckland. The celebrations will run from 15-18 August, with events held in Wellington, Auckland, Hamilton and Whangarei. While the Indian High Commission in Wellington and Consulate General of India in Auckland will lead celebrations, several community organisations, including the New Zealand Indian Central Association, Waikato Indian Association and the Northland Indian Association are aiding efforts. In Wellington, the Indian High Commission will hold its annual flag hoisting ceremony, followed by a few cultural performances, at its premises in the capital on the morning of 15 August. A similar function will be held in Auckland at Mount Eden's Mahatma Gandhi Centre on the same day, followed by a community reception in the evening. India achieved independence after two centuries of British rule on 15 August 1947. Indians and people of Indian origin all over the world typically come together around this date to mark the independence struggle each year. "[In the afternoon of 15 August] we will have a food festival in Auckland's North Shore, which will showcase Indian culinary excellence with participation of top chefs from India," Sethi said. "Then, on 16 August, Indian and New Zealand chefs will participate in a friendly Masterchef competition featuring a mystery box challenge," he said. "A panel of judges will select the dish of the day, recognising creativity and cross-cultural flavours." The organisers have also planned a cultural evening at Auckland's Dew Drop Events Centre on 16 August and at Hamilton's Waikato Indian Association Hall on 17 August. It will be led by one of India's top singers, Shibani Kashyap, and renowned Odissi (an Indian classical dance) danseuse Kavita Dwivedi. "Other inclusions will be a haka performance by Whiria Collective - honouring Maori traditions - as well as a fashion show featuring designers from New Zealand and India, and curated by Whiria Collective and India's CD Foundation," Sethi said. Whangarei District Council has also partnered with the Indian Consulate to host a business meeting and culinary showcase on 18 August in Whangarei. "This will be the final day of celebrations where we will host a networking event involving Indian and New Zealand business stakeholders, along with a culinary presentation by Indian chefs to celebrate food diplomacy," he said.

When Ozzy Osbourne came to NZ he had just one wild request
When Ozzy Osbourne came to NZ he had just one wild request

NZ Herald

time3 days ago

  • NZ Herald

When Ozzy Osbourne came to NZ he had just one wild request

Coburn said a cross made of wood and wire, wrapped in petrol-soaked rags, was hastily erected and set alight as the band began to play, as requested by Osbourne. The Black Sabbath frontman and solo artist has died aged 76, just weeks after a massive farewell concert in his hometown of Birmingham. Coburn said Osbourne and Black Sabbath laid the foundations for heavy metal and – 50 years after the band first played New Zealand – he still saw and heard the singer's influence in hard rock music all over the world. 'To think that two weeks after the final shows he's gone – it seemed like – did he want to hang on and do these final shows? But he's just this iconic figure that's so singularly unique. There'll never be another Ozzy Osbourne," Coburn said. Speaking to RNZ from his home in Nashville, Coburn said that despite the band's ominous image and Osbourne's wild, drug-fuelled reputation, the band were affable and 'jovial' on their first New Zealand visit. Ozzy Osbourne onstage during the 2019 American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images 'They were decent, they were just young English guys. They didn't cause any of the grief that John Bonham and Led Zeppelin caused. Televisions thrown in the swimming pool at the White Heron Hotel and the like,' the promoter said. 'I don't have any memories of Ozzy and the guys being anything other than jovial and amused by everything. They just seemed to be in good humour and I've got great memories of that.' Coburn said he still went to heavy metal shows – his son performs in American sludge metal band Thou – and said Osbourne and Black Sabbath's influence was still as strong as ever. 'They were such a primary foundation of what became heavy metal. I've been to so many shows, and there are still always people wearing Black Sabbath T-shirts. 'They really were the beginning of it all – of the whole metal scene. When I go to see bands, it's [still] not unusual to hear Paranoid or something,' Coburn said. Marty Duda, founder of New Zealand music publication 13th Floor, said Osbourne's impact was 'immense' and would continue after his death. Duda remembered first hearing the band on a cassette recording of Paranoid while at a Boy Scouts camp and 'it changed everything – blew my mind'. Osbourne's voice was exactly what a teenager wanted to hear: 'He nailed it.' The musician went on to create a strong persona for himself, later making the transition to a solo career. He said Osbourne's wife, Sharon, needed to be given credit for the role she played in his career because he had many problems, including drug addiction, but she saw his potential as a solo artist. Duda recalled being present when Osbourne was preparing for a concert, wanted to gargle and then consumed a whole bottle of mouthwash. 'He drank the whole thing, almost choked to death, puked all over the place and then went on stage – he didn't even know how to gargle. He needed to be watched.' Duda said that on his TV hit reality show, The Osbournes, Osbourne was 'lovable'. 'You wanted him to be your dad ... and knowing that he had this background as the guy who helped start heavy metal didn't hurt at all. Those Black Sabbath albums hold up very well today.' The president of the NZ Promoters Association, Layton Lillas, was shocked to hear of Osbourne's death. He told RNZ's Morning Report it was 'horrible news' to wake up to, coming so soon after Osbourne's farewell concert at Villa Park in Birmingham just two weeks ago. Lillas recalled becoming a fan of Osbourne when he launched a solo career. He had 'amazing guitar players' and 'a unique voice'. 'The guy was the godfather of hard rock and heavy metal – just an amazing life from a guy who started in the poor suburbs of Birmingham after the war, and to do what he did and achieved, amazing.' Lillas said the singer had a unique voice with 'an incredibly high range'. 'No one sounds like Ozzy Osbourne ... the range was something to behold and for a guy that abused his body like he did for so many years ...' He last saw Osbourne perform in Wellington in 2008, and 'he was certainly on fire that night'. In the late 90s, Lillas had a habit of popping out to Auckland Airport to try to get the autographs of famous rock stars. All he wanted was a photo of Osbourne, but he ended up with a photograph of his late wife with the musician, and it takes pride of place in his music room. The Black Sabbath frontman was apologetic but said he couldn't do any more as he needed to board his flight. – RNZ

A New Zealand photographer's 'poetic journey' into Papua New Guinea's past
A New Zealand photographer's 'poetic journey' into Papua New Guinea's past

RNZ News

time3 days ago

  • RNZ News

A New Zealand photographer's 'poetic journey' into Papua New Guinea's past

From A Welcome Adventure by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied Forty-eight years ago, a young New Zealand photographer set off on a brief solo journey into the remote Papua New Guinea Highlands. Victoria Ginn is now in her seventies and has a gallery in the small Taranaki town of Normanby. That trip, almost five decades ago, was the first in a series of exotic trips she undertook and resulted in a remarkable collection of photographs of the indigenous people, which she has called 'A Welcome Adventure' . Victoria Ginn spoke with RNZ Pacific. Kabo – the Sorcerer, from A Welcome Adventure into the PNG Highlands, 1997 by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied (This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.) Don Wiseman: So when you were 23 years old, and I guess, a fairly inexperienced photographer, you took yourself off on your own into the Papua New Guinea Highlands. Why did you do that? Victoria Ginn: Well, I probably wasn't as inexperienced as you state. I began photography when I was about 14 years old, in the 1960s, after a friend of mine realised I could take good photographs. He gave me his Leica camera, and I self taught. I was interested in human culture and nature right from day dot really. Why I took myself into the Papua New Guinea Highlands at the age of 23, probably a yearning to connect with a deeper part of my own self and also a deeper part of the human culture, than was represented in my own modern culture, in terms of 1970s modern Melbourne, Australia, and that sort of system. I was probably a natural photographer in terms of my yearning to use a camera as a way to connect with people. It is a form of connection, photography, or was. Nowadays it is a form of intrusion and narcissism. From A Welcome Adventure by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied But back then it was an art form, and it mesmerised me to know that you could translate a moment in reality into something that was a beautiful essence of somebody through black and white portraiture and a moment in time, where you saw an emotion or an expression or a sense of the self that was portrayed In another person. It was never intrusive photography. When photography became fashionable in the 1970s, art photography became fashionable in the 1970s through the production of a book by Diane Arbus, and everyone had to be a photographer, sort of thing. But photography in a way, became corrupted by wide angle lenses and people not realising the sensitivity of the other, meaning the subject, and a lot of deceitful photography happened that was calling itself art photography at that time. DW: It's still very difficult on a number of levels to access the Papua New Guinea Highlands. But in 1977 and on your own, it would have been very, very difficult. VG: Yes, it was. But I was an adventurer. I enjoyed the attraction of the unknown and the challenge of finding a way into an area of such remoteness in the world, where there was not a pollution of modernity, if you like, upon the peoples that I wanted to meet. So yes, it was difficult. It was basically bussing up the Highlands into the Highlands, and then finding ways to get around. And I did have some fairly hairy encounters, not with the local people, but with imports, imported construction managers and things like people from Australia. Papua New Guinea was only two years into its independence at that time, so there was still a very raw aspect to the confusion between what was meant to be and what was, where you have an important psyche, like the Australian mentality, wanting to civilise and develop a country, and you had the indigenous people who had stayed sane and intact and culturally together and had a very rich, beautiful culture that was kind of timeless. From A Welcome Adventure by Victoria Ginn. Photo: Supplied DW: How did you communicate? VG: That is an interesting one, because I discovered the art of non verbal communication, and it sounds stupid or nonsensical, but there is a way. I developed it later, when I was travelling through other remote regions of the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, particularly. There's a way to communicate that does not require speech in terms of your tongue, and it becomes a very basic, essential, means of communication, which involves gesture, but it also involves something that is unspoken, and it is very difficult to describe that, and you connect. It is about someone connecting to you, and you connecting to them on a level that is not cerebral, and it is not through your tongue, so not through speech. I used that method. It grew on me. It developed. I was not there long enough to become adept at that sort of thing, but I got a taste of it, and I learned how you can communicate without language. I have spent time in a lot of different cultures using that means. DW: This happened back in 1977, so 48 years ago. Why has it taken you so long to bring a book out? VG: I have gone backwards, looking at my work, in a way, I'm going backwards. I am in my 70s now, and I mean, I have had other work that propelled me to do other creative essays that I was prompted to do by my own artistry, and that has come to an end. I am no longer a photographer, so I am more a writer now, and I am looking backwards and tidying up my life, you could say. And it is a beautiful little essay. It is a very poetic essay which portrays a form of gentleness, contrary to what is happening in Papua New Guinea today. It is a counterbalance to what is what is occurring in the Highlands today, which is now a lawless place where people have had their essential culture stripped from them by the incursion of missionaries and what have you, and mining companies and so on. It gives voice to a portrait of a people. DW: You've visited a number of places, as you say, remote areas around the Pacific, particularly, where does this adventure into the PNG Highlands in 1977 sit? VG: That is a hard one. I think the last big work I did in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia was called The Spirited Earth , which was subtitled dance, myth and ritual from South Asia to the South Pacific, which was a philosophical look at the religious and spiritual forms of expression through performance art and ritual in those regions. Mostly color photography. Back in 77 you could say this was a stepping stone to my awareness of the depth of understanding of the spiritual aspects of the human psyche within a people that were so called prehistoric and primitive. It's candid work. It is more portraiture, portraiture in terms of face rather than form or body, which my book, The Spirited Earth , looks at the complete picture of face and form and body and environment. This is mainly a portrait, and it's a poetic portrait which involves the poetry of the people, but also the more prosaic sort of day to day, here am I sitting in a marketplace, or here am I pulling my bow and arrow, carrying my grasses from the fields and so on. It is more a documentary portrait than an artistic portrait, but it contains artistry, of course.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store