State of play

It's New Zealand Music Month - the eighth one in fact. And, according to Karyn Hay, New Zealand music is booming. The iconic broadcaster is back in front of the camera to introduce Rocked the Nation: 100 NZ Music Moments, a six-part series which debuted on C4 last week (and repeats on TV3, Mondays, 11.25pm). "I'm just fronting," Hay feels the need to point out. "I came in after all the hard work was done. But it really is an amazing show. Lots of great stories, some old, some new." When I attempt to tactfully ask Hay   once the influential host of the cutting-edge-for-its-time TV show Radio with Pictures - what her favourite "moment" in New Zealand music is, given that she has been around for more than a few, she laughs. "I wasn't there for the recording of the first European song in New Zealand in the 1800s, but yeah, apart from that I think I remember most of them!" The laughter dies down and Hay is off, discussing some of her memories. She begins with Auckland's 1984 Queen St riots - "obviously", a $1 million rampage of destruction that kicked off after a power cut when DD Smash were on stage at a free summer concert at Aotea Centre.




"Andrew [Hay's partner, Andrew Fagan, frontman of The Mockers], had a wee bit to do with that. I mean Dave Dobbyn gets all the blame, but Andrew was there, too."Hay and Fagan left New Zealand in the mid-80s and didn't return until 2003, primarily for their sons Sean and Fabian. "It was amazing to come back to an industry that seemed to have jumped ahead," she says. Hay points to her job at radio station Kiwi FM as being an indication of how far New Zealand music has come, how far it has grown. "Despite occasional visits home in that 18-year gap, there was a lot of catching up for us to do." When it comes to her current radio role, the DJ/producer receives up to 15-20 albums a week by Kiwi artists. "That's thanks to really important schemes like the Play It Strange charitable trust, NZ On Air and Creative NZ funding. All of these wonderful and necessary helpers have enabled people to make music. Granted, not all of it is good," she admits. "Some of it is not that strong. But the fact that there is more to choose from means that there is going to be more chances for good music to be made and for it to hopefully be heard."I suggest that before Hay and Fagan left New Zealand there were probably only 15-20 New Zealand albums being made each year. "Well, yeah, you're probably right there," she responds. "In terms of people actually being aware of them. Getting to hear them. And now there is more of a support network. In my first stint hosting a music TV show in this country there were only one or two shows. Now there are whole channels of music TV with loads of local content."