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Kiwi singer Kimbra - Source: ONE News -
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Three years ago, a friend tipped me off about a new Kiwi act. They weren't sure who they were but they had an infectious sample of a song playing on a local music channel.
I had a look - and a listen - and discovered it was one of the guys from Goodnight Nurse.
A colleague decided to interview them. Apparently, they weren't really a band, just a couple of friends who made up a catchy beat one day and decided to record it. They weren't sure if they were going to do anything else. It was just a bit of fun.
Fortunately, they decided to give it a crack. And now Kids of 88 are on their way to becoming bona fide pop stars. Or at least, party stars. Their music sits somewhere between synth rock and disco.
The boys have been chipping away at the scene for a couple of years now and caught a massive break last month, when they performed at Perez Hilton's SXSW Showcase in Austin, Texas.
But they weren't the only Kiwis in Perez's line up.
Burgeoning pop starlet Zowie also earned the celebrity blogger's backing - and is now set to open to Katy Perry during her Australasian tour this month.
Zowie is pretty new to the music scene - but her creator Zoe Fleurys isn't. She'd been strutting her stuff on local stages for a few years, as her former alter-ego Bionic Pixie.
Zowie is a bigger, better, faster, stronger version of Bionic Pixie and has been picking up support gigs left, right and centre.
Perez is also a fan of another up-and-coming local act - Hamilton-raised Kimbra .
Her quirky jazz style has traces of Gin in it - with a powerful voice and seductive looks that have been winning fans on both sides of the Tasman.
With her debut album Vows due for release this year, you can expect to hear - and see - a whole lot more Kimbra in the upcoming months.
With these up-and-comers - and The Naked and Famous who are going from strength to strength over in the UK and Europe - New Zealand music is looking better than ever.
And thanks to Perez Hilton (among others) they're taking their music to the world.
Read more of Joanna Hunkin
opinion here
