Blackout Music NZ

04/06/2026

ZOË VERA REVEALS EMPOWERING 'LIVE HARDER' MUSIC VIDEO 📷😍👏

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY89y1E1RNY

Zoë Vera further celebrates the arrival of her debut EP with a striking and meaningful video for its final and title track, ‘Live Harder’, which was released last month.

Directed by Sally Choi (Pathetic Fallacy Creations), the cinematic video featuring dancer Bella Wright, serves as a visceral extension of the track's core message: transforming profound personal trauma into a masterclass in defiance. Zoë says: “The track was born when life had beaten me down, forcing a choice between letting it destroy me, or acknowledging my resilience where I had already survived the worst.”

Shot across contrasting locations across Auckland, the visual narrative utilises heavy symbolism to illustrate the suffocating nature of trauma—and her ultimate liberation from it, using deliberate representative props like a courtroom gavel and a newspaper.

The emotional centrepiece of the video is the wardrobe. Throughout the everyday activities depicted on screen, Zoë wears the exact suit she wore to court when facing her assailant. The suit acts as a physical manifestation of a trauma that lingers while the rest of the world carries on. As the video progresses, a figurative "drowning" sequence gives way to an act of shedding—the literal uncloaking of the suit—signalling a conscious reclamation of control.

Zoë explains: “Wearing my actual courtroom suit on camera honours how devastatingly heavy that trauma remains, but uncloaking it shows the exact moment I chose resilience. Sometimes, the absolute best revenge is refusing to be diminished, using the past as fuel, and choosing to live harder anyway."

While the onscreen themes deal with a heavy narrative of survival, the behind-the-scenes energy was a stark contrast of joy and alignment, as the team balanced the gravity of the subject matter perfectly, successfully turning a deeply vulnerable concept into a triumphant visual statement. “From planning it to filming it and seeing the creative vision come to life was such a fun experience. It's amazing that it turned into a music video, rather than a blooper reel, because we spent so much time laughing. It was such a blast.”

ZOË VERA

Official music video for Live Harder by Zoë VeraWatch or listen t...

28/05/2026

28/05/2026

Catch this great live band if you can.

Hey you.

Save the dates, we're rolling into a town near you soon.
We’re hitting the road with our friends in August, and every ticket comes with exclusive presale access to our upcoming album.

At this point, this is just a pop it in your calendar reminder, we'll let ya know when tickets are available!

Tag a mate you'd bring to the show!

Come raise hell with us.

Pumped as to be supported by AllGood Absolute Alternative Records

27/05/2026

Congrats Lee Martin Musician

My new song “I’d Change It All” is officially out today 🤍
Go give it a spin and let me know what you think.

Also catch me tomorrow morning on Newstalk ZB Breakfast with Mike Hosking where I’ll be chatting about the song and doing a live performance… yes, at 8am 😂

Truly the hour where my voice thrives. Honestly wish all gigs were early morning ones 🫡

28/04/2026

Nixon Street Recordings music. Wrong Side Of The River, High Tide

25/04/2026

24/04/2026

TARANAKI INDIE-SOUL SENSATION FIN RAH ZEL DROP UPBEAT NEW SINGLE ‘TIME TRAVEL" ❣⏰✈️

https://music.drm.co.nz/time-travel

Building on their reputation for honeyed melodies and high-energy grooves, Taranaki’s own Fin Rah Zel today releases their latest single, ‘TIME TRAVEL’.

A vibrant fusion of contemporary R&B and pop-funk, ‘TIME TRAVEL’ captures a nostalgic yet fresh sound, drawing comparisons to the infectious vibes of Bruno Mars, Michael Jackson, and Anderson .Paak.

A musical journey with a sentimental view on personal growth, ‘TIME TRAVEL’ was written and recorded alongside renowned award-winning Producer Devin Abrams.

Lyrically, it’s a track born from shared stories of growing up in the '90s and early 2000s, offering a playful perspective on life's missed opportunities, as the narrative follows a young man’s transformation from the insecurities and self-doubt of youth, to finding a newfound confidence and self-belief.

“Ultimately the song is a playful take on the shots you miss in life, but being able to look back on them and have a laugh at the lessons learnt”, says Fin Rah Zel.

A track of collaborative magic, ‘TIME TRAVEL’’s rich, soulful atmosphere is further elevated by the vocal contributions of Hamo Dell. Providing lush backing vocals, harmonies, and ad-libs, Dell’s presence adds a feminine balance that perfectly complements the track’s overall R&B-pop aesthetic.

Prolific creators of optimistic, catchy summer tunes and heart-tugging songs that hit all the feels, Fin Rah Zel are unapologetic in their aim to deliver warm-hearted messages of connection, love and hope. ‘TIME TRAVEL’ continues the bands streak of delivering their infectious R&B-pop sunshine and dreamy zen vibes to the New Zealand music scene, and this is a track that is as introspective as it is danceable—a true feel-good anthem for 2026.

ABOUT FIN RAH ZEL
Hailing from Taranaki, NZ, Fin Rah Zel is an alternative soul collective led by singer-songwriter Brian Norton. Known for their sunshine vibes and honeyed melodies, the band has become a staple of the New Zealand indie scene, with previous radio hits like ‘Unity’ and ‘Overthinking’. Their high-energy live shows have seen them headline Bowl of Brooklands, perform at WOMAD, and open for major acts like Drax Project and Sons of Zion. Fin Rah Zel continues to push the boundaries of alt-soul by blending deep, soulful riffs with contemporary R&B production to create music that is medicine for the soul.

Fin Rah Zel

23/04/2026

RISING POP ARTIST ZOË VERA UNVEILS AN INTIMATE AND EMPOWERING DEBUT EP WITH LIVE HARDER❣👏😀

“…a compact, well-shaped debut with a defined emotional arc and a clear sense of itself.” – 13th The 13th Floor

https://music.drm.co.nz/live-harder

Five tracks of electro-pop detailing one woman’s highly personal journey of processing and transforming extraordinary internalised pain into a powerful, healing musical response, as she embarked on the intense journey of rebuilding her life.

ZOË VERA is a courageous and resilient woman, and her debut EP LIVE HARDER is testament to the profound well of quiet strength she drew on to survive and overcome trauma – so that she could emerge, against the odds, a stronger and more visible version of herself.

The final and title track on the EP ‘Live Harder’ is about hitting a point of two choices: let what’s been done to you destroy you, or recognise that you’ve already survived the worst.

It’s about realising your resilience. It’s about accepting that you can’t control people. You can’t stop cruelty, and you can’t stop the existence of darkness, but you can control how you respond.

And ‘Live Harder’ is that response.

On the track, Zoë says: “’Live Harder’ is about choosing how you respond when life tries to break you. I can’t control what people do, but I can control how I live. And I choose to live fully, loudly, and unapologetically, despite everything.”

Recently making Rolling Stone’s Best NZ Music of the Week list, and with debut interviews on The Hits and The Edge, Zoë’s previous Live Harder single releases ‘White', 'Good Enough’, ‘Twelve Feet Under’ and ‘Dizzying’, are completed by the final track ‘Live Harder’, fulfilling its harrowing, life-changing and trauma-informed narrative.

The Live Harder EP was produced by highly respected and multi-talented local musician Danny McCrum, with the single featuring keys by renowned Los Angeles-based musician Alexander Burke, who between them have worked with heavy-hitting music legends such as Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Bryan Ferry, to name but a few.

Instead of emotionally shutting down and making her life smaller, Zoë chooses to rise. Because sometimes the most powerful form of resilience, and the best kind of revenge, is simply refusing to be diminished and choosing to live life harder anyway. To live louder, fuller and more freely than ever before.

23/04/2026

2 likes. "LIVE HARDER (Lyric Video) - Zoë Vera"