I’ll be honest with you. I never expected a country the size of Colorado to have any sort of real, local music scene. Though I never consciously expressed it, I anticipated music to largely come from countries more readily adapted to a global market, i.e. the UK, the US, Australia, et cetera. But the music scene is utterly amazing. Utterly amazing. Let’s break things down, though.

As anyone who knows me is well aware, music is one of the biggest motive forces in my life. I’m not picky in my tastes (‘cept for that boot-scootin’ boogie, of course), so that made it much easier to be receptive to new types of music. New Zealand seems to specialize in what I’d like to call the R-Trifecta of music: rock, rap, and reggae. Of course, there are many very worthy bands, groups, and artists worthy of mention in other genres, but for now, New Zealand music seems to be making waves in these three areas. In the area of rock, the best place to go is the local bar or club, and see who’s playing. As often as not, nationally-recognized bands share the stage with the garage band from down the street. And as often as not, both will be very talented. I have never developed expertise in rock music, but it’s not difficult to segregate random clatter from synchronous, aural delight. Thus far, my favourite band is a lesser known one called Gestalt Switch, who aren’t too hard, and have a discernible melody. Also check out The Gladeyes and Elemeno P (get it?).

Rap music largely follows the same lyrical patterns you’ll find anywhere with talks of women, money, cars, the crew and the crib. However, a few gems stand out like P-Money, Savage, and Dei Hamo. These guys aren’t cut out from the world music scene, and have collaborated with dozens of different rappers from across the country and across the sea, the most notable that comes to mind is the seemingly ubiquitous Akon. For your perusal pleasure, I recommend anything by P-Money, Savage’s “Moonshine” featuring Akon (it’s ridiculous, but unbelievably catchy), and “We Gon Ride” by Dei Hamo, which won Best Video at this year’s New Zealand Music Awards (don’t ask, I still don’t understand how it won).

Reggae has found a place in my heart as I’ve come to New Zealand, as well as it’s sister genre, called dub. In case you’re like me and have never heard of dub, it’s got a slightly different rhythmic feel than reggae, but is still very mellow, and is great to have in the background at chill parties. The juggernaut for this category is the big winner at the New Zealand Music Awards show, Fat Freddy’s Drop. Despite being over nine minutes long, I can’t get enough of their song “Wandering Eye.” (Random trivia fact: The much-shorter music video features a cameo from New Zealand’s most prominent news team, showing how blurred the lines get here.) Not to be forgotten is the also-talented Katchafire. I find their music great for that winding down, after-sunset type of mood that you can’t ever find the right music for.

Other groups and artists worth checking out are The Black Seeds, Bic Runga, and Pluto. At least, that’s all I’ve experienced so far. I’m certain that this list is by no means exhaustive; however, for any budding music enthusiasts out there, I hope I’ve given you a bit of a start. I’m not sure about Gestalt Switch, but the other groups are on various labels, so you should be able to find them through iTunes or CDNow or related sites. And hey, if you’ve got any additional suggestions, send them my way; I’d love to check them out.