Ngaiire has always been peculiar, but on her third studio album, titled 3, she embraces it. Released today via Dot Dash Recordings, the project memorialises the differences that have hindered and propelled the Papua New Guinean R&B/Soul artist.
An incredibly talented young woman with a tumultuous childhood, including her years in Palmerston, New Zealand receiving cancer treatment as a small child, Ngaiire is now on the hunt for her culture and identity -both native and adopted – and this album is that journey.
Ngaiire has announced her AU/NZ Tour – local dates are:
Auckland – Tuning Fork – Thursday, Nov 25
Wellington – Meow – Friday, Nov 26
**The organisers understand that with the current state of changing health orders across borders, they may need to adapt and move events. In the case of changed dates all ticket holders will be notified directly and able to access refunds**
3 is released on green vinyl and black vinyl today, Friday 17 September
and is available now on all digital platforms now.
Stream / order via https://ngaiire.lnk.to/Ngaiir3.
“This album is about me letting go and accepting that not everyone is gonna get me,” says Ngaiire.
“So here it is. 3. A perfectly acceptable odd number, just like me —a bit odd. I’m definitely not your normal cup of tea and as much as I’ve tried to pour myself into that teacup over the years, I’ve accepted that I’m really better suited to a brilliantly well-charcoaled aluminum kettle, full of black tea leaves cooked on a very lived-in fire, built upon the soil that smells like my mother, my Aine, my Pupu and those that came before who said ‘reach for the stars but always come back to us.”
3 was first conceptualised when Ngaiire returned to Papua New Guinea in 2017 with a small creative team to extract unique visual aspects of her culture to present in a contemporary context alongside her music. But what began as an art-driven, anthropological project became Ngaiire’s own hero’s journey. In a recent interview with NME, she spoke candidly about the challenges she’s endured and reflected on her refusal to tone herself down for the comfort of others. Ngaiire demonstrates this emboldened approach on the sexually charged single ‘Closer’ and on the deeply personal ‘Him’, in which “her impassioned vocals seem to make the ultimate plea.” (The FADER) With the addition of colourful, anthemic numbers like ‘Takeover‘ and ‘Shoestring’, 3 is a celebration of what defines Ngaiire. The 10-track album is produced by Ngaiire’s longtime collaborator Jack Grace and it includes other previously released singles, ‘Boom’, and ‘Shiver’.
Ngaiire has defied extraordinary odds and on her latest album 3, she is her own biggest inspiration. “I am full to the brim of stories that many don’t have the privilege to hold within themselves; some I know quite well and some live deep in my DNA that I won’t have enough lifetimes to unpack,” Ngaiire shares. “But the ones I know, I will tell how I want to because I can. So here is a collection of love letters to 3 entities – myself, my country and those I love both here and now departed.” Born in Lae, Papua New Guinea and later finding refuge in New Zealand before moving to Australia when her family was displaced from a 1994 volcanic eruption in Rabaul, Ngaiire returned home to begin working on what is now 3. The end result is a product of Ngaiire’s self-realisation that serves as her most fully realised body of work to date. With her identity often misconstrued, whether it’s wrongly labelling her Australian-aboriginal or categorising her sound as world music, Ngaiire is taking control of her narrative. Read her powerful artist statement in full below.
The album is her third full-length, following her debut Lamentations and Blastoma, which was nominated for Best Independent Album at the Australian Independent Record Awards in 2017. Ngaiire is a four-time winner at Australia’s National Live Music Awards, winner of FBi Radio’s SMAC Award for Best Live Act, five-time nominee for the Australian Women in Music Awards and was nominated for Artist of the Year at the J Awards, presented by triple j & Double J. Alongside the countless accolades, Ngaiire has graced the stages of Glastonbury through to Splendour In The Grass, and has toured alongside artists from Sufjan Stevens to Flume to Alicia Keys and John Legend. Marking her long-awaited return with 3, Ngaiire is ready to transform the music landscape with her unique voice and story.
Read more on Ngaiire HERE
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