Kiwi singer TEEKS signs with international booking agents
It has been a phenomenal year for rising Kiwi soul star TEEKS, who recently released the video to his second single ‘Never Be Apart’ from his debut EP, THE GRAPEFRUIT SKIES.
Riding a wave of success in the charts and drawing acclaim from local and international critics, the young artist from
Northland also won the Te Māngai Pāho Best Māori Artistaward at this year’s VNZMAs and has just been signed to two international booking agencies, 13 Artists and Niche Productions, as he prepares to take on the world in 2018.
The 24-year-old burst onto the New Zealand music scene in June 23, 2017 with his debut offering THE GRAPEFRUIT SKIES. Steeped in old-school soul and yet shimmering with moments that capture TEEKS’ strength of youth, the EP stopped audiences in their tracks and shot straight up the charts, with its lead single ‘If Only’ peaking at #1 on the New Zealand Viral Chart on Spotify and #1 on the R/Soul Chart on iTunes NZ.
“THE GRAPEFRUIT SKIES is one of the most original pieces of work a male New Zealand artist working within the genre of
soul has produced”
- Mike Alexander, Sunday Star Times
“It’s almost impossible to listen to this 23-year-old singer from New Zealand and not get covered in goosebumps. The
opening track to his 2017 ‘THE GRAPEFRUIT SKIES' EP is how some may imagine the heavens opening up would feel like”
The EP has since had more than 2 million streams on Spotify and earned TEEKS three nominations at the 2017 New Zealand Music Awards - ‘Breakthrough Artist of the Year’, ‘Best Soul and R’n’B Artist’ and ‘Te Māngai Pāho Best Māori Artist’.
Also one of just five acts invited to perform at the live televised awards, TEEKS’impressive performance of ‘Never Be Apart’ saw the EP soar back up the NZ Top 20 album chart and the Official Top 40 album chart.
In early 2017, TEEKS took part in APRA’s Songhubs programme at the famed Roundhead Studios in Auckland working alongside well-known writers and producers such
as Emily Warren and James Newman. In December he followed that up by participating in a writing retreat in Sydney, supported by Milk & Honey/Sony NZ and Australia, where he worked in one-on-one sessions with Sacha Skarbek, Greg Holden, Dan August Rigo and Anthony Maniscalo.
Now, as TEEKS prepares for a busy year ahead, he has joined with 13 Artists, whose roster includes Radiohead, Paolo Nutini, Alabama Shakes, Michael Kiwanuka andRoyal Blood and Australia’s highly regarded boutique touring company and artist booking agency Niche Productions, which works with the likes of Fat Freddy’s Drop, Ladi6,Six60 and Thomston.