Tess Liautaud and M. Butterfly

The music of Franco-American-Kiwi, Tess Liautaud, now Aotearoa folk sweetheart, can not be easily defined. It hangs in the balance of her voice, warm like honey; it carries a depth of raw emotion, delivered with melodic grace and country soul. 

Her songs are easy listening, in that Jackson Browne, dreaming of Laurel Canyon, Americana sort of way, so it would make some kind of sense that she’s found a home on the east side of Otautahi, among the folk singers and the rock'n'rollers.

M. Butterfly is a 2 piece slowcore country band from Brighton. Consisting of Martyn Lewis and Marion Clarke, their songs are sparse and glacial, with strong, literary lyrics. They may call to mind the songs of Townes Van Zandt, the unpredictability of PJ Harvey and the harmonic singing of Low.