Pacific artists warming up your winter playlist

As the peak winter season sets in, the commute home can feel like a drag.

Winter nights call for the right soundtrack, and some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Pacific artists are delivering fresh songs to add to your playlist.

A.R.T, STNDRD, Myshaan and Queen Shirl’e are bringing new releases that cover everything from late-night R&B vibes to powerful personal stories.

Here are three tracks worth checking out this winter.

‘Givin’ It Up’ - A.R.T and Keniye

Porirua trio A.R.T are keeping their ambitious “First Thursdays” streak going with their seventh consecutive drop of the year, Givin’ It Up.

The group team up with United States-based Tongan artist Keniye for a smooth blend of contemporary R&B, lovers rock, and island reggae.

With rich harmonies and a relaxed island feel, the track celebrates loyalty and the people who stay by your side through life’s highs and lows.

Co-written with Sammy Johnson, Givin’ It Up is another example of A.R.T’s ability to combine Pacific sounds with modern R&B influences.

‘Get It Back’ - STNDRD featuring Myshaan

Shifting gears to smooth, late-night R&B, South Auckland trio STNDRD have returned with their neo-soulful track with Myshaan, Get It Back.

Produced by Grammy-winner Aaron ‘Astro’ Strickland, the song follows a couple navigating their way back to happiness after their relationship has drifted off course.

STNDRD member Johnathan Aoina tells Island Time that the song was created explicitly to be released during the colder months.

Watch Johnathan Aoina's full interview below.

Rather than chasing fleeting summer bangers, STNDRD wanted to craft a deeper, reflective song taking inspiration from the 90s and 00s R&B music they grew up with.

The story skips the “blame game”, choosing instead to dive into vulnerability and hope.

Get It Back proves there can still be flawless emotional chemistry on a collaboration despite the distance between all the artists involved.

Myshaan recorded his parts in Hawai’i while brothers Johnathan and Paul Aoina are mostly Sydney-based and TeeRoy lives in Aotearoa.

“This one was particularly influenced by the music that our parents or older cousins listened to. And back then they really had you feeling desperate as a teen,” Aoina says.

“Like us as a 12 or 13 year old, they had us feeling the heartbreak and feeling all the emotion. So we kind of wanted to emulate that.”

‘Mama Loves You’ - Queen Shirl’e

Queen Shirl’e closes out the winter playlist with Mama Loves You.

A hip hop-soul track and collaboration with music pioneer and award-winning artist Chong Nee.

Created to celebrate the strength of mothers and draws on Queen Shirl’e’s personal, and at times challenging, experiences with motherhood.

Queen Shirl’e tells Pacific Days about the need to normalise songs of family resilience.

“I actually cried writing this,” Queen Shirl’e says. “Because as I was writing it, I thought about the struggles that I went through.

“The challenges that I went through as a single mom, as a mom who's come out of so many heartbreaks and still trying to hold it together for the kids. My children were the reasons why I never gave up on life myself.”

Whether you are looking for something smooth for the evening drive, a song for a quiet winter night or a fresh Pacific sound to add to your playlist, these releases are worth a listen.

The tracks are streaming on all major music platforms.