Last year marked 20 years since Beautiful Collision, the iconic album released in 2002 that went on to achieve eleven-time platinum status and international fame, selling more copies than any New Zealand album the following year. 

Anyone who grew up in Aotearoa in the era of bowl lattes and stale paninis will hold a special place in their heart for Kiwi music legend Bic Runga, and this album in particular. Songs like Get Some Sleep, Something Good and Listening for the Weather soundtracked our road trips, our Chardonnay dinner dates, and melancholy walks in the rain with our 1st gen iPod classics. Had you lived on Ponsonby’s Williamson Ave around the time, you might have been lucky enough to hear her recording some of the original tracks.

This NZ Music Month, Bic Runga announced her 20th anniversary tour of Beautiful Collision, playing the hauntingly good album in full at four shows around the country in July (buy tickets here). Ahead of its revival, we asked the singer to reflect on her life back then, what’s changed in the local music industry, and what still needs to be done. 

It’s been 20 years since Beautiful Collision - what does the album mean to you now versus when you wrote it? ‍

Beautiful Collision still means a lot to me as a record. It took three years to make, living between Auckland and also New York. There were recording sessions done in L.A as well, these places were still new to me so it’s like a diary of that time. I had a house in Grey Lynn on Williamson Ave and a lot of the recordings were done at home, or at least a lot of the making myself crazy and overworking on it happened there. 

Is there anything you wish you had known 20 years ago? 

I had this cool next door neighbour called Jose and I used to go around and play chess with him. I think my piano playing through the walls was a bit loud at night. He was older and more worldly than me and I remember him telling me I needed to read Machiavelli to know how to deal with people in the music business. Shout out to Jose, it’s a brutal world and you can’t expect it to be fair, you have to have your wits about you all the time. 

You achieved huge international success with Beautiful Collision - where did it take you? 

I moved to Paris for a while after I made this record, and also lived in London, mostly to tour this record. I did so much touring, I did a tour of the UK all by myself by train once, playing acoustically. In hindsight I don’t know how I did so much touring alone, I don’t think I’m as brave now.

What do you think about the pressure on musicians these days to have a social media following and build a personal brand? 

The pressure on musicians releasing music is maybe too much. If social media is making you feel nuts it’s maybe because it is nuts, I don’t think our brains have evolved fast enough to be seeing each other en masse everyday the way we do. 

I don’t post much to social media because when I do I find it to be a bit of a brain suck that makes me feel weird and then I find it hard to write songs. I’m not sure how you’re expected to have a brain that can manage both tasks inside the same day.  

How much did you think about building a personal brand when you were starting out?

I was just guided by my taste and tried to stick closely to creative choices I felt comfortable with. I think if you fight to do that consistently it adds up to something cohesive, but I never thought of it as a brand as such. 

You’re known for wearing and supporting New Zealand fashion designers throughout your career. What influenced your sense of style as a musician? 

I remember working in a record store in Cashel Mall in Christchurch when I first left high school and the women working at Plume who wore Zambesi and Nom*D would walk through the mall, they just looked so cool to me. I spent my first paycheck on a Nom*D cardigan. 

I still love NZ fashion. I think Zambesi always uses the best fabrics and always has a unique look. Gloria, Karen Walker, Rory Doherty, Kate Sylvester, Paris Georgia, Entire Studios... We’re so spoiled for fashion talent in NZ, it’s hard to believe the quality of what we have. 

Has your approach to songwriting changed as you've gotten older? 

Songwriting is something I love so much, it’s such a therapy and it’s always been my way to sort out my confusion. It’s always been that for me, right from the first song I wrote when I was 14 until now. It’s been like a best friend to me. 

How do you deal with creative burn-out?

Creative burnout can sometimes just be immense physical tiredness, so you have to look after your body, but also you have to feed your inspiration and be a fan of things, to appreciate things so you’re always getting nourishing input to draw on creatively. 

Which New Zealand artists excite you the most these days? 

There are so many artists doing great work. Te Kaahu, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Mel Parsons, Tiny Ruins, Jordyn with a Y, The Beths – there’s too many to list but I often think of a lot of NZ artists and worry for them, they’re out there fighting the good fight and they’re so talented and deserving.

What would you like to see more of from the New Zealand music industry? 

Of immediate concern is AI and all its incumbent ethical questions, it’s going to change the creative industries quicker than we might be ready for. We need to check our copyright laws are fit for purpose and continue to protect human creativity. I’m really excited about AI so finding the right balance deserves very diverse perspectives at the table, I would hate to see those decisions being made without creatives . 

On the topic of diversity I’m glad to see the Kapa Haka competition Te Matatini receive significant funding recently, that’s one of NZ’s premiere events and an important training ground for performance and musicianship with huge international potential. 

Australia has recently become part of the Eurovision Song Contest, I don’t see why NZ can’t be a part of that, a Kapa Haka group could really blow everyone away in that context. We need pathways for artists who are already doing it, we need to not think in a parochial way and take musical exporting as seriously as we take any of our other exports.