{"id":272289,"date":"2026-02-17T17:04:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T04:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/?post_type=interviews&p=272289"},"modified":"2026-02-17T17:04:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T04:04:58","slug":"mnz-interview-bic-runga","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/interviews\/mnz-interview-bic-runga\/","title":{"rendered":"MNZ Interview: Bic Runga"},"author":390,"featured_media":272452,"template":"","class_list":["post-272289","interviews","type-interviews","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"meta_box":{"interview_text":"

Bic Runga doesn\u2019t need any introduction. The word icon<\/em> gets thrown around a lot these days, but few artists in Aotearoa deserve it more than Bic. Since bursting onto the scene in 1997, she has inspired generations of musicians and listeners alike. After a long gap between albums, she returns with Red Sunset <\/em>- a bold, reflective, and deeply personal record. Muzic.NZ's Lachie sat down with Bic to talk wh\u0101nau, creativity, returning after an extended break and the changing shape of the music industry.<\/p>\n

How are you going? And congratulations on the new album, it is beautiful!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m good, thank you. I\u2019m excited - it\u2019s coming out tomorrow, which feels pretty surreal. I have humble expectations, but it\u2019s always exciting to have new music out in the world after such a long time.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been a staple of Aotearoa music for so long now. How do you feel looking back at your body of work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s cool that the songs have been widely adopted into people\u2019s lives. I don\u2019t really think of them as belonging to me anymore. I\u2019ve had such a long time out that it feels healthy to detach yourself from the work a bit. I love it when people use the songs at weddings, funerals, or just hanging out with friends. Once a song is out there, it becomes part of other people\u2019s stories, and that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n

That must be a strange feeling - writing something and seeing it become part of people\u2019s lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It's cool. It\u2019s a real privilege. The more I think about it, the more extraordinary it feels.<\/p>\n

\"Bicrungacover<\/p>\n

Recording Red Sunset<\/em> in Paris<\/strong><\/h6>\n


\nThe album was recorded partly in Paris. How did that come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was recorded in Paris and also at home. I lived in Paris years ago, but I\u2019d never taken my family there. My son was leaving home this year, and it felt like our last chance to do something big together as a family. I had a work trip with an organisation, so I thought I\u2019d take the family and some recording gear and make the most of it. We did a lot of work there and finished the rest back home.<\/p>\n

Do you think being in Paris influenced the vibe of the record?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, definitely. Especially after not making anything for such a long time. Domestic life can feel quite mundane, and I needed to recapture that dream-like feeling I remembered from living there. There\u2019s a song called Paris in the Rain<\/em>\u00a0that came from revisiting the city after 20 years. It felt darker - there\u2019d been flooding, and the world just felt a bit apocalyptic. That mood definitely found its way into the song.<\/p>\n

Evolution, Technology, and Not Boring Yourself<\/strong><\/h6>\n


\nThe album feels really different from your earlier work. How did that evolution happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n

People said it didn\u2019t sound like Sway<\/em>, but Sway<\/em> was 25 years ago. You want to honour your past sound, but you also don\u2019t want to sound like you don\u2019t know what music in 2026 sounds like. Technology changes, and you want to use it. There aren\u2019t many examples of comeback records, so there are lots of questions and challenges when you\u2019re returning after such a long time.<\/p>\n

It feels brave to do something so different, how did you feel taking on something different from your previous work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The continuity is in the voice and songwriting, but I didn\u2019t want to bore myself. I could have made an acoustic record or a sad ballad record, but I wanted to feel excited again.<\/p>\n

[caption id=\"attachment_272454\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"Bicphoto3\" Photo Credit: Tom Grut[\/caption]<\/p>\n

Albums, Streaming, and Attention Span<\/strong><\/h6>\n


\nThe album feels like a journey. How much thought goes into track order?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Track listing is the hardest part. Sometimes the order you wrote the songs in tells the correct story. But people don\u2019t care about albums like they used to - attention spans are shorter now.<\/p>\n

How do you feel about streaming and the modern industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Streaming really needs to be reformed. It\u2019s eroded the value of music and artists. People might have huge numbers, but the connection is shallow - they might not even know who the artist is.<\/p>\n

Songwriting, Slowness, and Young Artists<\/strong><\/h6>\n


\nHas your songwriting process changed over the years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best practice is just doing it all the time. It\u2019s like fitness - when you\u2019re in shape, a really good song can come through quickly.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the hardest thing for young musicians today?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think the pressure to constantly release content. That\u2019s a tech-industry message - we\u2019re not machines. Slowness is good. You don\u2019t have to keep up with everything.<\/p>\n

[caption id=\"attachment_272455\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"Bicphoto4\" Photo Credit: Tom Grut[\/caption]<\/p>\n

Family, Touring, and Momentum<\/strong><\/h6>\n


\nWhy did it take so long to make this record?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Family and brain space. I used to isolate myself to write, but now I\u2019m never alone - we have four kids.<\/p>\n

Do you want to keep making music now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah. Momentum is everything. My kids are old enough to tour with me now, and I want to keep going. It feels like getting back into something I used to love.<\/p>\n

Touring is often romanticised - what\u2019s it really like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s more like being in the army than a party. You need routines and systems so there\u2019s no room for stressing out. People burn out when they don\u2019t treat it like work. Being away from home was isolating. Now touring with family feels like the ultimate situation.<\/p>\n

Red Sunset<\/strong><\/em><\/h6>\n


\nWhat reaction do you hope people have to Red Sunset<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know people are busy, but I hope they sit with it. Music takes time.<\/p>\n

It's a beautiful title, where did the title come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was almost called Escape from Planet Earth<\/em>, but Red Sunset<\/em> felt less apocalyptic.<\/p>\n

Thank you so much for your time - this has been a real privilege.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You keep doing your stuff too. I love what you do.<\/p>\n","linked_artist":["11829"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interviews\/272289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interviews"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/interviews"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/390"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interviews\/272289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":272290,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interviews\/272289\/revisions\/272290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}