{"id":271476,"date":"2026-02-02T15:37:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T02:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/?post_type=interviews&p=271476"},"modified":"2026-02-02T15:39:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T02:39:02","slug":"mnz-interview-ladi6","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/interviews\/mnz-interview-ladi6\/","title":{"rendered":"MNZ Interview: Ladi6"},"author":385,"featured_media":271489,"template":"","class_list":["post-271476","interviews","type-interviews","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"meta_box":{"interview_text":"

Ladi6 is a celebrated Aotearoa artist whose music moves effortlessly between soul, hip hop and electronic textures, grounded by a deeply human lyrical voice. Muzic.NZ's Juliet recently caught up with the incredible Ladi6 (Karoline Fuarosa Park-Tamati) <\/span><\/span>part way through a summer tour ahead of her return to Ng\u0101motu for a show at Butlers Reef this weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

January isn\u2019t even over and already the year feels busy. For Ladi6 that sense of momentum has carried straight through from a New Year\u2019s Eve celebration that began not as a grand plan, but almost by accident.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such a fluke of an awesome event,\u201d she laughs. After nearly two decades of spending New Year\u2019s Eve playing shows, she and a girlfriend found themselves at home with family and friends, wanting something different. Dancing was still the goal but there was nowhere to go. So they decided to make the ultimate house party.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just put it out on social media and said, \u2018If I put on a New Year\u2019s show, who will come and play with me?\u2019 Everyone who responded became the lineup.\u201d What emerged was a house-party-meets-show energy that struck a chord: intimate, local, welcoming and exactly what people were craving.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something about that opposite-of-festival vibe,\u201d she says. \u201cA place where you can drink, chat, dance, dip in and out. You don\u2019t have to camp; you don\u2019t have to perform being a festival-goer. You can just be there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That spirit has flowed straight into her summer tour - a balance of larger festival stages and regional shows, including a long-awaited return to Ng\u0101motu. It\u2019s been a few years since she last played the city, a fact that surprised even her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely pre-Covid,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen you add Covid into the timeline, everything feels warped. But it\u2019s been way too long.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The New Plymouth show at Butlers Reef will also feature Hedlok (Che Fu & King Kapisi) as support - a pairing she\u2019s genuinely excited about. \u201cThey\u2019re one of my absolute favourites,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019d played a private show together once and I just thought, if I ever get the chance to do a proper night with them, I want to.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ladi6photo\"<\/p>\n

The tour follows the release of her 2025 album Le V\u0101<\/em> - a record shaped by grief, change, and the liminal space between who we are and who we\u2019re becoming. When asked how that theme translates live, she pauses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI actually don\u2019t think the live space needs that much explanation,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s already such an intimate exchange happening - between the audience, me, and the band. If I feel it, I trust that people feel it too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She admits the greater challenge was finishing the album itself. \u201cI don\u2019t think I could have completed it until I\u2019d reached the other side,\u201d she says. \u201cI had to be able to listen from start to finish and feel that sense of relief, that I\u2019d found meaning in what I went through.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That arc, from pain to perspective, has become a defining feature of the record, and one that audiences are responding to deeply.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s surprised her most, though, is how affirming the live shows have been in a music industry that feels increasingly fragmented. \u201cEvery time I release music, the landscape has changed again,\u201d she says. \u201cYou\u2019re told to be on TikTok, to do this, to do that and I always have this moment of panic, like, \u2018Do I even understand this anymore?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But the shows have reminded her of something simpler. \u201cMusic is music. Being in a room together, experiencing joy collectively, that hasn\u2019t changed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a renewed confidence there now, a sense of perspective. \u201cI\u2019ve spent so long looking inward,\u201d she reflects. \u201cI forgot to look up and see what I\u2019ve actually built over the years. The shows have validated that for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When she arrives in Taranaki, she promises one thing above all else: joy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just so much love in the room,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a dance-floor night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Catch Ladi6 live at Butlers Reef, \u014cakura, this Saturday, joined by Hedlok\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Wear comfortable shoes.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Tickets to Ladi6 Summer Tour<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Ladi6poster\"<\/p>\n","linked_artist":["33215"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interviews\/271476","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\/385"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interviews\/271476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":271490,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/interviews\/271476\/revisions\/271490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muzic.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}