Haz (Haz Beats, Niuean/ Tongan, South Auckland, Otahuhu) and Miloux (Rebecca Melrose), the award winning dream team, are back together again. Their much anticipated EP Brunette, alongside the final single and stunning music video ‘March 12,’ are released today
‘March 12’ is described by Miloux as “a letter to my younger self, a reassurance that pain or trauma doesn't have to dictate the rest of your life. It's ok that it might have held you back for a little while and to feel and acknowledge pain is not a weakness but a strength. Pain from the past doesn’t have to stop you from trusting or loving again. There's no shame in taking your time to heal.”
The ambitious and creative Mona Sanei directed the 'March 12' music video and Miloux describes the shoot as “an amazing experience as we had the best tight knit crew. It was shot over three days in heavy rain from Waiheke to Piha. Mona brought her vision to life beautifully with Māori award-winning cinematographer Taine Noble. She captured the feeling of isolation contained within the lyrics, as well as the beauty, stillness and peace of acceptance in the song.”
Along with the music video, ‘March 12’ ushers in Haz & Miloux's second EP Brunette. The pair describe the EP as a collection of songs written about daily life as artists. It is a window into that time of their lives.
“We've been sitting on this EP for a very long time,” says Miloux. “It feels good to finally send it out into the world. We're in a new phase of creating and are ready to share and perform this collection of songs with an extra level of introspection.”
And the title? “I was blonde and now I'm brunette again,” Miloux laughs. “This EP is a reflection of this phase of our lives since our first EP, Blonde, and is a bit more natural and a return to our roots, musically."
Brunette follows the 2019 release of EP Blonde. The pair achieved phenomenal success with their debut EP, winning the 2020 Aotearoa Music Award for Best Soul/RnB Artist, and ‘Blonde’ was shortlisted for the 2020 Silver Scroll Awards. Their songs are love letters to their influences, experiences and community.
Brunette EP alongside single 'March 12' releases Friday July 28th via New Zealand indie labelBigpop Records.