Photo: RNZ
RNZ is unveiling a new podcast today. Music 101 Interviews, hosted by Charlotte Ryan, features a vast catalogue of local and international musicians who have featured on the show.
New episodes premiere each Saturday after the programme, with a bonus episode of highlights from the archives released on Thursdays.
- Follow Music 101 Interviews on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you get your podcasts.
To celebrate Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa - New Zealand Music Month, we asked Charlotte to share her favourite memories from some of the interviews.
Lorde: 'Why the hell are you wearing David Byrne's jacket?'
Charlotte Ryan and Lorde - wearing David Byrne's jacket - at RNZ, January 2023. Photo: Nick Munroe
"When I got offered the interview, I was obviously really super excited, but I didn't realise she was going to be so open. She's so private usually and very particular about what media she speaks to; in the interview she talks about therapy, she talks about wanting to be a mum, she was almost talking to me like a friend which totally surprised me.
"But the story that I love about that interview most is right at the end. She was looking so stylish and cool, and she asked me where my dress was from. I think she was being polite, I'm not really a fashion person. I was like, 'Oh I love your jacket too, where's it from?' and she's like, 'Oh, from David Byrne'. When you think of David Byrne performing in concert, he wears these big, grey, squarish shoulder jackets. I think her stylist got it from David Byrne to give it to Lorde. I was like, 'Oh my god, I wish I asked you this in the interview', because why the hell are you wearing David Byrne's jacket?
"It's a real beautiful connection because she just covered a Talking Heads song recently, and so it was this really nice synergy for me."
Delaney Davidson: 'I could see his publicist freaking out'
Charlotte Ryan and Delaney Davidson at RNZ, March 2024. Photo: RNZ
"He just released his 10th album about three weeks ago, and that interview was really funny. When he was talking to me, his publicist was sitting in the next room and I could see her freaking out, because she had no idea what he was about to say. He was telling me in the interview that it was his last album that he was ever going to write and that he doesn't believe in the format of albums anymore. She was just squirming and rang me afterwards, she was like, 'I had no idea he was going to say that!'"
"He's so raw, open, and honest, this album was really big for him because he turned 50 and it was a big change in his life. That was very funny, to get a call afterwards from the publicist. I said, 'should I edit it out?' and she said, 'no, you can't!'"
Topp Twins: 'I was starstruck and quite emotional'
Charlotte Ryan and the Topp Twins, December 2023. Photo: Abba Renshaw
"I've wanted to interview the Topp Twins for years. I grew up in Christchurch where they were based, so I was always quite intrigued and loved them. When I heard they both had cancer, I was just really sad. I requested an interview, but they were both so sick they couldn't do it. I kept pushing, you know, 'When they're better, I'd come into hospital if necessary'. I wanted to speak to them because I just love them so much. And then finally they both got a little better and did the Topp Show, a concert that RNZ recorded. I thought, 'Yes, they're finally better, I finally got it'.
"When they came into the studio, I was so starstruck because I'd admired them for such a long time, and I was quite emotional. One of them was very enamored with me because she listens to Music 101 every week on the farm when she's with her horses. It was just this beautiful thing. I had built it up in my head for many years and they were so cool; they were funny, they were cheeky, they were relaxed. It was like talking to your aunties."
Stan Walker: 'He's so generous with what he shares'
Charlotte Ryan and Stan Walker at RNZ, February 2024 Photo: RNZ
"He is so open and vulnerable, and we've seen that from Stan since he first came out winning Australian Idol. I guess what is so special about Stan is that he really rates RNZ because he gets asked the real questions. When he comes here, he knows he can get deep and he's prepared. He speaks very openly about his family and he's just become a dad for the second time. He's so generous with what he shares and so respectful, he really listens to the questions."
Dolly Parton: 'I had to do an interview with her team first to check me out'
Charlotte Ryan and Dolly Parton - together via Zoom - in November 2023. Photo: Calvin Samuel
"About six months before the interview happened, I got this random email from this random name. He was like, 'Just checking things out. If Dolly was available, would you speak to her?' I thought it was spam, but I said, 'Yes, of course'. He came back a couple weeks later and said, 'We'd really like to have a drink with you and meet you if that's alright'. I sort of had to do an interview with them to check me out to see if I was genuine and real. It was really unusual, but obviously the coffee went well.
"There was so much hype around it, everyone was telling me, 'Don't keep Dolly waiting, don't keep Dolly waiting'. The morning of the show, I got calls from around the world: 'Just checking, Dolly's on in 20, and we're counting down.' And of course, Dolly popped up early and our technology didn't work, so we kept Dolly waiting. It was full on, but it was such a pinch-me moment."
Shepherds Reign: 'They found out they were finalists when I was on TV talking about them'
Charlotte Ryan and Shepherds Reign at RNZ, March 2024. Photo: RNZ
"The morning the Taite Music Prize news was announced, I was invited on TVNZ Breakfast to go talk about the finalists. I thought, 'Hmm, what video clip should we play' and I thought, 'Shepherds Reign will get people awake, let's do that'. Apparently, the band were texted by their friends like, 'There's some girl talking about you on the TV' and turns out that was the first time they'd heard about their nomination.
"When they came into the studio, they couldn't stop pointing at me and laughing at me like, 'You're the girl from the TV!' They were just blown away. They're at the real start of their journey and for them to have their music video played on breakfast TV, that was just nothing they expected."
Follow Music 101 Interviews on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you get your podcasts.
