New Zealand Artist Gina Malcolm Releases New Double A-side Single

Leanne Malcolm has changed her tune in recent years. Known across New Zealand as a radio and television journalist and as the presenter of TV3’s Nightline in the 90s, she has had a radical shift in career since 2021.

Under her artist name Gina Malcolm (Leanne’s middle name) she’s been recording and releasing original music, fulfilling a dream that started in her 20s.

'The latest release is the double A-side comprising of the raw and rocking 'Temptress' and the moody psychedelic noir of 'Knee Deep'.

'Temptress' (produced by Tom Maxwell) sounds like prime Patti Smith, preaching poetically over a Stooges/Black Sabbath-like guitar riff before the cosmic, piano-led middle eight takes the song on a dreamy detour.

Malcolm herself describes it as a a tongue-in-cheek, witchy track but one which has a message about empowering women.

"The song conveys the connection between women and nature and the moon, and the power of the sisterhood," she explains. "It is meant to be a fun song, with a retro feel that scratched my itch to rock out and celebrate being a woman."

'Knee Deep' (produced by Adam Hattaway) is a perfect example of the range of Malcolm's songwriting and influences as she conjures a swampy 1930s blues universe where Tom Waits is king and the guitars snake and shimmer beneath Malcolm's intoxicating blend of slow-motion hypnosis and late-night incantation.

"'Knee Deep' was written at a tough time in my life, when my dear Mum had just gone blind and my dog had died," Malcolm reveals. "I was struggling to sleep – I was powerless to make mum’s life better, and all our family were wondering how to give her her best life with this new scary disability, which happened at 85 years of age."

Music has always been a huge part of Malcolm's life. She got her first guitar when she was 11. Her mum played piano and was a huge country music fan and her father adored rock 'n' roll and blues. Malcolm sang in Queenstown covers bands after moving there with her young son and partner in 2002, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that she found the courage to start recording and releasing her own material.

A collaboration with Arrowtown’s respected alt country artist Tom Maxwell led to a recording studio session at Sublime in Waitaki. Tom’s band Killergrams played on five new songs and Malcolm was hooked.

Malcolm's singles 'Don’t Expect The World', 'Crushing' and 'Shadows' were well received with airplay including RNZ’s Music 101 and various other stations while the clip for 'Don't Expect The World' won the Aotearoa Web Fest Best NZ Music Video award. Malcolm's new music career was profiled in a NZ Herald Canvas feature in 2023.

As Malcolm explains, songwriting is a form of catharsis and healing for her.

“I definitely use songwriting as a way of dealing with painful and difficult times. Like many writers, it gives me an outlet for my emotions. And ever since I was very young, I’ve always been drawn to melancholic works – the darker side of human nature. I also don’t mind a good rock-out to some very heavy bands! But I would consider my strongest leanings are toward the alt country genre. I love the power and simplicity of a heartfelt country song.”

“I hope to be an inspiration for other older women who are seeking their true purpose," states Malcolm, reflecting on starting a music career at this point in her life. "And after all, music and the arts generally are ageless.”

Last May, Malcolm teamed up with Melbourne-based alt-country singer Matt Joe Gow, a finalist for Best NZ Country Artist last year, to record the Stonesy country song 'In The Night', which featured on TVNZ’s current affairs show 7 Sharp and attracted a lot of new listeners in America.

The fruits of that collaboration with Gow have continued, with further recording sessions and the exciting prospect of new releases on the horizon.

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