October 3, 2025 • 12 mins
A bit of a change in focus for Jeremy Redmore.
While most will know him from the rock band Midnight Youth, Redmore is going through a bit of a creative evolution, turning his attention to children’s music.
But it’s not the sugar-rush pop you might be expecting, the music instead following a —surprisingly emotional— narrative.
Redmore told Jack Tame it all started when he was writing a children’s book about the superpowers that can be found in singing – the way you can find identity and energy through song.
“That was a book about singing, so I had to have a song,” he said.
“I did the song, and I really enjoyed releasing kid’s music.”
It was at that point he started wondering anyone else felt this way about the power of singing, and so he started researching.
“Turns out there’s all this amazing stuff that happens when kids sing and adults sing as well, but especially when people sing in groups.”
“So I had the opportunity to record an album of songs, and I thought, let's make this really intentional.”
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
If you waker.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Kiss one thing.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
That you came to Just move, Just.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Move, that is just move and I get it.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
The beat, the rhythm, the style, the call and answer
might throw you off, but you probably know. Jeremy read
more from the rock band Midnight Youth. Jeremy had a
great time with Midnight Youth, had a great time as
a solo artist, but now is going through a bit
of a creative evolution, turning his attention to children's music.
But this is not sugar rush pop with cartoon voices. No, no,
(01:13):
we are all going to be spared the crazy Frog.
It's music that has narrative and it is surprisingly emotional.
Jeremy read Moore's with us this morning.
Speaker 5 (01:21):
Kild A, good morning, mordaner Jack, how are you ah?
So good?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Thanks?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Not as good as you though we have pulled you
out of a dive bar, and Budapest this morning, of
all places, paid us a picture.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
It's the dives of all divius bars. It's probably about
about seven dive bars rolled into one in the middle
of Budapest, and I was thoroughly distracted by I mean
every inch of every wall is covered in graffiti of
all kinds of offensive things, so it's it was very distracting.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
No, that's good. Is it one of those places where
that you can't touch any surface because it's so sticky
and like unclean and unhygienic that if you like put
your hand down, you'll never be able to peel it
off the bar itself.
Speaker 5 (02:07):
Well, let's be fair to them.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
I mean I think psychologically, yes, physically, it's less sicky
than I would have expected.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Okay, okay, that sounds great. Well, I'm deeply envious this morning.
And it is quite a transition from your latest body
of work, which is itself quite a transition from what
you've been doing. I mean, this is really something quite different.
So tell us what got you into writing kids music?
Speaker 4 (02:32):
I mean, long story, short, COVID in a way, because
I was already writing a picture book about the superpowers
that can be found in singing. Basically, you know how
kids can find a sense of identity through singing and
the energy that goes into sort of projecting yourself as
(02:53):
a singer.
Speaker 5 (02:53):
Which is the story of my adult life.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
So I wrote this picture book release that there was
a song about singing, a book about singing, so I
had to have a song. I did the song, and
I really enjoyed releasing kids' music. But then as part
of the promotion, I kind of started looking into the
science behind singing and going, hang on, is it just
me that thinks this is a superpower or is there
more to this?
Speaker 5 (03:17):
And I started looking into all of this.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Very thorough research from all around the world, and it
turns out there's all of this amazing stuff that happens
when kids sing and adults sing as well, but especially
when people sing in groups.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
And so I had the opportunity to record an.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Album of songs, and I thought, hey, look, let's make
this really intentional and create songs with music videos that
really allow kids to easily sing with these songs, and
preferably sing in groups, because that's actually where so much
of the magic happens. And you know, if you look
(03:56):
back into in culture for thousands of years, group singing
is this magic thing?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
It is? So yeah, I think, like I even think
back to like you know, I was. This is not
going to come as a huge shock to many people,
but I was a bit of a theater kid at school.
I was a bit of a music kid. I may
have even competed in various barbershop competitions over the years.
But there is there's something, you know where it is
that there's something kind of primal about it, strangely about
(04:24):
you know, us being social beings, right, there is something
about using our voices together, especially in harmony or something
like that, that triggers something deep inside us.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Human ritual religion goes back thousands of years people chanting
and singing together. And what happens is the science is
showing that brain activity synchronizes, and when that happens, we
almost feel like we're a super organism. We're one super organism,
and so that creates the sense of connection. And that
is what those groups were tapping into and what we
(04:58):
can if we intentionally create the situation. We can tap
into that situation for kids. And when I think about
a classroom of young kids and all the little cliques
and the you know, the cool kids, the nerdy kids,
the outcasts, if they can have three to six minutes
of feeling connected in a day, I mean, that's that's magic, right.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, So Just Move is your first single
from sing Along the size. Tell us, Yes, tell us
about the difference given you've I mean you've you've written
as part of Midnight Youth, You've written stuff for your
solo work. But how different is it to go about
purposefully writing a song for children? Do you have fewer
(05:42):
minor chords? Like, how does it? You know? Fewer diminished chords?
Is everything in the key of A? And nice and sonny?
Speaker 4 (05:51):
Well, the key does come into it because kids have
very high voices. So this album has me singing very
high because I want them to be able to sing
along easily. So there is actually a sort of window
of a key that you have to stick to for
kids to be able to broadly sing along with these songs.
(06:12):
But otherwise, you know, it's about for me, they're just
pop songs.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
Yeah, so I've brought in.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
My experiences as a songwriter to creating pop songs. The
thing that's different is I want these songs to be very,
very interactive, So they're interactive in the music recording, but
interactive also in the music video and the recording. It's
all about the sing along part. So almost every singing
section is call and response, So I sing you think
(06:40):
of that for that? Freddy Mercury at Live Aid, you know, yeah,
and the crowd goes back and forth and it's an
incredible moment. I wanted that within the song. And then
the extra thing is the music videos feature a stop
motion puppet called Milo who's a kind of a Marsupi
or mousey little character, and they do physical actions hopping, skipping,
(07:05):
eating peanut butter, these things that kids can all again
do in unison as a movement in non singing parts.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
So the songs are structured.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
We all sing together, then we move together, and it's
all to try and pack in as much of that
synchrony as possible.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
That makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
So do you like, do you see this sing along
size being performed in schools and that kind of thing
like that?
Speaker 5 (07:34):
Is that we you're envisaging this absolutely.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
I want teachers to be able to put this on
to start the day or as a brain break, or
and as well families. You know, maybe maybe you've just
noticed the kids have just just zoned out for a
few hours and you're like, hey, well, what's something that
we can put on to get them energized. And it's
a screen, so it's it's you know, it's it's attractive
for a kid, but it's healthy screen time because they're
(08:00):
expressing themselves, they're singing, they're moving, they're getting a bit
of health along with just having some fun. So that's
the idea, and definitely I'm taking it to a whole
bunch of schools in the Upper North Island next month
and I'm really looking forward to hundreds of kids doing
this all together. It's gonna be amazing.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
That's a great idea. So do you remember, like when
you were at school, do you remember what songs they
used to sing when you're at school.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
I do, because they were all church songs.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
I went to a Catholic primary school and we would
all sing the same songs every week, and I do
remember bonding with my friends while singing those songs, even
if we were joking around during them.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
There's something about it, and you know I've written about it.
Even you go to an all.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Blacks game and you sing the anthem and you look
around you and for those for those four minutes, you're
all just feel this.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
This pride and this connection.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
And then you see the ultimate, the ultimate version of it,
which is the huker, which is singing and moving together it's.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
A very good point version of what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Yeah, So, given you've taken quite a scientific approach to this,
have you tried it out on kids?
Speaker 5 (09:15):
Absolutely? I haven't.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
I haven't put brain imagery imagery devices on their mind,
on their heads. Levels of joy and levels of joy
are really really high, and it works on adults too,
So we're looking We're looking pretty good at this point.
But you know, it's at this point we need to
(09:37):
take it to a whole bunch of schools, a whole
bunch of kids, and and really get as much feedback
to refine it as we go forward.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
But I think we've We've released one song so far.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
And the reaction I've had so far is just yeah,
I'm getting so many wonderful messages, so yeah, I can't complain.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Hey, you're you're based in the Netherlands these days.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
I am.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
I'm in a city called Utrecht, which is hard to say,
but it's a little mini version of Amsterdam.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
It's a beautiful place.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Ah, how good? So how are you finding life in Europe?
Speaker 5 (10:15):
It's nice, it is.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
I think any immigrant story is tricky, especially when you
move to a country with a different native language and
I didn't move here for opportunity.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
It was very much to support family and be with family.
Speaker 4 (10:31):
So I moved here with no idea what I was doing,
had zero connections, zero network, and you had to make
something happen. And it's a huge challenge and I can't
pretend that the fact that it's been really hard. But
at the same time, it's a place for opportunity and
a place for self discovery and growth. And I just
feel like I've grown so much in the last few
years and this album and the intention and meaning behind
(10:55):
these songs.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
Is part of that, because.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
I think this kind of situation refines you as a
person and refines you as an artist, and this, for me,
this is a kind of refined version of kids music
for me.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Anyway, before we let you go, I've got to ask,
given it's been out for or what sixteen hours now,
have you listened to any of the new Taylor Swift album?
Do you have any thoughts?
Speaker 4 (11:22):
May I have been just diving into Budapest. It's my
first day here, and can I just.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Say thank goodness that you've prioritized that over listened to
the New War, which is not a slight on Taylor Swift,
but just to say that what a shame it would
be if you were declining being in a graffiti laden,
potentially sticky Budapest dive bar so that you could listen
to Taylor'swift's new album exactly.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
And I've got so many songs from Synthony. This is
why I'm going around Europe in my head. There's no
space for Taylor Swift. It's just tuff once once it's going,
There's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Hey, I really appreciate your time, juring me so good
to chat and congratulations. It's just it's so cool to
see artists really, like, you know, just just expanding the
boundaries of where their art might go. And I just, yeah,
I think it's I think it's fantastic and such a
such a good cause to you know, get kids and
adults singing and moving together.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Absolutely, Thanks Jack for your time, and I hope all
your listens out there can give it a sing along
the size a shot.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
That is Jeremy readmore. We'll have all the details for
sing Along Size on the News Talk.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
ZB we for more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame.
Listen live to News talksz' B from nine am. Saturday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
If you waker.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Kiss one thing.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
That you came to Just move, Just.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Move, that is just move and I get it.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
The beat, the rhythm, the style, the call and answer
might throw you off, but you probably know. Jeremy read
more from the rock band Midnight Youth. Jeremy had a
great time with Midnight Youth, had a great time as
a solo artist, but now is going through a bit
of a creative evolution, turning his attention to children's music.
But this is not sugar rush pop with cartoon voices. No, no,
(01:13):
we are all going to be spared the crazy Frog.
It's music that has narrative and it is surprisingly emotional.
Jeremy read Moore's with us this morning.
Speaker 5 (01:21):
Kild A, good morning, mordaner Jack, how are you ah?
So good?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Thanks?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Not as good as you though we have pulled you
out of a dive bar, and Budapest this morning, of
all places, paid us a picture.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
It's the dives of all divius bars. It's probably about
about seven dive bars rolled into one in the middle
of Budapest, and I was thoroughly distracted by I mean
every inch of every wall is covered in graffiti of
all kinds of offensive things, so it's it was very distracting.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
No, that's good. Is it one of those places where
that you can't touch any surface because it's so sticky
and like unclean and unhygienic that if you like put
your hand down, you'll never be able to peel it
off the bar itself.
Speaker 5 (02:07):
Well, let's be fair to them.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
I mean I think psychologically, yes, physically, it's less sicky
than I would have expected.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Okay, okay, that sounds great. Well, I'm deeply envious this morning.
And it is quite a transition from your latest body
of work, which is itself quite a transition from what
you've been doing. I mean, this is really something quite different.
So tell us what got you into writing kids music?
Speaker 4 (02:32):
I mean, long story, short, COVID in a way, because
I was already writing a picture book about the superpowers
that can be found in singing. Basically, you know how
kids can find a sense of identity through singing and
the energy that goes into sort of projecting yourself as
(02:53):
a singer.
Speaker 5 (02:53):
Which is the story of my adult life.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
So I wrote this picture book release that there was
a song about singing, a book about singing, so I
had to have a song. I did the song, and
I really enjoyed releasing kids' music. But then as part
of the promotion, I kind of started looking into the
science behind singing and going, hang on, is it just
me that thinks this is a superpower or is there
more to this?
Speaker 5 (03:17):
And I started looking into all of this.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Very thorough research from all around the world, and it
turns out there's all of this amazing stuff that happens
when kids sing and adults sing as well, but especially
when people sing in groups.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
And so I had the opportunity to record an.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
Album of songs, and I thought, hey, look, let's make
this really intentional and create songs with music videos that
really allow kids to easily sing with these songs, and
preferably sing in groups, because that's actually where so much
of the magic happens. And you know, if you look
(03:56):
back into in culture for thousands of years, group singing
is this magic thing?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
It is? So yeah, I think, like I even think
back to like you know, I was. This is not
going to come as a huge shock to many people,
but I was a bit of a theater kid at school.
I was a bit of a music kid. I may
have even competed in various barbershop competitions over the years.
But there is there's something, you know where it is
that there's something kind of primal about it, strangely about
(04:24):
you know, us being social beings, right, there is something
about using our voices together, especially in harmony or something
like that, that triggers something deep inside us.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Human ritual religion goes back thousands of years people chanting
and singing together. And what happens is the science is
showing that brain activity synchronizes, and when that happens, we
almost feel like we're a super organism. We're one super organism,
and so that creates the sense of connection. And that
is what those groups were tapping into and what we
(04:58):
can if we intentionally create the situation. We can tap
into that situation for kids. And when I think about
a classroom of young kids and all the little cliques
and the you know, the cool kids, the nerdy kids,
the outcasts, if they can have three to six minutes
of feeling connected in a day, I mean, that's that's magic, right.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, So Just Move is your first single
from sing Along the size. Tell us, Yes, tell us
about the difference given you've I mean you've you've written
as part of Midnight Youth, You've written stuff for your
solo work. But how different is it to go about
purposefully writing a song for children? Do you have fewer
(05:42):
minor chords? Like, how does it? You know? Fewer diminished chords?
Is everything in the key of A? And nice and sonny?
Speaker 4 (05:51):
Well, the key does come into it because kids have
very high voices. So this album has me singing very
high because I want them to be able to sing
along easily. So there is actually a sort of window
of a key that you have to stick to for
kids to be able to broadly sing along with these songs.
(06:12):
But otherwise, you know, it's about for me, they're just
pop songs.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
Yeah, so I've brought in.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
My experiences as a songwriter to creating pop songs. The
thing that's different is I want these songs to be very,
very interactive, So they're interactive in the music recording, but
interactive also in the music video and the recording. It's
all about the sing along part. So almost every singing
section is call and response, So I sing you think
(06:40):
of that for that? Freddy Mercury at Live Aid, you know, yeah,
and the crowd goes back and forth and it's an
incredible moment. I wanted that within the song. And then
the extra thing is the music videos feature a stop
motion puppet called Milo who's a kind of a Marsupi
or mousey little character, and they do physical actions hopping, skipping,
(07:05):
eating peanut butter, these things that kids can all again
do in unison as a movement in non singing parts.
Speaker 5 (07:12):
So the songs are structured.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
We all sing together, then we move together, and it's
all to try and pack in as much of that
synchrony as possible.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
That makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
So do you like, do you see this sing along
size being performed in schools and that kind of thing
like that?
Speaker 5 (07:34):
Is that we you're envisaging this absolutely.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
I want teachers to be able to put this on
to start the day or as a brain break, or
and as well families. You know, maybe maybe you've just
noticed the kids have just just zoned out for a
few hours and you're like, hey, well, what's something that
we can put on to get them energized. And it's
a screen, so it's it's you know, it's it's attractive
for a kid, but it's healthy screen time because they're
(08:00):
expressing themselves, they're singing, they're moving, they're getting a bit
of health along with just having some fun. So that's
the idea, and definitely I'm taking it to a whole
bunch of schools in the Upper North Island next month
and I'm really looking forward to hundreds of kids doing
this all together. It's gonna be amazing.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
That's a great idea. So do you remember, like when
you were at school, do you remember what songs they
used to sing when you're at school.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
I do, because they were all church songs.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
I went to a Catholic primary school and we would
all sing the same songs every week, and I do
remember bonding with my friends while singing those songs, even
if we were joking around during them.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
There's something about it, and you know I've written about it.
Even you go to an all.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Blacks game and you sing the anthem and you look
around you and for those for those four minutes, you're
all just feel this.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
This pride and this connection.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
And then you see the ultimate, the ultimate version of it,
which is the huker, which is singing and moving together it's.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
A very good point version of what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Yeah, So, given you've taken quite a scientific approach to this,
have you tried it out on kids?
Speaker 5 (09:15):
Absolutely? I haven't.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
I haven't put brain imagery imagery devices on their mind,
on their heads. Levels of joy and levels of joy
are really really high, and it works on adults too,
So we're looking We're looking pretty good at this point.
But you know, it's at this point we need to
(09:37):
take it to a whole bunch of schools, a whole
bunch of kids, and and really get as much feedback
to refine it as we go forward.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
But I think we've We've released one song so far.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
And the reaction I've had so far is just yeah,
I'm getting so many wonderful messages, so yeah, I can't complain.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Hey, you're you're based in the Netherlands these days.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
I am.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
I'm in a city called Utrecht, which is hard to say,
but it's a little mini version of Amsterdam.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
It's a beautiful place.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Ah, how good? So how are you finding life in Europe?
Speaker 5 (10:15):
It's nice, it is.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
I think any immigrant story is tricky, especially when you
move to a country with a different native language and
I didn't move here for opportunity.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
It was very much to support family and be with family.
Speaker 4 (10:31):
So I moved here with no idea what I was doing,
had zero connections, zero network, and you had to make
something happen. And it's a huge challenge and I can't
pretend that the fact that it's been really hard. But
at the same time, it's a place for opportunity and
a place for self discovery and growth. And I just
feel like I've grown so much in the last few
years and this album and the intention and meaning behind
(10:55):
these songs.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
Is part of that, because.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
I think this kind of situation refines you as a
person and refines you as an artist, and this, for me,
this is a kind of refined version of kids music
for me.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Anyway, before we let you go, I've got to ask,
given it's been out for or what sixteen hours now,
have you listened to any of the new Taylor Swift album?
Do you have any thoughts?
Speaker 4 (11:22):
May I have been just diving into Budapest. It's my
first day here, and can I just.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Say thank goodness that you've prioritized that over listened to
the New War, which is not a slight on Taylor Swift,
but just to say that what a shame it would
be if you were declining being in a graffiti laden,
potentially sticky Budapest dive bar so that you could listen
to Taylor'swift's new album exactly.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
And I've got so many songs from Synthony. This is
why I'm going around Europe in my head. There's no
space for Taylor Swift. It's just tuff once once it's going,
There's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Hey, I really appreciate your time, juring me so good
to chat and congratulations. It's just it's so cool to
see artists really, like, you know, just just expanding the
boundaries of where their art might go. And I just, yeah,
I think it's I think it's fantastic and such a
such a good cause to you know, get kids and
adults singing and moving together.
Speaker 4 (12:22):
Absolutely, Thanks Jack for your time, and I hope all
your listens out there can give it a sing along
the size a shot.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
That is Jeremy readmore. We'll have all the details for
sing Along Size on the News Talk.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
ZB we for more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame.
Listen live to News talksz' B from nine am. Saturday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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