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November 22, 2025 10 mins

Christchurch based, Scottish born, artist Karra Rhodes is rising fast on the New Zealand music scene and she's got a new project in the works.

Her new album, Hometown Therapy, is also being used to shine a light on domestic violence and highlight her fundraising efforts for the charity Shine. 

"I like to think that I write music that a lot of people maybe feel uncomfortable writing music on."

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
She's a rising talent on the New Zealand music scene.
This is christ Church based Scottish born artist Kara Bodes
with her latest single, Hometown Therapy. The song is the
title track of Kara's recently released debut album, The album
is a Little Bit Special. Kara is using the album
to shine a light on domestic violence and highlight her
fundraising efforts for the charity Shine Caara Rhodes joins me

(00:36):
now from christ Church.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Good morning, Good morning, Francesca, thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
The album entered the New Zealand charts at number four.
You must be pretty pleased about that.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
I was. I was very shocked, to say the least,
but very very about this time of the.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Year that we just related. This title track off the album,
Hometown Therapy. It talks of your homeland, Scotland. Do you
miss it?

Speaker 4 (01:04):
I do.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
I don't mean New Zealand's home now, but I think
there's always parts of me that wishes Scotland and New
Zealand were maybe pushed a bit closer together.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yes, that would be helpful. Wouldn't it.

Speaker 3 (01:16):
I would do, because they're so far away. I mean
it makes going back home very hard. Anybody from Scotland
or UK will know just how far.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
Away it is.

Speaker 3 (01:24):
But I miss there's lots of parts of New Zealand
that has a lot of Scottish traditions as well, So yeah,
never too far.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
And look it's good to you need a bit of
longing for a good song, don't you carry? You need
a bit of you know's some homesickness, a little bit
of emotion.

Speaker 4 (01:40):
Always it does.

Speaker 3 (01:42):
They always say the best songs are created from heartache
or heartbreak.

Speaker 4 (01:45):
So I do think that helps.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
Tell me about the other themes on this album. You
talk about a lot of things. You talk about domestic violence,
mental health, identity, and resilience. So these all from your
own experience?

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Yeah, I mean a lot of a lot of them
are from my own experiences, but they also draw on
them from my parents or family or friends. And I
like to think that I write music that a lot
of people maybe feel uncomfortable writing music on.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
So does sharing kind of raw emotional topics does that
come easily and naturally to you?

Speaker 4 (02:21):
It does?

Speaker 3 (02:21):
With writing music, I wouldn't say so much in person
with friends or talking. Usually it comes out in my music,
but otherwise I usually put a sort of a lid
on and move on, but find that it comes out
of my music and what I wish I could share.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh, that's really interesting because I think that well, often
we think that women are pretty good at sort of sharing,
you know, with each other and things. But a lot
of these topics you find it much easier to sing.

Speaker 4 (02:48):
About I do.

Speaker 3 (02:50):
I think it's that whole. I mean, I've got a
song in they're called Painting It Perfect. I think it's
easy when you're in person or and you're going about
your life. It's easy to say, Yep, everything's fine, everything's
always been fine. But a lot of the time I
think just any any past experience as they come out music,
whereas I might feel a bit more uncomfortable to share

(03:10):
it in person.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
Yes, we played Painting It Perfect just before the news,
and it is a song about putting that smile on
your face and you know, and pretending that everything is right.
And I think that this is a very relatable thing
to do. I think it's something which sort of social
media has convinced us we all need to do a
little bit too, I think so.

Speaker 3 (03:28):
I think a lot of us like to show the
best glimpses of our life. We like to say everything's
great and look how perfect it is as well most
of us, which we could say, actually right now I'm
not feeling so great, but I just don't know how
to say it.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
This album is raising money for domestic violence charity Shine.
Why have you decided to do this?

Speaker 4 (03:48):
They are fantastic charity.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
They actually, on a personal note, helped me a long
time ago get out of a really horrible situation. But no,
they're just they The work they do is amazing, They help,
they're just great to talk to. They have some programs
that help people manage through those feeling after domestic violence
and just helps them get back on a path to

(04:10):
hopefully a better life.

Speaker 4 (04:12):
But know, the work they do is just incredible, and
I think it needs more support.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
Do you think you know domestic silence? I think a
lot of people can carry a lot of shame or
secrecy around about something like that. Is it important for
people to know that they're not alone?

Speaker 4 (04:29):
I think so. I think it's great for people to
know that.

Speaker 3 (04:31):
Actually, I mean the statistics are that I think it's
one in three women or I don't have that fat
extents to men as well, but they do go through it,
and so we're not alone and there's no shame in it.

Speaker 4 (04:43):
There's absolutely no shame.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
There's actually quite a strength in it to go through
it and hopefully find the next chapter and not be
afraid to enter that new feaes.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
Your streaming royalties one hundred percent of your streaming royalties
for a year are going to go back to Shine.
You also raised two thousand and a fundraising gig last weekend.
How important is it to you to give back?

Speaker 3 (05:05):
I think it's really important for I think the main success,
so to speak, is what you can give back. I
feel like there's not really a point in having so
much passion or enjoying everything you can create if there's
if you can't give it back in some way, because
then it just falls, It sort of just falls unfounded,
Like what's the point of it if it's just a
self success. I think the best thing is, if you

(05:25):
can achieve anything, is to give it back.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Do you have a target in mind of what you'd
like to raise?

Speaker 4 (05:31):
Not so much, because I hope it's just continues.

Speaker 3 (05:33):
I mean, of course, I'd love to reach up to that,
you know, five teen thousand, but it's just ongoing.

Speaker 4 (05:38):
I hope it never I hope it never ends.

Speaker 3 (05:40):
I say a year, but I hope in a year's
time I still want to do something else and just
keep giving, keep giving it back.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
You're also a family lawyer. You've got young children as well.
How do you balance all these different parts of your life.

Speaker 3 (05:54):
I think I've said before the typewrope it's very, very tight.
But no, I've got amazing support around me. I've got
my fiance who's fantastic with the kids, and he helps
out in so many aspects of canning drag the law
into music concerts. So it's the friends, the family, even
work my work are very encouraging.

Speaker 4 (06:12):
So I have the right people around me.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
I don't think he needs to be dragged to the music.
It's a it's not you know, a band thing to
have to go and do I mean, I.

Speaker 4 (06:22):
Mean, it's it's not.

Speaker 3 (06:24):
But I think obviously we all have our different passions
and you know, he would much prefer to be at
a car show or something, but no, he's very very
supportive of coming to these events.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
How do you describe your music. There's not just one
genre in here, is there?

Speaker 3 (06:38):
No? I mean I've always liked to figure's country. I
mean that's all I ever listened to is country music.
But we've mixed in. There's a bit of pop, there's
a bit of rock. There's just so maybe. Yeah, I
don't really know it. So I think it's just whatever
I write, and then I usually bring it to my producer,
Greg Have, who's amazing, and I say to him, hate
you obviously no country, but let's throw in a few
inspirations in there.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
Do you write on the piano or guitar or both?

Speaker 3 (07:03):
It used to be primarily the guitar, and now it
is that I find it easiest to write on. It
tends to be more ballady if it's on piano, though.

Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yes, I think that's the great spite was. I think
I noticed that listening to the album what was very,
very comfortable on the piano. So who or what else
influences your style?

Speaker 3 (07:23):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (07:23):
I love so.

Speaker 3 (07:24):
I love musicians like Carrie Underwood, love Delta Goodrum, who's
not country but she's pop because she's got this beautiful tone.
And I love a bit of Shania Twain, which she
has in a bit of fight. So I love just
a lot of few musical inspirations, but I mainly I
just love the stories. I love listening to the stories
that some musicians come up with, and then sometimes I

(07:45):
might take a little bit of inspiration and think, oh,
how does that impact on my life as well?

Speaker 2 (07:48):
So I read that you never really wanted to be
in the spotlight? Why was that?

Speaker 3 (07:55):
I've always been I mean, in person, I talk a lot,
so if you ever meet me in person, there's no
style from me from talking. But when it comes to music,
I've always been quite reserved. I've always been heading away.
I write my songs and you know, on the piano,
and then they tended to just go away. And I
never thought that I would be the one up on stage.
But honestly, I've gotten quite addicted to being on stage.
Just it's a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (08:16):
How did you overcome there?

Speaker 3 (08:17):
Is it?

Speaker 4 (08:18):
Just do it?

Speaker 2 (08:18):
Is it just doing it and getting comfortable with it?

Speaker 3 (08:22):
Yep? Just do it. As one off that I like
to say now to people who ask me who are
a bit shy, just do it, just even if you
are afraid.

Speaker 4 (08:31):
It's not about learning how to be confident.

Speaker 3 (08:32):
I think being Confident is about knowing that you probably
aren't going to be good at it, but doing it
anyway until you just learn how to be good.

Speaker 4 (08:38):
I still get afraid.

Speaker 3 (08:39):
I still get very afraid, but sometimes I get up
and can't wait.

Speaker 2 (08:44):
But that's I think that's I think that's important. And
I think you talk to a lot about as He'll
say to you the day that I walk out and
I take it for granted and I'm not a bit
nervous or I'm not really you know, then you're probably
not ready for to perform exactly.

Speaker 3 (08:55):
I mean, my mom likes to tell me that as well.
She says to me, if you're nervous, it's a good
sign you still care, you still want to be good.
But as long as you just don't let your nerves
and your fears stop you from get up, get it.

Speaker 4 (09:07):
Even if you're terrified, get up and do it.

Speaker 3 (09:09):
It's not going to result on some of the terrible
and I hope, I hope not. But just get up
and enjoy it, and over time it becomes less and
it doesn't impact you so much.

Speaker 2 (09:19):
So what is the future for you? In music? You've
been labeled as one to watch.

Speaker 3 (09:25):
Well, that's exciting. But for me, I want to grow
as a songwriter. I would love to start writing with
other musicians. I have been writing with some other musicians
and just keep growing and keep writing. I do have
a goal. I have a goal in my head of
releasing at least one hundred songs in the next few
years and seen how that works. But it's a little
bucketless target. But I just want to keep releasing. I

(09:46):
want to keep performing and just really learning how to
just as I said before, just give back and be
in a position to support other artists.

Speaker 2 (09:54):
I'm not really surprised. You're a lawyer, you're a mum,
you're you're a country singer, you're releasing albums. I'm not
at all surprised that you've seen a little goal. You've gone, okay, right,
what am I doing? What am I gonna achieve? Am I?
You've got it all organized? Huh?

Speaker 4 (10:07):
I mean I've got the to do list.

Speaker 3 (10:08):
I definitely have it to do list, But no, next
thing is I am hoping.

Speaker 4 (10:13):
Let's let's see if we talk next year if I've
achieved this.

Speaker 3 (10:15):
I really want to create a music video, a proper,
well organized, good music video, So that's definitely on the
list for one of the next songs I'm recording.

Speaker 2 (10:25):
I love it. Cara, really nice to meet you. Thank
you so much, very much enjoying the album that was
Caarra Rhodes. Her debut album, Hometown Therapy is out now
on all streaming platforms. Remember for the next year, all
streaming royalties go to the charity Shine.

Speaker 1 (10:41):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to news talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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