Boh Runga: Stellar's lead singer on the upcoming Atomic 2.0 gig in Wellington

There’s a very exciting gig coming up in Wellington next week. 

Atomic 2.0 will see an all-women group of Kiwi music stars performing the hits of some of history’s greatest female artists, including Blondie, Eurythmics, Pretenders, Patti Smith, Garbage, Alanis Morissette, Hole, Joan Jett and more.

Atomic 2.0 is made up of Vera Allen, Julia Deans, Diane Swann and Boh Runga - all acclaimed Kiwi artists in their own right. 

Runga, the lead singer of Stellar, joined Nick Mills to discuss the concert. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talk said b.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
There's a very exciting gig coming up to Wellington next week.
Atomic two will see an all woman group of Kiwi
music stars performing the hits of some of the history's
great female artists. Atomic two is made up of Vera Allen,
Julia Dean's, Diane Swan, bo Wronger, just to name a few.
We're lucky enough to have bo Ronger join us on
the show this morning.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Good morning, Boat, good morning, how are you?

Speaker 2 (00:37):
I'm great? Tell us about this? So I love the
idea of this show. Do you know what this reminds
me of? They used to do shows, mind you of.
They used to do shows back in the I come
from a musical background, so they used to do shows
all through the eighties, nineties and two thousands called party
boys or party girls, where a whole group of people,
mostly stars, well known people, get together and go on
the road and do a show. This is what this

(00:58):
reminds me of.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
Oh fantastic. So yeah, no, this is totally this. This
is up your alley.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
It is it's an all star Is it a party?

Speaker 3 (01:11):
It really is a party. We have such good we
have such good fun and yeah, I mean it really
shows the audience really loves it. So they are all
songs that are well known and well loved. So yeah,
tell very much party.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Tell me about the musos in the show, because when
I first read this, I said, oh, they'll have a
couple of blokes. I'll have a bloke drummer, and they'll
probably have a bloke bass player. There'll be a bloke somewhere.
No blokes allowed.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Why would be a fair bloke? I mean, we have
nothing against the fact that they are very talented male
musicians out there, but this isn't all female cast. Basically,
it is very cool to be part of this show.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
How much rehearsing have you done?

Speaker 1 (01:55):
We have done.

Speaker 3 (01:57):
Let me see maybe by the time we had Wellington
we will be like four rehearsals, rehearsals and one show
in I believe.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
How many songs are you singing yourself?

Speaker 3 (02:09):
I mean myself, I think I'm singing five?

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Fine, Are you're all on stage the whole time, all
the singers on stage the whole time? Or are they
just one singer at the time?

Speaker 3 (02:18):
Pretty much on stage the whole time. We're basically supporting
each other, doing backing vocals or percussion or whatever is needed,
and we just like hanging out as well.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
To be honest, were you mates before the show?

Speaker 3 (02:32):
You?

Speaker 2 (02:32):
I mean, I know every musician and New Zealand knows
each other all that sort of stuff. But are you
in regular contact? Are you mating mates with any of
the cast?

Speaker 3 (02:41):
Oh? Yes, yes I am. And I've also gotten to
know other people that are kind of new sort of
you know, when you see them at the music ars
or something like that. So I've gotten to know people
from this, so it's great. It's actually, this is what
I love to do, Like I love playing. I'm really
lucky to get a chance to do this and I
don't really get a chance to do it that often
outside of my band Stella.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
So Stella's still going. I love Stella. I love Stella.
When they were going. I mean, that's two thousands. It's
twenty years ago, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Yeah, it is, it is. I mean we still are
going kind of. We just celebrated our twenty fifth anniversary
of Mix and we did a few shows for that.
But we don't play that often, I guess, but when
we do it's great. Funn't like that show.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
So tell me, because I also have read about and
know a little bit about your jewelry line. Obviously, how
much is music and how much is jewelry because you've
really you've become the in person with jewelry, haven't you.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (03:39):
I wish, well, it's I guess it's a major part
of my life, the jewelry. I'm very lucky to have
another creative side to what I do in the jewelry.
So and I'm very lucky that I've had people I
don't know, I really like the jewelry and has let
me continue to design jewelry for the last it's nearly

(03:59):
eighteen years now, I think, so quite a long time. Yeah,
So how much is Actually I've got another core project,
fim talk about course. We've just opened a new studio,
Like we've just built a studio on on where I live,
and it's a studio that's pretty much dedicated to rock
recording rock music, rock signed for drums.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
It's like amazing, it's rock music still a thing.

Speaker 3 (04:26):
Well it will be when we're done with it.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
I thought Stairway to Heaven was gone.

Speaker 3 (04:31):
No, no, no, it's still there, man, still there.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
Oh, my gosh, I haven't heard a good rock track
for a whit. When's what's what's the really good latest
rock track that you can remember?

Speaker 3 (04:41):
What say that again?

Speaker 2 (04:42):
Please show me a good rock hit of late? You
know something that's a good rocky hit.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
Well, I guess you could say that the food fighters
have always been. They've actually been very kind of present,
I guess. But as you say, rock hasn't isn't sort
of in the forefront of commercial music so much anymore.
But there's still a love of it because people still
love to play those instruments, you know, So it's still there.
You just got to hunt around for it.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Great to chat, enjoy coming to Wellington. You're playing here
on Thursday. We're playing on You're playing Thursday the eighth
to May at the Opera House. A great venue for
a party, girls show. Looking forward to it. Have a
good one, break your leg and keep up doing what
you do. I think your amazing energy, So keep doing
what you do. Thank you for your time, thank you,

(05:30):
thank you for talking to us. Bo Wronger there. You'd
probably remember her from Stella. I remember from Stella, but
I also remember from a jewelry line and she is
on the Road with Atomic two. It's an amazing line up.
Vera Allen she's from Wellington originally. I don't know where
she lives now, but she's originally from Wellington. Julia Dean's
obviously you know who she is, Diane Swan and Bo

(05:51):
Wronga just the name a few.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
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