GENEVA AM Returns With Urban Planning, Announces Debut Album Pikipiki
June 6, 2025: Geneva AM is the moniker of Geneva Alexander-Marsters (she/her, Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Aitutaki, Palmerston), an award winning producer, beat maker and vocalist based in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Her bilingual approach to songwriting has been prominent throughout her musical career, most notably with the band SoccerPractise (2012-2018) and her debut release IHO (Waiata / Anthems). IHO went on to win Te Tohu Puoro o te reo Māori (Favourite Song featuring Te Reo Māori) at the 2023 Student Radio Network Awards. In 2024, she released the single 'T(M)²I' (Tangaroa Made Me Ill) in two versions (te reo and English), followed by ' Pikipiki ' which amassed over 200,000 streams on Spotify. A seasoned live performer, Geneva AM has recently performed alongside Anna Coddington, Ladi6 and Suzi Cato.
Geneva AM is thrilled to release Urban Planning, the second waiata from her debut album Pikipiki (out August 15th on digital and Vinyl LP). To celebrate the release of Urban Planning and the forthcoming album Geneva AM will be hosting three events that coincide with the annual Matariki celebrations. Supported by friends and whanau, these events are not to be missed.
Geneva AM built Urban Planning on gliding synthesizers, sweeping hi-hats and a crunchy back beat. The song speaks to the dispossession of urban Māori (where Pākeha have paved over their rivers and collected their tāonga for museums) and the assurance of knowing that whatever obstacle she may face that her tīpuna are always with her.
"The natural geography of the city doesn't lie," notes Geneva AM. "We can see old pā sites and waterways that once nourished people. I grew up in the bottom of a big valley with a motorway in my back garden. This area would have been a vast wetland and waterway going out to sea."
"I made this waiata to help me memorise a pepeha which took my Uncle William his lifetime to learn as he took it upon himself to delve into our whanau history, bringing up all of the mamae of the past and giving the next generation this gift. We initially thought we were from Ngāti Kahungunu but we also share a connection to Ngāti Ruapani as well."
"My pepeha is a foreign place because I grew up in the city, but I never felt lost or alone because I was fortunate to learn Te Reo Māori at urban schools. Urban Planning is my way of sending it out and making new connections with whanau I've never met."
"This waiata is about never really being lost because everything around us has been touched by our tīpuna in one way or another - now in our lifetime we get to stitch together uncovered mysteries to further our understanding of the true history of Aotearoa."
To celebrate the release of Urban Planning and the forthcoming release of Pikipiki Geneva AM will be hosting three events that coincide with the annual Matariki celebrations. Supported by friends and whanau these Pikipiki events are not to be missed. Tickets for events at Goblin Bar & Leigh Sawmill shows can be purchased through Undertheradar.
Geneva AM was asked to curate an evening at Whammy Bar as a part of Whāia Te Waiora 2025 - Karangahape Road's Matariki Festival. She'll perform alongside Mara TK, Christoph El Truento, Sezzo, Dylan Biscuit and AJ Honeysuckle - and it's free!
Before the end of June Geneva AM will perform alongside Che Fu & The Krates and LEAO at the Auckland Museum. Inspired by Mana: Protest in Print, and as Matariki and Puanga rise, the museum are celebrating the sounds on their very own doorstep for a night not to be missed.
Event details:
19th June: Goblin Bar - Album Preview with Ngā Whetu Ensemble and AJ Honeysuckle.
20th June: Artspace Aotearoa - Album Listening Party
20th June: Whammy Bar - Matariki Rising w. Mara TK, Christoph El Turento, Sezzo, Dylan Biscuit & AJ Honeysuckle
21st June: Leigh Sawmill Cafe - Hakari Kanikani with Halfqueen, Kaiviti, AJ Honeysuckle and IBSXC
27th June: Auckland Museum with Che Fu & The Kratez and LEAO
This Matariki, Geneva AM will be releasing her debut album ' Pikipiki ' which intends to uplift the wairua and encourage the listener to overcome life's obstacles. Geneva AM will be playing across many genres which serve as a backdrop for her strong vocals and bilingual lyrics. She has also paid homage to waiata she grew up with, providing a modern treatment of Purea Nei by Hirini Melbourne, Pokarekare Ana by the returning soldiers of WWI and Tutira Mai Ngā Iwi by Wiremu Te Tau Huata.
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