Kira Puru is a gender-fluid[2][3][4] Australian musician. She is of Maori descent, her father being from the Tainui[5] tribe, and grew up in Cardiff, New South Wales, near Newcastle.[6][7] Puru has been described as "Señorita, swagger and a troublemaker" by Triple J[8] whose self-titled EP was released in 2018 by New Tribe Music, a joint venture record label with Sony Music Australia.[9] i-D Magazine called Puru "a charismatic stage persona"[10] and she has performed at festivals and events including: Splendour in the Grass, Spilt Milk, Listen Out, and Groovin' the Moo.[11]
Kira Puru | |
---|---|
Origin | Cardiff, New South Wales, Australia |
Genres | Disco, pop |
Years active | 2013–present |
Labels | Sony Music Australia, New Tribe Music[1] |
Career
editIn 2013, Puru moved to Melbourne, Australia, to launch her career as a solo artist after a string of collaborations with Paul Mac, Illy, Paul Kelly and Urthboy.
Puru released the single "Tension" in 2017[12] then followed on with "Molotov" which The Guardian said is a "Slinky, attitude-laden song"[13] and was ranked 75th on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2018. In 2018, Puru toured nationally with Listen Out, and in support of Vera Blue and The Rubens.[14]
In 2019, she toured nationally as the supporting act for Peking Duk and in May, Puru went on a national tour for her single "Everything's Better Without You" with Kinder as support.[15] The video for her new single "Why Don't We Get Along" was launched by Clash magazine which they described as "Perfect Pop"[16] also produced by long term collaborator Jon Hume (Sofi Tukker).[17]
In 2020 Puru toured with UK artist Yungblud for his Falls Festival side shows where she was compared to US artist Lizzo.[18] She called out radio for not playing enough Australian Music[19] and Triple J were one of the first to take up her challenge.[20] In April 2020, Puru released her single "Idiot" with a "hook that’s an effortless ear worm".[21] Junkee Media said "Kira Puru's Tiktok account is fantastic"[22] including luring Tones and I and a bunch of other musicians to imitate the heavy metal band Korn.
Personal life
editPuru uses she/they pronouns.[23]
Discography
editExtended plays
editTitle | Details |
---|---|
Kira Puru |
Singles
editAs lead artist
editYear | Title | Album |
---|---|---|
2015 | "All Dulled Out"[26] | non album single |
2017 | "Three Dots"[27] (with Yeo) |
non album single |
"Tension"[28] | Kira Puru EP | |
2018 | "Molotov"[11] | |
"Fly"[29] | ||
2019 | "Everything's Better Without You"[30] | non album single |
"Why Don't We Get Along"[31] | non album single | |
2020 | "Idiot"[32] | non album single |
2022 | "Talk with Me"[33] | TBA |
2023 | "All My Boyfriends"[34] | TBA |
As featured artist
editTitle | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"State of War" (Paul Mac featuring Kira Puru & Goodwill)[35] |
2015 | Holiday From Me |
"Daughter of the Light" (Urthboy featuring Kira Puru)[36] |
2016 | The Past Beats Inside Me Like a Second Heartbeat |
Awards and nominations
editNational Live Music Awards
editThe National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2018[37][38] | Kira Puru | Live Voice of the Year | Nominated |
Live R&B or Soul Act of the Year | Nominated | ||
Best Live Voice of the Year - People's Choice | Nominated | ||
2020[39] | Kira Puru | Victorian Live Act of the Year | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ "Artist Roster". Sony Music Australia.
- ^ "When Do Fat People Get Gender-Neutral Fashion?". InStyle. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ "My chance of being the first maori, fat, queer, gender-fluid, atypical, depressed, bisexual bachelorette is closer than ever". Twitter. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ W, Mya (6 January 2023). "Kira Puru Wants You To "Talk with Me"". RATINGS GAME MUSIC. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ "Australian pop sensation Kira Puru on dancefloors, diversity and her Tainui roots". Peril magazine. 30 October 2017.
- ^ "An Interview with Kira Puru". Radio NZ. 27 October 2018.
- ^ "Loud and proud". The West Australian. 4 December 2018.
- ^ "Inspired: Kira Puru on Molotov". triple J. ABC. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ "Kira Puru has revived her passion for music". Beat Magazine. 14 November 2018.
- ^ Parker, Mitch. "1-on-1 with kira puru". Vice Magazine. Vice. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ a b Mathieson, Craig (15 November 2018). "Kira Puru finally realising her pop potential". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- ^ Davies, Hayden. "Kira Puru returns to the spotlight with a hypnotic new single, Tensio". Pilerats. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ Jolly, Nathan (October 2018). "20 best Australian tracks for October, featuring Paul Kelly, Handsome, Kira Puru and more". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ "Listen Out 2018 Line Up Announce". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 May 2018.
- ^ "Kira Puru Everything's Better Without You Single Tour". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 May 2019.
- ^ Murray, Robin. "Kira Puru Shares Super-Cute 'Why Don't We Get Along' Video". Clash music. Clash. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ Lewis, Max. "KIRA PURU IS HERE TO TEACH YOU HOW TO 'FLY'". Pilerats. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ Hentschel, Kelsey (2 January 2020). "Yungblud @The Forum Theatre Live Review". Amnplify. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ Bruce, Jasper (17 March 2020). "Kira Puru challenges radio stations to play Australian artists during coronavirus outbreak". NME.com. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ Wilson, Zanda (25 March 2020). "Radio begins to answer the music industry's plea for more airtime". The Music Network. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ Murphy, Sam (22 April 2020). "Kira Puru is caught in a cycle on the punchy idiot". The Interns. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
- ^ Lefevre, Jules (29 July 2020). "MUSIC We're Pleased To Inform You That Kira Puru Is Extremely Good At TikTok". Junkee. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- ^ "Twitter account". Twitter. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
she/they
- ^ "Kira Puru Interview".
- ^ "Kira Puru EP". Apple Music. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "All Dulled Out - single". Apple Music. June 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "Three Dots - single". Apple Music. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "Tension - single". Apple Music. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "First Spin Kira Puru". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 September 2018.
- ^ "Everything's Better Without You - single". Apple Music. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "Why Don't We Get Along - single". Apple Music. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "Idiot - single". Apple Music. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "Fousheé, Jack River, Adrian Dzvuke & More: This Week's Best New Music". The Music. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
- ^ "Kira Puru Releases New Single 'All My Boyfriends'". Music Feeds. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ "State of War – Single by Paul Mac on Apple Music". Apple Music. February 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "Daughter of the Light - single". Apple Music. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ^ "NLMA announce 2018 nominees and Live legend". NLMA. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "Winners of the 2018 NLMA". NLMA. December 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "Nominees announced for 2020 National Live Music Awards". NLMAs. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.