Taite Music Prize 2025 Award Winners announced: Shihad, Mokotron take out top gongs

The 2025 Taite Music Prize Awards have been handed out tonight, with both rising stars and retiring rock bands commended for their work within Aotearoa’s thriving music industry, and one legendary group capping off a stellar career with a big win.

Revered rockers Shihad ended their decades-long domination of the Kiwi music scene on a high, snapping up the Independent Music NZ Classic Record Award weeks after playing their final shows together.

While the band’s second full-length album Killjoy (1995) was honoured for its enduring legacy over time, rising star indigenous electronic musician Mokotron (Tiopira McDowell, Ngāti Hine) took out the overall Taite Music Prize for his debut album WAEREA.

Mokotron (Tiopira McDowell, Ngāti Hine) won the overall Taite Music Prize for 2025 for his album. Photo / Ngaru Garland

Described as a “cornerstone of New Zealand’s rock legacy”, Killjoy features hits such as You Again and The Call. It has been praised widely by musicians and listeners alike for putting Kiwi rock music under the spotlight.

At the time of its release, Scott Kara for the Herald called it “a dark, heavy and melodic beast with mangled and squalling songs”.

WAEREA was commended by Taite judges as a “bold and uncompromising statement,” with the intent of the album said to be the reclamation of space through sound by intertwining whakapapa with contemporary narratives.

“This work not only confronts present-day realities but also expands the horizons of bass music in Aotearoa,” an official statement from Taite Prize organisers said.

Speaking to RNZ in 2024, McDowell said he wrote music as a way to express his feelings rather than hold them in as both Māori and Pākehā men are traditionally taught.

“Our country was created during the Victorian era where the stiff upper lip and Man Alone and all those kind of values were imposed and they’re very dangerous”.

Former Herald journalist Chris Schulz took home the NZ On Air Outstanding Music Journalism Award for Boiler Room, his Substack dedicated to long-form stories focusing on the New Zealand music scene.

The Auckland Live Best Independent Debut winner was Byllie-Jean for her album Filter, and the 2025 Independent Spirit Award was presented to Rohan Evans.

“By recognising and celebrating the most creative and talented musicians, these awards help to elevate music as an art form and highlight its importance within our culture,” Pippa Ryan-Kidd of IMNZ said.

“It is our job to inform and remind the rest of the nation – how important Aotearoa music is to them”.

Other artists nominated for the top gong included Anna Coddington, Delaney Davidson and Georgia Lines.

The ceremony also featured performances by previous Taite Music Prize award winners, including Vera Ellen and JUJULIPPS.

Those on the judging panel included IMNZ Board members, Apra Members, music writers and radio hosts, and NZ On Air representatives.

The awards, named after the late respected music journalist Dylan Taite, have always looked to recognise “outstanding creativity for an entire collection of music contained on one album”.

Winners

2025 Taite Music Prize – Mokotron – WAEREA

2025 Auckland Live Best Independent Debut – Byllie-Jean – Filter

2025 Independent Spirit Award – Rohan Evans

NZ On Air Outstanding Music Journalism Award – Chris Schulz for Boiler Room

Independent Music NZ Classic Record Award – Shihad – Killjoy