| Fazerdaze | |
| Birth Date: | 19 January 1993[1] |
| Birth Name: | Amelia Rahayu Murray |
| Birth Place: | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Genre: | Dream pop, shoegaze, indie pop, indie rock |
| Years Active: | 2014–2017, 2022–present |
| Label: | Flying Nun Records, section1 |
Amelia Rahayu Murray, better known under her stage name Fazerdaze, is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist.[2] Murray is known for creating music that blends dreamy pop elements with grungy shoegaze influences. She released her debut self-titled EP in October 2014, recording it entirely in her bedroom studio in Auckland. Her first full-length album, Morningside, was released to critical acclaim in 2017 after the lead single "Lucky Girl" became a surprise hit.[3] Following a period of burnout and personal challenges, she took a five-year break from music and returned in late 2022 with the EP Break!.
Murray was born in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, to an English-born New Zealander father and an Indonesian mother.[4] She started playing music at the age of 13 when she began playing her father's guitar. During her time at Onslow College, a Wellington high school with a vibrant music scene, she formed her own band called The Tangle. The band eventually disbanded upon the conclusion of high school.[5]
After high school, Murray made the decision to pursue music as her career and moved to Auckland to study music. Her first full-length studio album, Morningside, was named after the Auckland neighborhood of the same name where she relocated to.
Fazerdaze released her self-titled debut EP in 2014.[6] With the help of multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Pearce, who mastered the release, she created a dream-pop sound, using electric guitars and effect pedals.[7]
In 2017, Murray released her first full-length album as Fazerdaze, called Morningside. Morningside was a surprise hit, with the song "Lucky Girl" in particular being a success.[8] [9] [10] The song's music video, which was shot on film with a 16mm Bolex camera and edited by Murray herself, got over 20 million views on YouTube.[11]
Murray suffered burnout after the success of Morningside and encountered problems with unhealthy personal relationships. After taking a five-year hiatus from music, she returned with another EP, Break!, in late 2022. Murray stated that her hiatus has been instrumental in helping her return to music, and she ended up finishing the EP during a three-month long lockdown in New Zealand.[12] Musically, Break! is quite different from her previous work and includes elements of dance pop and electronica. Murray has stated that she drew inspiration from 90s bands like Blur and Nirvana.[13]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ[16] | ||||
| Fazerdaze EP |
| — | ||
| Break |
| 24 |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ | ||||
| "Little Uneasy" | 2015 | — | Morningside | |
| "Lucky Girl" | 2017 | — | ||
| "Take It Slow" | — | |||
| "Come Apart" | 2022 | — | Break | |
| "Break | " | — | ||
| "Flood Into" | 2023 | — | ||
| "Bigger"[19] | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||