Bic Runga is back.
The Aotearoa singer-songwriter releases her sixth studio album, Red Sunset, today — her first collection of original songs in fifteen years.
Recorded in Paris over the winter of 2025, Red Sunset is co-produced by Runga and Kody Nielson, and sees the singer-songwriter opening a synthy, reflective, and quietly expansive new chapter.
The album blends torchy ballads with shimmering pop, anchored by its title track and featuring previously released singles ‘It’s Like Summertime’ and ‘Paris in the Rain’ – the latter written on the final night of her Paris stay, inspired by torrential rain over the Louvre and recorded on a historic 1807 French Pleyel piano.
“After such a long time between albums, I didn’t want to rush this one,” Runga says. “These songs came together slowly, in a very particular place and time, and that space really shaped how the record sounds and feels.”
Born in Christchurch to a Chinese Malaysian mother and Māori father, Runga first emerged in the late ’90s with the multi-platinum debut Drive, which became an instant classic of New Zealand pop songwriting.
Over albums including Beautiful Collision, Birds, and Belle, she cemented a reputation for emotional precision and clarity – a skill that remains front and centre on Red Sunset.
Runga adds: “A lot has changed in my life since my last album. But the core of why I make music hasn’t. Red Sunset feels like a continuation rather than a reinvention.”
The album is out digitally today, with vinyl and CD following on 6 March. A tour across Aotearoa and Australia kicks off in March, hitting major venues from Auckland to Fremantle, promising a mix of new material and beloved classics like ‘Drive’, ‘Sway’ and ‘Beautiful Collision’.
Tracklist – Red Sunset
Glass Atrium
Red Sunset
Ghost In Your Bed
Paris In The Rain
It’s Like Summertime
Escape From Planet Earth
You’re Never Really Here (Are You Baby?)
Won’t You Come Home
Hey Little One
Home Run
Red Sunset Tour – Aotearoa & Australia 2026
Sat 21 Mar – Waikato Regional Theatre, Hamilton
Fri 27 Mar – NZICC Theatre, Auckland
Sun 29 Mar – Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch
Thu 2 Apr – Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington (with NZSO, Silicon not appearing)
Thu 9 Apr – Northcote Theatre, Melbourne
Sat 11 Apr – Princess Theatre, Brisbane
Sun 12 Apr – City Recital Hall, Sydney
Tue 14 Apr – Canberra Theatre, Canberra
Thu 16 Apr – Freo.Social, Fremantle
Tickets via Live Nation.
