Island Base FMIsland Base FM

Island Base went on air in Samoa in March 2019, independently owned and set up as a sister to Base FM in New Zealand, with a plain enough idea behind it: connect the sounds of the South Pacific and give artists from the islands somewhere to be heard past their own shores. It flew acts over from New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea to record and perform with local talent. The 2020 lockdowns ended that, and it re-formed as a charitable trust working inside Aotearoa.

Everything it runs is free to rangatahi aged ten to twenty-four. They come through the studio to write, record, shoot and present, through schools and community hubs in Māngere, Ōtara, Papakura and as far north as Warkworth, with mentors like Miloux and Noah Slee taking the sessions. Finished tracks are premiered on NiuFM and Flava and go into rotation here.