自纽西兰的女唱作人Bic Runga,生于纽西兰基督城 (Christchurch),父亲Joseph为毛利人 (Maori),母亲Sophia为中国人(原姓邓),小时受她两个姐姐Boh和Pearl的影响,爱上写歌和玩奏乐器。中学时代加入了组合 xtrasmokefreerockquest 和 Love Soup,后被发掘而签约 Sony Music五年,于1997年推出首张专辑 Drive,推出后旋即在纽西兰达到三白金销量,并于当地Tui awards(地位等同格林美奖)连夺四大奖--最佳专辑,最佳唱片,最佳演唱表演及最佳唱作人,后更成纽西兰音乐史上销量最高的本地女歌手。
推出Drive专辑后,经过两年不停巡回演出,在1999年底开始制作第二张专辑Beautiful Collision,整张专辑长达两年多时间才完成,于纽约、洛衫矶、威灵顿、基督城及奥克兰(包括Bic自己的家中录音室)录音,于2003年9月在纽西兰及澳洲推出,同年10月全球发行了该专辑《Beautiful Collision》。
Bic擅长作曲作词,并懂玩奏多种乐器,包括结他、钢琴、打鼓等,在两张专辑中均有显露其音乐才华,不但负责全碟曲词及编曲,亦亲自玩奏乐器,新专辑Beautiful Collision更邀请她母亲和两个姐姐客串。两张专辑的首曲她以结他自弹自唱,将她最真的一面透过曲词流露出来。
拥有中国人的血统,而能在乐坛大放异彩(大姐Boh为纽西兰乐队Stellar*的女主音歌手兼结他手,二姐Pearl为Ce Soir的歌手),Bic和她的家庭,成为海外华人和音乐人的骄傲。
by Jason Ankeny
Drive A superstar in her native New Zealand while still in her teens, singer/songwriter Bic Runga was born in Christchurch in 1976; the product of a musical family -- her mother was a Malaysian nightclub performer during the 1960s -- she began playing the drums at the age of 11, and within a few years was also singing with local jazz groups. Upon learning guitar and keyboards, Runga began composing her first songs, and in 1994 she relocated to Auckland to pursue a professional music career. In 1995, aged 19, she made her Sony label debut with the single "Drive," which rocketed into the Top Ten on the New Zealand pop charts and garnered her the prestigious 1996 Silver Scroll award, an honor given for excellence in songwriting. After touring in support of Neil and Tim Finn, Runga issued a follow-up single, "Bursting Through," followed in 1997 by the Top Ten smash "Sway." Her self-produced debut LP Drive appeared later that same year and garnered New Zealand's top music awards. In the late '90s, Bic Runga spent some time based in New York City, where she began writing songs for her follow-up album. She continued to work on new songs after returning to New Zealand, and embarked on a NZ tour with Tim Finn and Dave Dobbyn in August and September 2000, resulting in the 2001 release Together in Concert: Live. Runga's Beautiful Collision hit stores in 2002; it was released internationally, and went 4x platinum in New Zealand, inspiring a re-release with a bonus disc the following year. 2003 also saw Runga found the record label Nu Shoo before kicking off another tour.