Kia ora whanau,
Thanks for clicking on over here. Hope you’re all doing good!
I’m just gonna reintroduce myself and my projects for those who might be new here.
Kristen Ng is a musician, writer, and community organiser from Wellington, working across live performance, documentation, and cross-cultural exchange between Aotearoa and China.
She is the founder of Kiwese, an independent NZ–China touring agency that has facilitated mainland China tours for New Zealand artists since 2015, working closely with grassroots venues, promoters, and festivals.
Kristen is also a co-founder and co-facilitator of Chengdu Community Radio (cdcr.live), an online radio platform dedicated to amplifying local and international independent music communities.
As a practising artist, she performs and releases music under the name Kaishandao, regularly touring and collaborating with artists across China, which grounds her curatorial and organisational work in lived artistic experience.
Her voice has been featured by BBC World, Radio New Zealand, Resident Advisor, and i-D Magazine. With over a decade of experience living and working in China, Kristen brings deep cultural knowledge, professional networks, and language fluency to projects that support sustainable, artist-led exchange between Aotearoa and Asia.
K that was the ‘elevator funding pitch’. Here it is in KrisSpeak from the horse’s mouth:
Kristen Ng (she/her) is a musician / tour manager / writer / community vibe starter / dancefloor battery / chaos wrangler / aunty & cat mum, based in Chengdu. Born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand. Language student turned livehouse booker turned club rascal turned promoter-performer-producer. Sagittarius sun, Capricorn rising. ENFP. Middle child. Fluent in Chinglish. Head Girl. Big dyke energy. Mantra: PARTY HARD, GET SHIT DONE. A bit hectic tbh.
Kiwese is a DIY touring label, blog and community for oddball and offbeat Aotearoa/Asia/Pacific/ladies/queer-peer musicians, artists and creatives, run between China and Aotearoa New Zealand. Pronounced “key-weez,” a portmanteau of Kiwi and Chinese. Active as a blog since 2013. Running tours from 2015 to present.
Toured artists include Orchestra of Spheres, All Seeing Hand, E/N/T, Alphabethead, Lady Lazer Light, Womb, Strange Stains, Christopher Ulutupu, Laura Duffy, BIRDPARTY, Vera Ellen, Ludus, RIZZO, Dale Kerrigan, Flesh Bug and soon to be Night Lunch and Crime Hospital. Oh, and Kaishandao of course.
Kaishandao is my musical alias and nickname. It means machete in Chinese. I produce and perform electronic music with a house-techno-post punk gait using hardware electronics, guitar, effects, voice and samples.
Self-record, produce and release all music. Self-organize own tours and gigs. Self-destruct on command. Resident at To Another Galaxy (aka .TAG) in Chengdu and Chun You Festival. I’ve released on labels Wisdom Teeth and Siamese Twins, appeared on NTS Radio and Boiler Room (hrmphh), played at festivals Twisted Frequency, Camp A Low Hum, and many more. Toured in China, NZ and Japan. Active 2017 to present.
… k so?
I’m excited to launch my Patreon, a place to weave my creative threads into a wonderfully motley, colourful and jam-packed new tapestry: KIWESE WORLD by KAISHANDAO
What is Patreon?
- “Patreon is a free space for you and your fans to connect directly. If you want to grow your business, it’s easy to offer exclusive access to your work and community.”
- “Patreon is a way to join and engage with your favorite creator’s community. No algorithm or doom scrolling here — you’ll have a dedicated place to get content from the creators you know and love…”
— from Patreon Support page
Basically, Patreon allows fans to directly support creators with a monthly donation. Fun fact: It was founded by the guy who did the teen male voices for The Sims 2!
What will happen on the KIWESE WORLD Patreon?
Members will gain access to the special offerings and insights, a monthly newsletter of candid yarns, insider infos, archival material, media mash ups, stream of consciousness typings, highs & lows, recommendations, hot tips and hot takes. Lots of room for experimentation. Will take requests.
New space for fresh writings on niche or more sensitive topics that are not suitable to be out in the open for randoms. This is an invitation backstage to see how I run tours, make music, produce media, and live laugh love. Welcome.
New space for fresh writings on niche or more sensitive topics that are not suitable to be out in the open for randoms. This is an invitation backstage to see how I run tours, make music, produce media, and live laugh love. Welcome.
How will it differ from this existing blog?
So for the past twelve years, Kiwese has published writings on underground music culture, cultural identity, travel, global scenes, festivals, album and book reviews, food, phenomenons and more. What started as a WordPress blog in 2013, well, still is a WordPress blog in 2026, lol.
How it started:
How its going:
Early blog followers will note I don’t post here nearly as much as I used to. The quantity (but not quality ;)) has declined over the years, but that’s not for a lack of interest, rather the changing nature of the Internet, social media, and my relationship to it. Indeed, my focus has shifted to the touring side of Kiwese, and my own music production.
I still love long-form writing and feel it is more vital than ever in an era where addictive social media platforms (namely Instagram and TikTok) feat. dumb video clickbait spliced together with shitty ads and sponsored content are the dominant online spaces where we seek to connect with each other. Fuck the doomscroll that saps our attention, belittles our brains and hijacks our phone lines!!!
I have many friends who’ve left these platforms and survived. For me as a musician and promoter, however, they still remain an essential tool for visibility and contact with the global community of people who are also doing this shit.
With Patreon, we can connect more deeply and mindfully. Paid subscribers will have a direct line to my inbox, where you can ask questions, request writings on specific topics, or just hit me up and get a reply.
Does this mean an end to http://www.kiwese.co.nz blog?
No, not at all! Kiwese will be here for you! The blog archive will remain, and this site will remain the Main Stage for key articles and announcements.
Think of Patreon is a Second Stage, a place for unexpected discoveries or more of what you love, where you can donate and gain backstage access to exclusive writings.
My intention is that regular writing on Patreon will sharpen the knives and keep the fires burning for more writing to be published here on Kiwese. Feed the beast.
Why not just keep building what’s already here?
Simply put, Patreon provides a channel for you to support my work financially.
I’ve been running Kiwese for 12+ years, and whilst I’m out here *dOiNg iT 4 tHe LoVe Of It*, that love is constantly tested by limitations of time, energy and resources.
Patreon funding will provide an incentive for me to write and produce on a regular basis. I am excited to have a new reason to press Publish, it gives me life. I have literal hard-drives full of media that I want to craft into a publishable work. But as usual, the paid jobs come first. And so the pile grows…
My new favourite phrase from my trip home over summer: “closed mouths don’t get fed.” Period. So here I am, literally reaching out for your support.
Got it! How do I sign up?
Head over to KIWESE WORLD by KAISHANDAO and become a member!
There are currently two tiers to choose from, starting from just $5NZD a month. I look forward to writing and creating for you over there.
Thank you Kiwese World!
I am ready to receive your blessings in the Year of the Horse <333
All my love,
Kris
x
KIWESE 