Southland musician's dream becomes a reality

Twenty-year-old musician Michael Kuresa's first single Across the Ocean has been officially released to the world.

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When the clock ticked past midnight on Thursday night Michael Kuresa’s dream become a reality.

The 20-year-old Southland musician’s first single Across the Ocean was officially released to the world.

There’s little surprise Kuresa couldn’t manage to get to sleep until about 4am that morning.

“This is kind of like the moment I’ve always dreamed of. This is the moment when I was I was a kid, that was a dream. You can’t even put it into words,” Kuresa says.

There’s also little surprise Kursea labels Across the Ocean his “most favorite song ever”.

After all, that song and Kuresa have spent a fair bit of time together in recent years.

He started to write it in December 2019, just before his final year at Southland Boys’ High School where he was head boy.

Across the Ocean is about a long-distance relationship and Kuresa says it symbolises making the most of the time you have with someone before it’s gone, despite any distance and time apart.

About a month after first starting to write the song he tested it out at a small Southland festival called Bass Camp.

“The song only had one verse and it had the chorus and that’s it. So, I just repeated that over. It was terrible because I had just written it and I didn’t really know the song.”

But that “terrible” tag didn’t last long as Kuresa continued to develop Across the Ocean.

By the time 2020 rolled around the song was a winner - literally. Kuresa performed Across the Ocean at the Southland Smokefree Rockquest and was triumphant.

It was a confidence booster for Kuresa, and also an indication of how far he had come with his music after starting his journey singing at Church as a kid.

“In 2019 I did Smokefree Rockquest - I was in Year 12 - and Soundquest, and I didn’t place at all, in any. I was quite disappointed because I wasn’t received as well as I wanted to be. Everything was like; ‘what the heck, what am I doing’.

“So, I sat there and there was a lot of doubt. The next year - my last year at school - I came back and played Across the Ocean and I won the competition.

“That just stems back to the fact you can’t win them all, you’ve just got to get up and keep going.”

And keep going he has.

After studying in Wellington in 2021 Kuresa was signed by Parachute Music for an artist development programme and made the move to Auckland.

It was during that time at a “song week” that he linked up with a producer who liked Kuresa’s music.

“He has produced for the likes of Stan Walker, so I was stoked that he liked my music”.

“He asked if I was keen to get Across the Ocean produced with him and released with him.”

The recording process started midway through last year in Auckland and finished in December. Then came last week’s release.

“It was hours and hours in the studio, we just got stuck in.”

Kuresa is now in promotions mode doing what he can to make sure people take chance to listen to the song.

“Releasing it is probably the easy job, because I want people to hear it and connect to it on a personal level.”

At the same time, he is preparing to release his second single which is expected to happen in late March.

“I’ve got four or five [songs] ready to go for this year,” Kuresa says.

Southland musician Michael Kuresa.

The whole process has added a touch of comfort for Kuresa as he reflects on a difficult decision he made a couple of years back.

He was supposed to go to New Zealand Drama School to pursue a career in acting.

But a week before the audition, the then-18-year-old Kuresa pulled the pin. He felt a burning desire to instead throw everything into his music.

“It was probably a lot to take for my parents because they have been very influential and been there since day one, and they’ve known I wanted to be an actor and do acting for a living, so that was pretty tough.”

“You want to make everyone proud and that’s why it was huge for me because it was probably letting a few people down, but [music] is my passion and that’s my drive.”

Reflecting now, Kuresa feels “it’s the best decision of my life so far”.

Kuresa would like to think his journey might hit home with other Southlanders.

“Especially being from a small city, and trying to make things happen, which I believe you can if you work hard and do things with intent.”

“I really want to inspire and encourage, not just the younger gen but everyone down here and just say; ‘you can follow your dream’.”

He says the beauty of being from a place like Southland is the support you receive.

“I say it all the time; Southland has backed me and other musos.”

While music is now his focus, Kuresa admits he does miss acting and will dip his toes back in somewhat this year when he takes part in the Invercargill Musical Theatre’s Jersey Boys production in July.

“This year is probably the last year, in quite a while, where I’ll get to act and do musical theatre for probably years, hopefully.

“When they announced Jersey Boys, I was, ‘yep, I want to do that’.”

In amongst that Jersey Boys production another Kuresa single is expected to drop.

2023 shapes as a big one for the humble, dedicated, and likeable Southlander.

Southland is backing you, Michael.

• You can check out Michael Kuresa’s debut single Across the Ocean by clicking here