The story of New Zealand indie-pop outfit Lips is one with a big arc, and it actually didn’t start in their hometown of Auckland, but rather, here in Brooklyn. Singer and keyboardist Steph Brown planted the seeds of the genre-splicing project over a decade ago and simultaneously created a character to front it. If you’ve ever seen Lips perform, you know this character is hard to miss, as it’s Brown wearing a gigantic headpiece that’s shaped like a pair of red cartoon lips. In a 2012 interview, she explained that the character represents “the fact that [she] is a girl writing, producing and performing my music in an industry that is particularly male dominated.”

While the giant Lips headpiece and the meaning behind it may be the initial eye-catching attribute of this band, the strength of their songs has been instrumental to their longevity. Don’t take our word for it, though. Back in 2012, Brown won the coveted Silver Scroll Award, a distinction given annually to the best song by a New Zealand artist as voted by members of the Australasian Performing Right Association, for Lips’ soulful, slow-burning electro-pop track, “Everything to Me." Around that time, Brown connected with fellow musician Fen Ikner after performing on the same bill at the now-defunct Williamsburg venue Spike Hill. The two hit it off and began collaborating soon thereafter, and eventually, became a couple - thus, launching the project into its next phase.

Vocals, Synths / Stephanie Brown

Vocals, Drums, Samples / Fen Ikner

Vocals, Bass / Ruby Walsh

Vocals, Guitar, Synths / Maude Morris