“I believe I might be having fun,” mused Bic Runga on her 2002 hit “Get Some Sleep,” which became that year’s most successful song by a local artist in Aotearoa New Zealand. Even when she’s exploring quite poignant emotions—as on her Silver Scroll-winning 1995 debut single “Drive” and her platinum-selling 1997 hit “Sway,” a pleading rock ballad washed with downbeat strings—Runga always sounds like she’s having fun. She released “Drive” when she was still a teenager, and her self-produced debut album of the same name became a homegrown phenomenon on the strength of her airy yet heartfelt singing and storytelling. After more than a decade between albums of original material, she co-produced the hypnotic 2026 album Red Sunset with her husband, Kody Nielson (ex-The Mint Chicks). The results sound equally nostalgic and futuristic, as heard via the title track’s elastic bass pulse and sparkling synths.