Greatsouth is the musical project of ringa toi Māori artist Payton Taplin (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa), based in Papakura, South Auckland.
Grounded in the lived realities of urban Māori, Greatsouth fuses indie alt‑rock with taonga pūoro and field recordings to tell stories often absent from mainstream narratives. Drawing on pūrākau, protest and personal experience, the project reclaims space, identity and history through the lens of Great South Road - a site of colonial infrastructure and contemporary Māori resistance.
Influenced by artists like King Krule, The Sundays and Herbs, Greatsouth carves out space for Māori storytelling in genres where it has historically been marginalised, asserting music as resistance, memory and identity.
Greatsouth's self‑titled debut EP was recognised by RNZ Music 101 and featured in Dazed’s “10 great albums you may have missed,” alongside coverage from outlets including Rolling Stone AU/NZ and Te Ao Māori News.
Greatsouth has performed across major music and arts platforms, including the Auckland Arts Festival, Carhartt WIP’s Audio Archives, and Infinity Sessions: Ake Ake Ake at Roundhead Studios, supported artists such as The Beths, Jeshi (UK), Phoebe Rings and Muroki, and featured on Tom Scott’s Taite Music Prize–finalist album Anitya.