SIDEKICKNICK - MISCELLANEOUS ADVENTURES (Sony BMG) 2008
SIDEKICKNICK - THE RED PLANET PLAN (Banished from the Universe) 2019
SIDEKICKNICK - THE BLUE PLANET PLAN (Banished from the Universe) 2019
MADAM (TV Series) produced by Tavake / Fifth Season (2024)
THE DAY THAT CHANGED MY LIFE (Documentary) d. Chris Dudman (2015)
Nick Buckton is a solo artist, producer, composer for screen, longstanding member of legendary indie-rock band Voom and one of NZ’s most in demand sound designers.
Raised by a pair of ardent music educationists, Nick Buckton has been steeping in music since he was just an embryo. The family home was a treasure trove of dudelsacks, hurdy-gurdys and crumhorns, but Nick’s early dalliance with the trumpet was killed off when his older brother introduced him to the dark side (rock music). The ancient battle between harpsichord and electric guitar can be felt in his eclectic musical sensibilities to this day.
Over the past quarter of a century, Nick has toiled away as a solo artist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer for screen, and he’s one of Aotearoa’s most in demand film & TV sound designers. He’s also been a member of many bands, and his longest standing relationship is with a band - namely cult indie favourites, Voom (2004 - present). In 2006 they released the classic album Hello, Are You There? via Lil’Chief records, and in 2025 Something Good is Happening on Flying Nun.
On the solo side, an ambition to create enough tracks to make a novelty album as a Christmas gift for friends and family birthed alter ego SideKickNick. The late great Malcolm Black had grander ambitions, and in 2007 SideKickNick was an unlikely signing to SonyBMG. The charmingly chaotic self-produced debut album Miscellaneous Adventures was released in 2008 to much critical acclaim, earning him an APRA Silver Scroll nomination for the track The Phone SonThe Metro review by Gary Steel describes the album as ‘...so full of personality and vigour and idiosyncrasy and sheer creativity that I almost don’t believe my own hyperbole. Imagine a cartoon character from the Ween book, cut out and made emotionally volatile and absolutely believable, imbue him with classic sixties pop elements, traces of Pixies-like power pop and naïve isolationist New Zealand music art and you might get the idea’.
In 2019 SideKickNick dusted off the kazoo and returned for a double album release. The Red PlanetPlan/Blue Planet Plan, released via Banished from the Universe, was a typically subversive and eclectic offering.
Nick’s film sound design career was built at Native Audio in Auckland. Since his work on the award winning classic The Dark Horse (dir. James Napier Robertson) in 2014, Nick has been involved with many major NZ films, predominantly as a sound designer, supervising sound editor, and rerecording mixer; in the process accumulating a bounty of awards. He also has contributed many pieces of original music to screen, including for the aforementioned The Dark Horse, Roseanne Liang’s comedy series Flat 3, the brutal gang film Savage (dir. Sam Kelly), and for the ballet biopic Joika, James Napier Robertson’s latest masterpiece.
Nick’s composing credits include score for the Christchurch Earthquake documentary The Day That Changed My Life (dir. Chris Dudman), showing a more atmospheric and moody side to Nick’s compositions, and for the 2024 international award winning dramedy TV series Madam (Prod. Tavake / Fifth Season), a natural home for his unique quirky aural flavour.
In 2026 Nick will be scoring his first full length NZ feature film for long-time collaborator and legendary NZ producer Tom Hern.