They were doing gold to multi-platinum sales figures, and pulling huge audiences up and down both the North and South Islands. In the space of eight or so years, these bands and their peers had gone from an underground countercultural force to dominating New Zealand's musical mainstream. At the same time, they were becoming a major influence on a certain facet of the new generation of local musicians.

The year was 2005, and Matiu Walters (vocals, guitar) and Ji Fraser (lead guitar) were living at the Unicol towers while studying in Dunedin. Both hobbyist musicians, they befriended Chris Mac (bass) while playing social rugby. At the time just flirting around with the idea of playing live music together, things crystallised for the boys when they attended a Kora concert at the university hall in 2008.

I interviewed Matiu Walters and Ji Fraser for the Oct/Nov 2011 issue of RipItUp magazine – “Eli Manning was bouncing on the door,” Walters said, “So I called out to him and we managed to get ourselves backstage." While they were inside, they mentioned to the Kora brothers that they wanted to follow in their footsteps musically. Kora pointed out that Manning was a drummer and it was a wrap. "The next day we got together at our new flat, which was 660 Castle Street, and got jamming," Walters says.

Starting out playing covers of songs by the New Zealand bands who were inspiring them, they began writing their own music, and playing little performances at home for their friends. "We would play three tunes for everyone, and then go into town for cheap drinks," Walter reflects. Informed by the impact acts from the Aotearoa roots scene were having nationally, they filled a niche, providing a similar range of music at a cost their student peers could afford – free.

By the time they started playing real shows in Dunedin, they had cultivated an enthusiastic initial fan base.

As Fraser told RipItUp, “That's the thing, [when you're a student] the little amounts of money you have are pretty preciously delegated, believe it or not … You have your beer, your booze, your food, and maybe your gig for the week. For us to be doing a free show for our mates, that was a good thing.”

Graduating from playing at home, they started performing at flat warmings, 21sts, and eventually clubs. As a result, by the time they started playing real shows in Dunedin, they had cultivated an enthusiastic initial fan base. With word of mouth about their sound spreading – after pressure from friends – in late 2008 they recorded an EP and released it independently in 2009.

Initially focused on playing live sets rooted in their take on reggae, funk and soul, for the EP they picked up a cheap Casiotone keyboard with, as Walters told RipItUp, "… a good bass sound on it." Putting it to work, they added elements drawn from the genres of jungle/drum and bass and dubstep into their sound. With this addition came the arrival of a cover of  'Bring Change' by Shapeshifter as part their live set. Through performing it, Six60 attracted the attention and friendship of Marlon Gerbes, a synthesiser player who could see room for development in Six60's approach to electronica, and soon afterwards he joined the band.

After releasing handmade copies of their EP to friends and family, they capitalised on the enthusiastic response and began marketing their music through social media. Six60 set up a Facebook page, and Walter's mother's graphic design company made them a website. Online, the word of mouth buzz about what they were doing spread fast, leading to bookings around the country and the realisation they had a massive untapped market.

"I remember when we passed one thousand Facebook fans," Walters told RipItUp  – "We all got pissed to celebrate." It was simple really, as the students they'd entertained at house parties across Dunedin began to graduate and move to other parts of the country, they carried their excitement about and connection to Six60 with them, spreading an excitement that would soon convert into tangible financial rewards.

'Rise Up 2.0' peaked at No.1 on the NZ Singles Chart, along the way achieving double platinum sales status.

After some diligent and well-received work on the national touring circuit, Six60 connected with Teresa Patterson of CRS Management. Having previously managed the likes of Scribe, Elemeno P, Deja Voodoo, Carly Binding, and The Have, Patterson took the strong initial showing Six60 had made and cranked the dial right up. Patterson arranged for them a pressing, distribution and publicity deal with Universal Music NZ and she set things up perfectly for the release of their first official single 'Rise Up 2.0'.

Released on August 20, 2010, 'Rise Up 2.0' peaked at No.1 on the NZ Singles Chart, along the way achieving double platinum sales status. Later that year they re-released it as an EP featuring remixes from Mt Eden and Tony B. Kicking the door in, 'Rise Up 2.0' paved the way for further sold out shows and festival appearances, as well as performances across the ditch in Australia.

"It freaked us out," Walters admitted to RipItUp – "We didn't see ourselves as a commercial band, we still don't really. I love what it did for us though, and when we started playing that song live, it was fucking ridiculous … The video came along and we got to this new milestone as a band, everything got tighter and we just got a bit more clued on. We were doing big shows like Rhythm & Vines, La De Da and Big Day Out." During this time half of the band relocated to Auckland, while the others stayed based in Dunedin.

'Don't Forget Your Roots' peaked at No.2 on the NZ Singles Chart, and went on to achieve triple platinum sales.

The following year, Six60 released a second single 'Don't Forget Your Roots' on July 18, 2011. Produced by DJ Mu of Fat Freddy's Drop, 'Don't Forget Your Roots' peaked at No.2 on the NZ Singles Chart, and went on to achieve triple platinum sales. To date, Six60's official video for 'Don't Forget Your Roots' has had over one million views on YouTube.

After 'Don't Forget Your Roots', Six60 connected with Tiki Taane, who came onboard to assist with the recording, engineering and production of their self-titled debut album. Working out of Taane's Woodhill studio near Auckland, they recorded a 16-song album which debuted at No.1 on the NZ Album Chart, went gold in the first week, and eventually achieved triple platinum record sales certification.

The album Six60 also spawned four more singles 'Only To Be', 'Forever', 'Into The Clear' (as remixed by Australian dance producer Paul Mac) and 'Finest Wine'. 'Only To Be' peaked at No.5 on the NZ Singles Chart, and achieved double platinum sales certification. 'Forever' peaked at No.11 on the same chart, and achieved platinum sales certification. Capping things off, that year they were nominated for Single of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, and the People's Choice Award at the New Zealand Music Awards. They also performed 'Rise Up' live as part of the ceremony.

With their debut album out and selling well, in 2012 Six60 began to focus more on touring through Australia, the UK, Europe, America, leading to well received solo tours and festival appearances at Glastonbury Music Festival (UK), South By Southwest (Austin, Texas), CMW (Canada), Summerfest (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), CMJ Festival (NYC), Wavefront Music Festival (Chicago, Illinois), The Great Escape (UK), and Homebake (Australia).

they took away the awards for Single of the Year, Best Group, People's Choice, Highest Selling New Zealand Single, Highest Selling NZ Album and Radioplay Record of the Year.

In October 2012 they released 'Lost', a single recorded with The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. The next month they performed with the APO at the “seated” ASB Theatre in Auckland. Peaking at No.20 on the NZ Singles Chart, 'Lost' achieved gold sales certification, and has accumulated over 300,000 views on YouTube.

At the end of 2012 they took away the awards for Single of the Year, Best Group, People's Choice, Highest Selling New Zealand Single ('Don't Forget Your Roots'), Highest Selling NZ Album (Six60) and Radioplay Record of the Year ('Don't Forget Your Roots') at The NZ Music Awards. They were also nominated for Album of The Year and Best Electronica Album.

In counterpoint to their regular sold-out shows, multi-platinum singles and praise, Six60 found themselves receiving damningly critical evaluations via local music commentary outlets like The Corner, Blog On The Tracks and Groove Guide's Chart Attack column. In Fraser's words, "It was definitely interesting watching the singles – after what they did – you started to hear both sides of people's opinions. People who disliked it were a new thing for us, and that sucked … It was fascinating to watch and to deal with."   

Early in 2013, Six60 relocated to Berlin, Germany after signing a deal with Sony Music label Columbia Four Music for the European release of Six60. Since then they have been busy alternating between touring throughout the Northern Hemisphere and writing new material for their anticipated second album.