Paki's 1993 debut single under the Tangata Records label, the Jaz Coleman-produced "System Virtue," received critical acclaim and led her to multiple wins at the New Zealand Music Awards. However, she left the local label in the winter of 1994 after signing with management.[2][3] Tangata partner Willie Jackson told Rip It Up in September of that year that the singer became unsatisfied with the $15,000 budget for her debut album.[3]
"Greenstone," Paki's follow-up single to "System Virtue" and her first release under Virgin, would come to be produced by well-known New Zealand musician Neil Finn.[2][4][5][6] The track features lyrics referencing the Māori custom of gifting pounamu (New Zealand greenstone) that are sung over stripped-back instrumentation.[4] Its release was accompanied by a music video directed by Kerry Brown that stars Paki alongside New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis in the Auckland city centre, including on Karangahape Road, and the bush.[7]
Reception
Multiple critics were disapproving of the track upon its release. John Russell unfavourably reviewed it in the December 1994 issue of Rip It Up, describing it as "confusing" and its arrangement as "strange."[8] In the October 1996 issue of the same publication, Greg Fleming referred to "Greenstone" in his review of Oxygen of Love as "weak" and an unnecessary addition to the album.[5] The song nonetheless garnered two nominations at the 1995 New Zealand Music Awards — Best Producer (Finn) and Best Engineer (Nick Launay) — alongside a nomination for Paki for Best Female Vocalist.[6] All three nominations were ultimately lost.
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