 |
February 2012
February 6th = Waitangi Day, and for us in Aotearoa it's a weekend of mixed up histories, perspectives and national intensity - if you choose to go there. Go there!
I'm having a deep and meaningful on the Radio NZ doco Common Ground: Waiata o Te Whenua, about my work in context of Waitangi Day, how it relates to our land, and my own ethnic identity. Also in kōrero is musician Maisey Rika (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), whose ideas I'm really looking forward to hearing. It's on RNZ National, Waitangi Day at 6.08pm. Listen online here.
January 2012
Tena koe! Nau mai, haere mai e 2012, Year of the Dragon. I interpret the Dragon as the flame that will burn up the ground on which the Rabbit has been getting away with all sorts of unpredictability over the past twelve months. Well, Rabbit - it's over, e hoa!
......................................................................................................................................
November 2011
(14th)
Kia ora! Live Series: Volume One is released today. Details below, and for a listen to the full double album pop over here, or to buy pop over here. To listen to Radio New Zealand's one-hour New Horizons special by William Dart, hop over here.
I'm also today publishing Roots, an ebook that documents the making of Forest & its tour through photography by Josh Thomas and questions submitted by friends & listeners of the album.
On November 26th when I vote, I'll be acknowledging the link between the health of our people, and that of our water, soil, air and wildlife. For young New Zealanders to have a decent future, we need to fight for a rich, clean and unexploited Aotearoa that provides for everyone. It's possible, it's right, and it's the only way forward. Kia kaha!
......................................................................................................................................
(1st )
Peruse the full tracklisting at the Discography.
Two of Nigel's paintings that weren't included in the release are here for you to download as desktop wallpaper, in normal and widescreen formats.
Aroha! x Dudley
......................................................................................................................................
October 2011
x Ah, Spring x
I'm very happy to be performing at this year's Nelson Arts Festival with The Dawn Chorus. We'll be singing a new piece, Maternal Constellation, which I'm particularly looking forward to. The shows are at the Suter Theatre on October 12th & 13th at 7pm (but have sold out). I'll also be a presenter at Pecha Kucha on October 11th.
Next month something exciting is happening - pop back on November 7th for the details.
......................................................................................................................................
July 2011
I will be a presenter at the Pecha Kucha evening of Dunedin's Matariki Festival, at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Sunday 3rd July at 7.30pm.
......................................................................................................................................
June 2011
Kia ora koutou! Midwinter, getting rather chilly in the South, and so a brief ode to jerseys at Home.
I'll be performing with The Dawn Chorus for the Nelson Arts Festival in October. Hopey One, the boys and I will play on October 12th and 13th at the Suter Theatre. Bookings here.
TVNZ made a short news piece on my residency in Nasbey, Central Otago, which you can see here. Arts stories generally aren't juicy or violent so it's very brief, and inevitably my 'government is in denial about the state of the environment' arguments didn't make the cut. The clip does, however, show a bit of Naseby and my farewell concert for the locals.
Ngā mihi e te ahi kā...
......................................................................................................................................
April / May 2011
As the end of my residency in Naseby, Central Otago approaches, I'd like to share Postcards of Domesticity, a self-portrait project which you can view it its full splendour by clicking below...
......................................................................................................................................
March 2011
Kia kaha, e Otautahi Christchurch.
Forest has been nominated for the 2011 Taite Music Prize. Pop over here to listen to the album in full, and pop over here to learn more about the annual award named after the late music journalist Dylan Taite.
......................................................................................................................................
December 2010 / January, February 2011
Kia ora, and haere ra.
The Dawn Chorus, Cat Ruka, the crew and I have had a wonderful tour experience across Aotearoa over the last month. Thank you to all who were a part of the shows, and to those of you who've expressed your aroha for the performance - to us and to each other.
Click here to order the new album Forest: Songs by Hirini Melbourne - and if you'd like to 'bird out' as a gift, please do order in the week leading up to Friday 17th December, so as you receive it in the post on time. Over the summer, Golden Retriever Records (Josh and I) are relocating from Auckland to Dunedin (and very happy about it), so orders through the Shop will be delayed between December 24th-January 3rd.
There are a few new bits and pieces on the site: reviews of the album & tour, new gallery images.
2011 will no doubt be, like all of them, an interesting year. There will indeed be a new release or two based on my recent work, and I'm going to be exploring a couple of new and challenging projects which I look forward to sharing.
Ngā mihi nui for the summer months, be safe, and kia ora rā for the support in 2010, e Retrievers. x
Dudley
......................................................................................................................................
November 2010
Click to buy the new album Forest: Songs by Hirini Melbourne
Click to buy tickets to Dudley Benson Live with The Dawn Chorus
Golden Retriever Records Presents Dudley Benson Live with the Dawn Chorus 2010, with special guest Cat Ruka. In his first set of performances since the acclaimed national church tour of 2008, Dudley Benson and his new a capella ensemble The Dawn Chorus deliver a ten-date nationwide tour of intimate marae and community hall performances. Presenting material from his new album Forest: Songs by Hirini Melbourne, Benson is accompanied by close-harmony vocal quartet and Australian-based beatboxer Hopey One, with an opening performance by maverick dance artist Cat Ruka.
November 12th - Auckland, Te Māhurehure Marae, Pt. Chevalier November 14th - Kerikeri, Kingston House November 19th - Nelson, Trafalgar Street Hall November 20th - Wellington, Pipitea Marae November 24th - Dunedin, Māori Hill Coronation Hall November 25th - Queenstown, St Peter's Church Hall November 27th - Christchurch, Deaf Society Hall November 28th - Akaroa, Gaiety Hall December 4th - Waiheke Island, Palm Beach Hall December 5th - Waitakere City,
[Update: Waitakere City Dec. 5 venue change - Oratia Settlers Hall, 569 West Coast Rd, Oratia, Waitakere]
Tickets available only at dudleybenson.com, any remaining sold on the door on the evening of the performance. All shows begin at 8pm, doors open at 7.30pm.
We can't wait! Tickets are going rather snappily, and some of our venues are particularly limited in capacity, so - as they say - book now to avoid disappointment. Many thanks also to our tour sponsors: Ceres Organics, Allpress Espresso & Firehorse Films.
Photograph by Joshua Thomas & Hanna Lee.
Click here to listen to Ruru from the new album - koukou!
Click here to listen to my interview with Kim Hill on Radio New Zealand National, 23/10/10.
Click here to listen to an interview with The Dawn Chorus' beatboxer Hopey One for Radio New Zealand National, 16/12/10.
Click here to listen to an interview about the Forest album with Eva Radich for Radio New Zealand Concert, 25/11/10.
Click here to listen to an interview and song-clip feature from the Forest album with Sam Wicks for Radio New Zealand National, 13/11/10.
Kia ora, and see you very soon.
......................................................................................................................................
October 2010
It is with great satisfaction that I announce my second album.
Forest: Songs by Hirini Melbourne is a collection of my interpretations of waiata by the New Zealand composer Hirini Melbourne, whose folksongs I've become very close to over the past three years. The album is a celebration of Aotearoa's birdlife, as well as a tribute to the legacy of Melbourne's work.
Forest is also an album that I chose to record almost entirely with only the human voice. Of course, I couldn't do this all myself (and wouldn't want to), so a number of collaborators performed with me on the record. Among them are Dr. Richard Nunns on taonga pūoro, beatboxer King Homeboy, Gerry Findlay of Franz Josef Glacier as bird mimic, barbershop quartet The Dawn Chorus, four-part choir, and Vashti Bunyan joins me for a duet called Tūī.
The album will be released on November 1st - but only through this site. I've chosen not to put Forest in the shops, as apart from a handful of stores, I'm finding music retail to be a disappointing experience. Instead, we can go through the much more satisfying process of mail-order. So click to pop over to the Shop and pre-order your copy, which we will send out on the 1st, or just before if we can.
The tracklisting of the album is as follows...
1. Pīpī Manu E (Baby Birds) 2. Tīrairaka (Fantail) 3. Pīpīwharauroa (Shining Cuckoo) 4. Tūī 5. Ruru (Morepork) 6. Pūngāwerewere (Spider) 7. Kiwi
The artwork is by Florence Dennison of Tuatapere, who has created a series of applique panels for the album booklet. Forest is recorded by Adrian Hollay and mastered by Mandy Parnell.
Just as exciting for me is the upcoming tour, which is called: Dudley Benson Live with the Dawn Chorus. Here are the dates and venues...
November 12th - Auckland, Te Māhurehure Marae, Pt. Chevalier November 14th - Kerikeri, Kingston House November 19th - Nelson, Trafalgar Street Hall November 20th - Wellington, Pipitea Marae November 24th - Dunedin, Māori Hill Coronation Hall November 25th - Queenstown, St Peter's Church Hall November 27th - Christchurch, Deaf Society Hall November 28th - Akaroa, Gaiety Hall December 4th - Waiheke Island, Palm Beach Hall December 5th - Waitakere City, Hoani Waititi Marae
I'll be performing with my new ensemble The Dawn Chorus - a vocal group made up of close-harmony quartet and beatboxer Hopey One - and I'm honoured that each show will be opened with a performance by dance artist Cat Ruka.
Tickets for the tour are only available here at The Shop. We've chosen intimate venues, so it is worth booking in advance. Any remaining tickets will be sold on the door, on the evening of the show.
I look forward very much to sharing Forest with you, and to performing the new work on tour.
Ngā mihi nui,
Dudley
......................................................................................................................................
September 2010
On October 1st I'll announce the full details of my new album: title, cover artwork, tracklisting, guest artists, and of course the release date - as well as upcoming tour dates and venues. So see you here then, perhaps.
Every week until then I'll publish a new image from Forest Fliers, a series by Joshua Thomas on the making of the new album.
Haere rā, ka kite anō!
#1
#2
#3
#4
......................................................................................................................................
July 2010
On Saturday July 24th, an hour-length interview and music selection will be broadcast as an episode of the bNet Seeded documentary series:
"Dudley Benson is one of those extraordinary artists who spreads his talent across many mediums. He is a musician, composer, singer (and former chorister at Christchurch Cathedral) and writer, and upon the release of his 2008 album The Awakening was described as an "indie chamber-pop choirboy". Today, he discusses music that has inspired him, from Nico to Hirini Melbourne."
95bFM 11am; Radio Control 2pm; Radio Active 9.30am; RDU 2pm; Radio One 10am. Listen/download the Podcast at 95bFM
Home image: $3 Stitchbird, issued by NZ Post, 23rd April 1985. The stitchbird (Notiomystis cincta), also known as 'hihi', is easily identified by their erractic movements and distinctive call. They are a forest dwelling species feeding mainly on nectar, fruits and insects. Adults feed in the lower forest strata whereas juveniles spend much time on or near the ground. Now confined to Little Barrier Island, Hauraki Gulf and Hen Island where it was introduced in 1980, the stitchbird was previously distributed throughout much of the North Island and on Great Barrier Island. The stitchbird was apparently uncommon in the northern third of the North Island, even in early European times and became extinct in the North Island and on Great Barrier before 1900. - New Zealand Post
......................................................................................................................................
May 2010
Kia ora e whānau: an important (and I'm sure brilliant) set of programmes will be broadcast this coming week on Radio New Zealand Concert. The work and legacy of the late Hirini Melbourne, one of Aotearoa's most special and yet under-appreciated artists, is explored on this six-part series every day from Sunday 23rd until Friday 28th May at 9am. On Friday's final episode, my 2008 St Matthew-in-the-city performance of Melbourne's Pipiwharauroa will be broadcast for the first time, as well as initial information on my forthcoming new LP. Click for ways to listen to Radio New Zealand Concert.
Home image: $2 Black Robin, issued by NZ Post, 24th April 1985. One of the world's rarest birds, the Chatham Islands black robin (Petroica traversi), is a forest and scrub dweller of about 16cm in length. This species is one of the smallest in numbers and most endangered in the world and during the summer of 1976/77 the New Zealand Wildlife Service transferred the entire population from Little Mangere Island to nearby Mangere Island (in the Chatham Islands group) after planting 150,000 trees in an effort to rejuvenate the habitat. In 1980/81, the first clutches of the remaining birds were transferred to nearby nests of Chatham Island warblers, where three chicks were raised to fledging by the warblers before being returned to the robins for rearing. - New Zealand Post
......................................................................................................................................
April 2010
Not an awful lot of news, other than to say that I'll be shortly announcing details of a new project - a miniature LP - for release this year, with a New Zealand tour to follow.
Home image: $1 Kokako, issued by NZ Post, 24th April 1985. The kokako (Callaeas cinerea) illustrated is a North Island variety and is also known as the blue wattled crow, referring to the two blue bags which hang from the head of the bird and steel-grey plumage. The kokako grows to about 38 cm long. With two legs and a disproportionately long tail, it is not a good flier but tends to hop along branches and trunks and glide from one tree to another or move across the forest floor with a clumsy bounding gait. Living in dense pockets of kauri trees and rain forest, the kokako is usually well away from the sight of man feeding on young leaves, flowers and berries. The North Island kokako is now quite rare - barely surviving its orange-wattled South Island cousins, considered today to be extinct. - New Zealand Post
......................................................................................................................................
December 2009
The Awakening: Supplementary Workbook is now available to order through the Shop. Currently, there are
The Supplementary Workbook is a collection of research, interviews, artwork, photographs, reviews and an essay, all associated with The Awakening album project. I intend for it to be a future reference & research tool, as well as an artwork in its own right. The book includes:
- A conclusive interview between me and writer Brannavan Gnanalingam that covers the writing, arranging, production, promotion and touring processes - An interview with album engineer Adrian Hollay - Photography by and interview with Warren Dawson, the previously - Photography by Karen Inderbitzen-Waller - Artwork by Ed Lust - An essay by Jessica Lightfoot on the album's critical reception - Artwork by Hanna Lee - Artwork by Brooke Woolley - Photography by Matt Nash - An index of promotional material
First edition of 50 Stamped & hand-numbered, each book includes individual drawings by Hanna Lee 110 pages, 38 colour plates 21 x 29.7cm, 100% recycled stock
The Awakening has been included in Nick Bollinger's 100 Essential New Zealand Albums, recently published by Awa Press.
I wish minimal stress for all over Christmas.
Home image: cover of The Awakening: Supplementary Workbook by Warren Dawson, designed by Frances Young
......................................................................................................................................
October 2009
Sunday 1st November, 3pm Art Lounge, New Gallery Corner Lorne & Khartoum Free admission, limited seating
There's also an edition of 100 postcards with photography by Matt Nash scattered about.
The Awakening: Supplementary Workbook is not far off, details below. Golden Retriever Records will shortly distribute in New Zealand an album by its second artist! There will be more details about this soon.
Home image by Matt Nash, 2009. ......................................................................................................................................
August 2009 ...explores various aspects of the album, from its writing to its release ...is in a first edition of 50. Each workbook is numbered, stamped, & includes three individual drawings by Hanna Lee
......................................................................................................................................
|
.jpg)
