Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Friday Music: An accompanied korero

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  • bob daktari,

    damn that Phil Collins track is good, top share! Liked his take on ACR's Shackup on his soundcloud page too

    Now I have something to temper my usual reaction to that mans name

    auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 540 posts Report Reply

  • Grant McDougall,

    This 1970 clip of Lilburn ”demonstrating the sounds produced for a modern dance performance that include the electronic reconstitution of the sounds of the extinct huia bird” is wonderful. In this part of his career he was our BBC Radiophonic Workshop, in a way:

    The 1975 three LP box-set prosaically entitled New Zealand Electronic Music featuring Lilburn, John Rimmer, Ross Harris, Ian McDonald, Jack Body and John Cousins is a must listen if you want to hear more of the same. It really is a most odd, yet enthralling listen.

    Basically, Lilburn and the other music academics at Vic Uni wheedled a whole lot of state-of-the-art electronic instruments and a revamped studio. To, in effect, test-drive it all, they recorded the pieces that appeared on the box-set.

    I doubt it was their intention, but if you didn't know any better, you'd swear you were listening to early Kraftwerk, early Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and their ilk. It's since been re-issued on cd, I understand.

    This one makes all sorts of references to the places people could buy pot in Wellington in the 1990s. Like the Black Power head quarters on what was Kensington St.

    When I lived in Wellington in '95 I wanted to, er, acquire some and asked a mate. He directed me to a street in Mt Cook and said "Go down [whatever the street was called] and you'll see a house with a car that looks like the one at the start of Once Were Warriors. That's the place you're after. Go to the front door, knock on it and ask 'Is the shop open?"

    The door opened and told me to come in. My eyes just about popped out of my head. I won't go into details, but it was immediately obvious they were doing a roaring trade.

    Dunedin • Since Dec 2006 • 760 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes,

    This 1970 clip of Lilburn "demonstrating the sounds produced for a modern dance performance

    TVNZ archive is about to be gutted, anything considered not worth keeping will be dumped. I can't tell you how I found this out but noises should be made and LOUD ones.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • bob daktari, in reply to Grant McDougall,

    the Complete Electro-Acoustic Works is a equally wonderful listen - his classical stuff isn't too shabby either (mild understatement)

    http://www.amplifier.co.nz/artist/35542/douglas-lilburn.html?full=1

    such a great addition to the Hall Of Fame

    auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 540 posts Report Reply

  • Tim Michie,

    And this seems on opportune place to mention These Hopeful Machines and

    Auckward • Since Nov 2006 • 614 posts Report Reply

  • Ken Sparks,

    I took Douglas Lilburn's electronic music course at his studio at Vic in 1975. There were only a handful of students and lectures mainly consisted of Douglas playing all sorts of fascinating stuff - both his own and what he considered the best from overseas. He also gave us a rundown on all the wonderful equipment he had accumulated and had built (the patchbay was a work of art in itself!) and then set us loose to create our own pieces. There was no end of course exam, we were evaluated on some essays and our composition. Douglas was a wonderful teacher and a very humble but approachable person and I loved every minute I spent in his class. I also remember taking a 'Pop Music' course with Gordon Campbell the main lecturer and singing in the University choir under the baton of Ross Harris. I'll always fondly reminisce about those hours spent in the music room in the magnificent old Hunter Building - aah, those were the days...

    Cox’s Creek • Since Apr 2011 • 60 posts Report Reply

  • Ken Double,

    Lee Ann Womack’s crystalline version of “Out on the Weekend” is a fitting intro to her terrific, plainspoken, periodically God-bothery new record, The Way I’m Livin’.

    And I’ve given up trying to discern whether there’s a chewy centre to Fazerdaze’s charming earcandy. She’s like a gauzy Frankie Cosmos, if you know who she is.

    https://soundcloud.com/fazerdaze/reelreel

    Wellington • Since Dec 2012 • 119 posts Report Reply

  • Ken Sparks, in reply to Steve Barnes,

    TVNZ archive is about to be gutted, anything considered not worth keeping will be dumped. I can't tell you how I found this out but noises should be made and LOUD ones.

    This is quite alarming news. I don't trust TVNZ to do the right thing here. given their attitude toward anything that isn't going to make them a buck. Maybe someone needs to approach Nga Taonga Sound and Vision to see if they can supervise the cull?

    Cox’s Creek • Since Apr 2011 • 60 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher, in reply to Ken Sparks,

    Maybe someone needs to approach Nga Taonga Sound and Vision to see if they can supervise the cull?

    Isn't that exactly what's happening? The old TVNZ Archive is now under the guardianship of Nga Taonga Sound & Vision, so it's not TVNZ doing the culling, it's Nga Taonga. I'm interested to see what the culling process will involve. I mean, if they're just removing duplicates that are also in the old Film Archive, that's not such a terrible thing.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Christchurch folk have some live Lilburn coming up next year (not sure if this will be his full on Electronic compositions though):
    Christopher’s Classics announce their 2015 season artists:
    March: Bonanza Trombone Quartet return with a great new programme.
    May: Aroha String Quartet play Haydn, Lilburn & Schubert.
    August: Mark Menzies Violin, Gretchen La Roche Clarinet, Flavio Villani Piano, play Lilburn, Bartok, Schumann, Debussy & Ravel.
    September: New Zealand String Quartet, play Lilburn, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich No 3 & Tchaikovsky No 1.
    October: Miles Jackson, Classical guitar
    November: Voices New Zealand Female Choir, with harp and two horns, present Holst, Brahms, and new work from Leonie Holmes.
    (all held at St Michael and All Angels by the Avon.)

    To receive their excellent Season Subscription offer and Season Brochure, join our database for post or email - contact classics@ihug.co.nz

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    You know what's cool? The upcoming soundtrack for The Hunger Games 3 that Lorde has curated. Just look at the track list:

    1. "Meltdown" - Stromae ft. Lorde, Pusha T, Q-Tip & Haim
    2. "Dead Air" - CHVRCHES
    3. "Scream My Name" - Tove Lo
    4. "Kingdom" - Charli XCX ft. Simon Le Bon
    5. TO BE ANNOUNCED
    6. "Lost Souls" - Raury
    7. "Yellow Flicker Beat" - Lorde
    8. "The Leap" - Tinashe
    9. "Plan The Escape" - Bat For Lashes
    10. "Original Beast" - Grace Jones
    11. "Flicker" (Kanye West Rework) - Lorde
    12. "Animal" - XOV
    13. "This Is Not A Game" - The Chemical Brothers ft. Miguel
    14. "Ladder Song" - Lorde

    It's 100% fab, a combination of current alt pop kids, legends from olden times and brand new artists of whom it's perfectly reasonable to have a "never heard of them" reaction. And the best bit - Lorde coordinated the whole album after hours on her American tour. Her mum wrote a sweet post on Instagram about seeing Ella working away into the night, in the back on the tour bus, hunched over her laptop. How many 17-year-olds do you know roll like this?

    I'm most excited about track one. Not only is it a new track from Stromae, but it also features Pusha T, Q-Tip, Haim and Ms Yelich-O'Connor herself. Hurry up, 17 November!

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,

    You know what’s cool? The upcoming soundtrack for The Hunger Games 3 that Lorde has curated. Just look at the track list:

    Totally! I was going to to feature it but I didn’t have time to do it justice.

    How many 17-year-olds do you know roll like this?

    None. This stuff is almost unprecedented. And yet there are still New Zealanders convinced that she's just some management puppet.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace,

    Makes me feel old that I remember Douglas Lilburn very clearly as an active, living person. We share some trivia too. The Lilburn House in Ascot Street Thorndon is a lovely modernist house built by Frederic Schwarzkopf who was one of those talented Jewish architectural emigres. It is now Historic Places Trust listed. The first house I owned was also built by Schwarzkopf in 1949 as his own home. Those modernist houses are light and open although often quite small.

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

  • Gary Elshaw,

    Douglas Lilburn was my neighbour in the late 90's until he died in 2001. I'd been a fan of his music for a long time and had no idea he was my neighbour until he became very sick and another neighbour who regularly looked after him told me who he was. Douglas for 5 or so years was just the older guy i regularly talked to most weeks when we were putting our recycling out. How cool and unassuming he was, and i feel lucky i was to have met him. I attended his funeral with half of Ascot Street in attendance, and the musical tributes were amazing.

    Apia, Samoa • Since Mar 2011 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Hilary Stace,

    Makes me feel old that I remember Douglas Lilburn very clearly as an active, living person.

    I'm delighted that you and others are sharing these memories. It humanises the man and it's lovely.

    I've dwelt quite a bit in the past decade on how many of my cultural heroes -- people like Keith Sinclair -- were alive in my lifetime and I could have met them, but didn't.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Russell Brown,

    And yet there are still New Zealanders convinced that she’s just some management puppet.

    It's either that or admit she is genuinely a more talented human being than most of us. In a way it's the tall poppy syndrome framed slightly differently. And it's bizarre given how easily we accept the rugby player X is more gifted/talented than almost everyone else on the planet.

    For what it's worth I think she is pretty clearly an amazingly talented young woman. Clear of thought, inspired and able to work hard enough to bring the inspiration to fruition. Now, if we could just allow her to be an inspirational example to other young women without tearing her down ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    It’s either that or admit she is genuinely a more talented human being than most of us.

    Yup.

    One of the things I wondered about for a while was whether she’d ever been formally diagnosed as gifted. And then along came Duncan Greive’s Metro story which confirmed that, yes, she had, at the age of six (when, according to the story, she was assessed as having “a mental age of 21” on several criteria). Things kind of fall into place when you know that.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,

    I mean, if they're just removing duplicates that are also in the old Film Archive, that's not such a terrible thing.

    It might be if it goes from "TVNZ Archive practice" to "Film Archive practice". Under the former, people can basically get what they want if they can pay production library fees. Under the latter, things can be very, very difficult.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Ant Healey,

    I'm really thrilled to read the personal responses to Lilburn's upcoming induction into the NZ Music Hall of Fame.
    Researching the story for the awards next week has been fascinating and his is a story so worth telling. We are determined that this particular vehicle for honouring our musical pioneers is all encompassing and represents the the broad church that is New Zealand music. I think this particular induction is a special one.
    We will post some of the tribute video we have produced for the show as soon as possible after the awards and the show will be live streamed next Thursday. Also we are hoping to have a virtual home for the Hall of Fame live by next Thursday as well.

    Auckland • Since Oct 2013 • 1 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Voices New Zealand Female Choir, with harp and two horns

    I guess the Devil is in the detail with a heavenly choir.
    Anyhoo.
    First record I bought, went halves with my brother.....

    Followed by this one...

    All down hill after that.
    ;-)

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Hilary Stace, in reply to Russell Brown,

    Keith Sinclair was a regular at Turnbull Library events. I remember several of us librarians and historians squashed into someone's little car to go somewhere. I sat next to Keith Sinclair. I remember thinking this will be a good story to tell sometime.

    Wgtn • Since Jun 2008 • 3229 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes,

    Bit more up to date...
    Loving this at the moment...

    Sound a bit like NZ's answer to Dylan, Mike Scorey. Wonder what he is up to now, must find out...

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • BeShakey, in reply to Steve Barnes,

    Two shows in Auckland in mid-December. I've seen them a few times and these should be cracking.

    Since Oct 2008 • 6 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Ant Healey,

    We will post some of the tribute video we have produced for the show as soon as possible after the awards

    thank you

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Russell Brown,

    she had, at the age of six (when, according to the story, she was assessed as having “a mental age of 21” on several criteria). Things kind of fall into place when you know that.

    Aspies rock

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

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