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Lost for Words features great kiwi instrumentals, songs sans vocals.
The big question is how do you define an instrumental. On the surface it seems quite simple, a piece of music that doesn't feature voice. But the whole electronic / dance music thang muddies the water. Sure it might not feature vocals but is the music made by Pitch Black or Concord Dawn what you think of as an instrumental. (Come to think of it some of that music doesn't even feature instruments, unless you're going to count a laptop.)
If we look back a bit it gets easier. Many early kiwi rock acts in the 1960s aped their overseas counterparts such as theBeatles, Stones etc and some also picked up on huge instrumental acts like The Shadows or the American surf guitar sound of Dick Dale, Link Wray and so on. In New Zealand the biggest instrumental act was Peter Posa, his most famous tune - White Rabbit. He drew on the surf guitar sound but wasn't quite so drenched in reverb and was a mighty fine picker. Peter Posa is the kiwi instrumental master. He is still around playing gospel and in fact he put out an album a couple of years back.
You all know the Ray Columbus and the Invaders hit 'She's A Mod'. What is less well known is that The Invaders recorded several instrumental B sides without Ray. A couple of these can be found on an the Very Best of Kiwi Instrumentals, an interesting budget price CD, you'll pick up Amplifier or The Warehouse.
Three decades later the debut single from Shayne Carter's post Straightjacket Fits band Dimmer was the classic, thrilling instrumental 'Crystalator', a song that exhibits both control and paint stripping ferocity. This is one of my favourite NZ singles of all time.
The podcast closes with HDU's 'Tunguska', first released as a single in 2006 after a lengthy hiatus and then included on last year's excellent Metamatics album. This song was recently described by Flying Nun founder Roger Shepherd as his summer anthem. Hardly an accurate description 'Tunguska' is, never-the-less, brilliant. It's a moody and brooding guitar soundscape that invokes the feeling of isolation and menace of Tunguska, the site of a devastating early 20th century meteorite strike in Siberia.Download the Counting The Beat - Lost for Words podcast
The release of the Queens Birthday and New Years Honours lists may be not be an event that many kiwi music fans hang out for, but actually, over the years many musicians have been recognised. In this years Queens Birthday list 1960's kiwi guitar legend Peter Posa got the nod, being made a member of the NZ Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to music. Posa joins a long list of musicians who have been honoured in recent years including Mahinarangi Tocker (MNZM), Eddie Low (MNZM), Tina Cross (Officer of the NZ Order of Merit) check out her website, it's kind of scary, Whirimako Black (ONZM), Midge Marsden (MNZM) and Bic Runga (MNZM).
Go back a few years earlier and the list includes Moana Maniapoto (MNZM 2004), the Dobber (ONZM 2003), Mike Chunn (ONZM 2002), Wayne Mason (MNZM 2002) and David Kilgour (MNZM 2001).
An ONZM is equivalent to an OBE in old money, while an MNZM replaced an MBE in changes made to the honours system in the mid 1990s. Ray Columbus picked up an OBE in 1974 and Howard Morrison became Sir when he was knighted in 1990. (The granting of the titles Sir and Dame was dropped in 2000). You can see Ray Columbus and The Invaders on the video page.
This episode of Counting The Beat features some of the music of those who have received royal or state recognition for their musical contribution to the country. Think of it as taking a listen to the Governor General's iPod. Although, I'm not sure what he'd make of the Howard Morrison track.
Note: Quite a few of the links in this post take you to a site named New Zealand Music of the 60s, 70s and a Bit of the 80s. It's probably the most comprehensive and valuable reference sites around on NZ music of that era and is well worth a look.Download the Counting The Beat - On the Governor General's iPod podcast
