Monday, July 02, 2007

Kiwi Records, the History of a New Zealand Record Label.

Kiwi Records (NZHistory) This essentially Maori and Pacific record label became very supportive of our own Pakeha folk music artists, Kiwi’s recordings of ballads and folk songs captured the past that the publisher's books celebrated. Neil Colquhoun’s group, the Song Spinners, put out Songs of the whalers, Songs of the gold-diggers and Songs of the gumdiggers. In 1972 Colquhoun produced the landmark collection Songs of a young country. Other typically Kiwi Records artists were balladeer Peter Cape, songwriter Ken Avery, song collector Les Cleveland, the Kokatahi Band of Westland and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am in the process of digitising from vinyl the entire Song Spinner's collection. My father was on all the recordings by the group Arthur(Sam) Weller bass baritone.I and my brothers grew up with the rehersals and the occasional performance.
Interesting to look back on the era.Both my younger brother and I are musicians in Auckland

Don Weller