Long-awaited third album from local avant-pop musician Dudley Benson!
His first album of new material since the Taite Prize nominated Forest (2010), Benson describes Zealandia as “a love album to our drowned continent, and a chance to explore our identity through twelve alternatives to the national anthem”.
Zealandia took eight years to produce, and features a meticulously arranged tapestry of over 160 contributors, including the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, the New Zealand Youth Choir, and beats made with GNS Science geologists from rocks and minerals within the Zealandia continent.
Each physical copy of the album is accompanied by the Zealandia newspaper: a full colour 24-page tabloid-size newspaper collecting the research, inspiration and creative processes around the album.
Dudley Benson is a critically acclaimed and award-winning composer, performer and producer. Based in Dunedin, his work is known for its innovation and genre-defying ambition, blending forms of chamber pop and electronic production. Since 2006 Dudley has released two albums, presented grand-scale tours in cathedrals and marae, and has collaborated with renowned international artists including Vashti Bunyan and Matmos. Dudley was nominated for the 2011 Taite Music Prize and won a 2014 New Generation Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.
- A Zealandia remix album will be released digitally on August 3rd. bFM will be premiering a new remix on Tuesday (July 31).
- RNZ's Music 101 will premiere a new song from Zealandia on Saturday August 4, with the RNZ website premiering a new music video the following Monday.
- On Sunday August 19, William Dart's New Horizons show on RNZ will focus solely on Zealandia.
- Dudley will guest on Saturday Morning with Kim Hill (August 25).