ELLIOT VAUGHAN: First Buzzard at the Body
The eponymous opening piece from Elliot Vaughan’s show ‘First Buzzard at the Body’ opens our selected coverage of this work, as performed by the composer at Wellington’s BATS.
Elliot writes that the “backbone of this piece is the ceaseless repetition of the title, first as part of the vocal performance and later with a digital looper. Long phrases are borne out in transformations to the loop: fading out and back in; slowly approaching the microphone; slowly morphing the articulation to become a beatbox. There are also a range of interruptions: a breath; a single instance of a similar sounding phrase, snapping the ear to attention; abrupt verses.”
Audio recorded by Jesse Austin-Stewart and mixed/mastered by Elliot Vaughan.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
ELLIOT VAUGHAN: Breath of a Fossil
Our SOUNZ Films coverage of selections from Elliot Vaughan’s ‘First Buzzard at the Body’ continues with ‘Breath of a Fossil’.
This song, writes Elliot, “depicts a scavenger bird circling overhead, gliding on the thermal currents coming off the hot landscape, hoping to find something dead or dying. The title is passed from one cheap Walkman to another, decomposing until it can barely be heard through the noise. They provide a harsh but quiet ambience, as well as feeding the looper material, while Elliot sings through the reverberant microphone and whispers through the dry—the thoughts of the bird.”
Audio recorded by Jesse Austin-Stewart and mixed/mastered by Elliot Vaughan.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
JENNY MCLEOD: Rock Concerto - trailer
Stand by for our first SOUNZ Film release of 2025, in which we hear the Auckland Youth Orchestra (conductor Antun Poljanich) and pianist Charles Sang perform Jenny McLeod’s exuberant Rock Concerto. Unfolding over three movements - To Absent Friends, Elegy for Carlie French, and Rondo Latino - this is a work of high energy and poignant reflection.
With audio recorded by our friend Franco Viganoni.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
ELLIOT VAUGHAN: First Buzzard at the Body - Trailer
SOUNZ Films presents selections from Elliot Vaughan’s one man show ‘First Buzzard at the Body’ from a performance at Wellington’s BATS in October 2022.
Elliot writes, “A show of music and poetry about death, capitalism and ornithology, First Buzzard at the Body is a setlist of poetic texts subjected to transformative compositional processes, gutting them of meaning or stumbling through the banal into the sublime. The raw material of the poems is musicalised through cassette loops and digital looper, song, screen, instrumental use of microphones, and a dynamic, embodied delivery.
Stylistically, the show draws on 70’s sound poetry like Canada’s Four Horsemen, 60’s minimalist composition such as Steve Reich’s phase pieces, the immediacy of punk and stand-up comedy, and the sprawling romance of the natural soundscape.”
Stand by for four works from this fascinating work in the coming days.
Audio recorded by Jesse Austin-Stewart and mixed/mastered by Elliot Vaughan.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
COLOURS OF FUTUNA: Alistair Fraser and Riki Pirihi
Alistair Fraser and Riki Pirihi played Pōneke’s Futuna Chapel in May of this year and the cameras of SOUNZ Films were there to capture their performance. Be sure to set aside some time to catch this exceptional extended improvisation for ngā taongo pūoro and percussion from two of the best in this field.
Audio recorded by our SOUNZ Films partner RNZ Concert.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
COLOURS OF FUTUNA: Alistair Fraser and Riki Pirihi - trailer
Stand by for SOUNZ Films coverage of a performance by improvisers and taonga pūoro exponents Riki Pirihi and Alistair Fraser from the light-filled environs of Futuna Chapel in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
With audio recorded by our SOUNZ Films partner RNZ Concert.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
Lilburn Lecture 2014: Elizabeth Kerr
Elizabeth Kerr delivers the Lilburn Lecture 2024 from the Taiwhanga Kauhau auditorium of the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington. Drawing on decades of experience as a music critic, she asks whether the critic is an endangered species in this country.
With an introduction by friend and colleague Peter Walls and a vote of thanks by SOUNZ’s own Hannah Darroch, this talk delves into the history of music criticism in Aotearoa New Zealand and surveys the current situation in light of recent technological shifts.
The Lilburn Lecture, now in its 11th year, is presented by the Alexander Turnbull Library, the Lilburn Trust and the Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust.
With audio recorded by our SOUNZ Films partner RNZ Concert.
Film funded by NZ On Air.
The Lali
In this episode of ‘Instruments of the Moana’ we delve into the wooden slit drum family, which inhabits many realms amongst the Moana Pacific islands and oceans. Our journey spans the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, Niue, Tonga, and Fiji, where we meet esteemed knowledge holders who share the traditions, stories and practices that surround these instruments across the Moana.
This film is supported by funding from Manatū Taonga | The Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
The Stamping Tube
In this episode of ‘Instruments of the Moana’ we delve into the stamping tube, known as the ‘bass’ of the pan pacific soundscape. Hear the story of its origins as a cooking utensil and fishing apparatus as we trace the stamping tube’s unique evolution across the Moana.
This film is supported by funding from Manatū Taonga | The Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
Pātē
What other instrument captures our attention as instantly as the pātē? Journey into the rhythmic heart of the Pacific to explore the vibrant world of this traditional wooden slit drum, and hear a variety of applications that you never knew about before.
This film is supported by funding from Manatū Taonga | The Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
The Pan Pipe
Though commonly linked in Western traditions to the god Pan, the pan pipe has unique iterations in Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Tonga — versions that have rarely been shared beyond those countries’ shores. Join our host Tau’ili’ili Alpha Maiava as he journeys across the Moana Pacific to uncover the hidden stories of the pan pipe.
This film is supported by funding from Manatū Taonga | The Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
