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David Kilgour

Biography

As a strong song-writer behind the seminal flying nun 3-piece the clean, david kilgour developed his own style of country tinged psychedilic rock-guitar playing, earnest vocals and a distinct kiwi sound that he made all his own. kilgour (and his backing band the heavy eights) have a more relaxed sound than the signature sound of early clean (closer to the post-clean great unwashed sound), trading scott’s chugging bass and the punky approach of the clean’s early recordings for a melodic approach.

In the late 90s, with the cleans’ drummer hamish kilgour now living stateside, the heavy eights became david kilgours main output, and each new recording further fleshed out kilgours voice as a solo song-writer. in particular, 2002’s excellent a feather in the engine (and the subsequent cracks in the sidewalk ep) hold their own, or even surpass each of the cleans’ later-era albums.

In 2001 kilgour received the new zealand order of merit for his ‘services to music’, having been a force in music since the late 1970s. in 2004 kilgour signed to ben howe’s arch hill label for the domestic release of his next album, forzen orange – to be released in september.

Discography

  • david [1989 cleano productions / alley oop fanzine AILEYOOP1]
  • ‘you forget’/’splash yr jewels’/’nothing (vol. 1)’ cassette and promotional 7″ single [1991 flying nun FN219]
  • here come the cars [1991 flying nun FN220 / FN487]
  • sugarmouth [1994 flying nun FN282 / FN488]
  • spiritual gas station 7″ / cd ep [1994 flying nun FN308]
  • first steps and false alarms [1995 ajax AJAX040-2] rn
  • david kilgour and the heavey eights [1997 flying nun FN397]
  • ‘the bootlegger’/’dirty hallway’/’down mekico’ 7″ lathe-cut single [self-released]
  • ‘way down’/’vernon’/’walking’ 7″ lathe-cut single [self-released]
  • ‘my sky’/’instrumental 1 + 2’ 7″ lathe-cut single [self-released]
  • ‘i lost my train’/’instrumental 2’ 7″ lathe-cut single [self-released]
  • ‘i caught you lookin’/’way down here’ 7″ lathe-cut single [self-released]
  • a feather in the engine [2002, Arclife Records, ARCLIFE016]
  • cracks in the sidewalk ep [2002, Arclife Records, 017]
  • frozen orange [2004 arch hill]
  • here come the cars reissue [2004 flying nun FN487]
  • sugarmouth reissue [2004 flying nun FN488]
  • the far now [2007 arch hill]

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