Special thanks to Anna Coddington for coming up this way on her tour, and sharing her beautiful music with the Baylys Beach community!!!
Peace and happiness, Olly.
Portions
reprinted from the Gisborne Herald 30 June 2005
When
song writer and acoustic guitarist Olly Knox
came to Gisborne, New Zealand over two
years ago he was a fledgling Department of
Conservation ranger with musical aspirations and
a couple of live performances under his belt.
Now,
things are different.
When
Knox leaves next month he will be a qualified
ranger, he will have notched up more than 60
gigs around the district, and he will have his
debut album tucked into his backpack.
"I
decided a long time ago that I wanted to record
an album and it seemed important to do that
before I left Gisborne," said the
24-year-old singer/songwriter, who recorded the
album with percussionist Patrick Brennan under
the Olly Knox Experiment moniker.
As
well as the Knox/Brennan combo, Hemi Porou
contributed some rich cello to the album
entitled Themes while wind instrumentalist
Abhudaya played flute.
Together
they have created a collection of 13 tracks, on
which songwriter Knox tackles topics from the
social anthropology of Away to the existential
My Centre.
Recorded
on Wainui-based Luke Porter's Mutant Frog label,
Themes is so named because Knox has tackled
issues that have engaged him since his move to
Gisborne.
"They
are just things that are important to myself,
things like reflection, peace, excitement and
recklessness, that I wanted to share with
others," he said.
"The
songs aren't really your traditional ballads of
love and loss. They are more about
self-discovery."
While
Wairarapa-raised Knox sees the album as just the
beginning of a recording career, its launch will
double as his formal farewell as he, minus
the invaluable Brennan, heads south.
Once
he hits Wellington he plans to stop a while,
focus on his music, play a few gigs, tour New
Zealand to promote the CD and catch up with
family before heading off for an extended
sojourn overseas.
And
he says the experience he has gained while in
Gisborne has been vital.
"There
is a really open, interactive music scene here
and people are really willing to offer help and
advice," he said.
"It
has been really great to just hook up with
people and jam . . . . people who are not just
into the sound they are making, but are also
interested in developing themselves
personally."
