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Arch Hill Recordings

Arch Hill Music is an independent record label, management and publishing company.

We have been operating in New Zealand since 2000.
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David Kilgour

David Kilgour has released three albums on Arch Hill, Frozen Orange (2005), The Far Now (2007) and Falling Debris - featuring the poetry of Sam Hunt (2009)

As a teenager in the late 1970's David Kilgour and his brother Hamish, inspired by the independent do-it-yourself spirit of punk rock and the simple yet dissonant songwriting of Lou Reed and Bob Dylan, formed The Clean in their hometown of Dunedin. The Clean went on to become one of New Zealand’s most popular and most respected bands. Their legend as one of the founding fathers of one of the most influential "scenes" in underground music quickly spread to all corners of the globe.

In 1992, Kilgour struck out on his own and recorded his first solo CD (Here Come The Cars), which received much critical acclaim and is a bona-fide New Zealand classic. Two more solo LPs followed, Sugar Mouth in 1994 and David Kilgour and The Heavy Eights in 1997. Kilgour followed that up in 2002 with his fourth solo LP, A Feather In The Engine.

All along the way, over a career that spans the course of two decades, David Kilgour has come to be known as one of the most respected and admired songwriters of his generation. His signature guitar style and languid, carefree melodies are readily identifiable. The canon of work he has amassed is stunning in its grandeur and depth. In January of 2001, David was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit, to recognize and honor his contributions to the arts and cultural heritage.

Frozen Orange was a slight departure for Kilgour - not so much in style as in method. The idea for the record came about as David was touring the States with both the Clean and solo in late 2001 and early 2002. The 2002 tour in support of A Feather In The Engine featured David as the opening act for his American label Merge mates Lambchop. For the tour, Kilgour recruited several members of the eclectic Nashville collective to serve as his backing band. The experiment was a huge success. During rehearsals in Nashville, David also met Lambchop producer/engineer Mark Nevers, who convinced David that perhaps he should come to Nashville to record. It was an intriguing proposition as Kilgour had never dreamed that he would ever get the chance to record in Music City USA.

David had already written several songs that he was planning to use for his next album, but the plan had been to record the album back in New Zealand with his long-time collaborators, The Heavy Eights (Taane Tokona, Alan Haig, Tony De-ard and Thomas Bell). But the lure of a chance to record in Nashville with his new American friends was strong. In June of 2003 Creative New Zealand provided a small grant for the Nashville "experiment". The result is Frozen Orange. The album was recorded almost entirely by Mark Nevers at his Beechhouse Studios in Nashville (2 tracks-"Dogs Barking" and "A Head Full Of Rolling Stones"- were recorded with the Heavy Eights back home in New Zealand), over the course of two visits in the summer and late fall of 2003. Frozen Orange features the contributions of Lamchop members Matt Swanson, Tony Crow, William Tyler and Sam Baker. There is even a surprise appearance by Jason Loewenstein. The album showcases a sublime combination of Kilgour's signature guitar lines and shambolic, quirky melodies with an added twist of country twang and a little bit of R&B/soul courtesy of his friends in Nashville. Frozen Orange also marks the first time that Kilgour has relinquished control in the studio to an outside producer; such was his faith in Nevers and his vision for the project.

22 Feb

New David Kilgour & Sam Hunt album

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...not going to say too much at this stage, but we are very excited to say we will be shortly releasing two new albums, first a colaboration between David Kilgour & Sam Huntand second a new album from Grand Prix - yikes!

31 Oct

David Kilgour USA Tour

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David Kilgour is on tour in the US with Euro's Child (featuing former frontman from Gorky's Zygotic Mynci)

Pitchfork jokes " Whaddya get when you cross Euros Childs and the guy from the Clean? Why, baby wipes, natch! Grrrroooooan. "

Oct 27 Los Angeles, CA - Echo
Oct 28 San Francisco, CA -12 Galaxies
Oct 30 Portland, OR - Holocene
Nov 02 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
Nov Denver, CO - Hi Dive
Nov 05 Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
Nov 06 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
Nov 07 Detroit, MI - Pike Room

Nov 08 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
Nov 09 Brooklyn, NY - TBA
Nov 10 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
Nov 11 Cambridge, MA - TT the Bear's Place
Nov 13 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
Nov 14 Washington, DC - DC9
Nov 15 Durham, NC - Duke University Coffeehouse
Nov 16 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
Nov 17 Nashville, TN - The Basement
13 Mar

David Kilgour and The Clean Tour

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David Kilgour News from Australia and Beyond
David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights have just returned from a sold out Australian tour with Yo La Tengo, as well as playing a number of their own sideshows along the way. The album The Far Now was released with an Australasian Bonus disc over there (and here) on Arch Hill/Remote Control – and it seemed to be getting the good word, so to speak – the Impress went as far as saying “Widely acknowledged as one of the best songwriters of our generation, The Far Now shows how well honed his craft is....true genius” Good to know the Australians share the views on NZ reviewers such as Russell Baillie in the NZ Herald and Lindsay Davis at the Dominion Post – both of whom gave The Far Now five star reviews.

Every Night during the Yo La Tengo encore set David joined them on stage to play a different Clean song (‘Point That Thing’, ‘Getting Older’ and’ Anything Could Happen’), which gives him a head-start on the rehearsals for The Clean tour...which starts THIS FRIDAY in Wellington, with a rare live support from Luke Buda and Band.

Tour dates for The Clean...starting THIS WEEK.
Friday 16th March - San Francisco Bath House – Wellington – with LUKE BUDA and Band
Saturday 17th March - The Studio – Auckland – With Voom
Sunday 18th of March - Leigh Sawmill Cafe – Leigh – With Chris Knox and A Nothing
Wednesday 21st of March - Penguin Club – Oamaru – With Bill Direen
Friday 23rd of March - Heritage Festival - Dunedin
Saturday 24th March - Jetset Lounge – Christchurch – with Minisnap
Sunday 25th March - Harbourlight – Lyttleton – with The Undercurrents
Tickets on sale nationally from Ticketmaster.co.nz, Real Groovy stores.
04 Feb

David Kilgour the Far Now album

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David’s new album “The Far Now” will be released in New Zealand on February the 5th on Arch Hill Recordings, distributed by Rhythm Method. It will also be released on Arch Hill/Remote Control in Australia (distributed by Inertia) and Merge in the USA. “The Far Now” will come with a limited edition Australasian Bonus Disc called “Orange Feathers” which will contain some out-takes as well as selected tracks from David’s two previous solo albums (“A Feather in the Engine” and “Frozen Orange”)....this CD is mostly for the Australians but NZers who are quick will also get a chance to buy a copy.

The album was recorded at David’s hometown of Dunedin with his band the Heavy Eights and is an interesting musical progression for David. He includes strings and other interesting instruments he hasn’t previously used, as well as the rich backing vocals of Anji Sami. Over all the album is a further refinement of the 1960s sound he is already known for and we think it is some of his best work yet. From the Clean through to his six solo album’s David has a career spanning (just over) 25 years. Outside of New Zealand David is perhaps one of New Zealand’s more influential artists, The Clean and his solo work has been cited by the likes Pavement, Calexico, Lambchop and Yo La Tengo as having an important influence on their music.

David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights are playing the Big Day Out and are on tour in New Zealand through February 2007 and Australia in March with Yo La Tengo. This will be followed by a US tour in April.
04 Feb

Kilgour NZ-Australia Tour

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David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights NZ/AUS Tour Dates
Friday 19th Jan – Auckland – The Big Day Out
Saturday 20th Jan – Lyttleton – Wunderbar
Sat 3rd of Feb - Dunedin – Arc Café (with Anji Sami)
Thurs 8th Feb - Chch - Dux de Lux (with Anji Sami)
Thurs 15th Feb - Wellington – SFBH (with the Haints of Dean Hall)
Sat 17th Feb – Auckland - Schooner (with the Haints of Dean Hall)
Thursday 1st of March – Sydney – The Metro (with Yo La Tengo)
Friday 2nd March – Brisbane – Rics Bar
Sat 3rd of March – Sydney – The Hopetoun
Tuesday 6th of March – Melbourne – The Corner (with Yo La Tengo)

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