David Kilgour (musician)

This article is about the New Zealand musician. For the Canadian politician, see David Kilgour.

David Kilgour is a musician from Dunedin, a city in the South Island of New Zealand. He first started playing guitar as a teenager in the late 1970s. With brother Hamish he formed The Clean, a group that went on to become one of the most popular and most respected bands in New Zealand.

The Clean and The Great Unwashed

The Clean are recognised as one of the founders of the New Zealand independent rock scene and a pivotal band in the development of the Dunedin Sound, which was centred around the Flying Nun record label and produced other acts including The Verlaines, The Chills, Straitjacket Fits, The Bats (which included The Clean bassist Robert Scott) and the Tall Dwarfs. The Clean broke up in the early 1980s, and David Kilgour proceeded to form and play with other bands such as Stephen and The Great Unwashed. The Clean reformed in 1989 and produced the album Vehicle, arguably their strongest work to date.

Solo career

D. Kilgour's bassist performs at the Empty Bottle in Chicago, 6 Nov 2007.

In 1991, Kilgour struck out on his own and recorded his first solo CD, Here Come The Cars, which received much critical acclaim. 1994 showcased the release of his second solo lp, Sugar Mouth. In 1995 he released First Steps and False Alarms, a compilation of recordings & demos, so called the 'best of the worst',done between the late 80s and early 90s. In 1997 he recorded his 3rd lp David Kilgour and The Heavy Eights, made with the help of several other notable Dunedinites such as Martin Phillipps from The Chills. In late 2000, after a four year hiatus, The Clean reformed again to record Getaway, only their fourth full length lp -- along with Vehicle, Modern Rock (1994) and Unknown Country (1996) -- in their 20+ year history.

David Kilgour has come to be known as one of the most respected and admired songwriters of his generation and certainly one of the greatest rock musicians to come out of New Zealand. His signature guitar twang and languid, carefree melodies are readily identifiable. His more obvious influences include Bob Dylan and Lou Reed, with other, less obvious influences including Brian Eno, to whom an instrumental on First Steps and False Alarms is dedicated.

In January 2001, David was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition and in honour of his contributions to the arts and cultural heritage of his homeland. That same year, he released his 4th solo LP, A Feather In The Engine, hailed by many as his best work yet. His current U.S. label, Merge, describes it as "pure psychedelic pop bliss".

In 2004, his fifth solo album Frozen Orange was released on Arch Hill Recordings (NZ) and Merge Records (USA). For Frozen Orange, Kilgour left his native New Zealand and recorded in Nashville with members of Lambchop, along with his longtime backing band The Heavy Eights, consisting of Taane Tokona, Alan Haig, Tony De Raad and Thomas Bell. The album also marked the first recording that Kilgour did not produce himself, a task left to Mark Nevers (producer / engineer of Lambchop).

Kilgour released his sixth solo album, The Far Now, on February 5, 2007 on Arch Hill/Remote Control (NZ/Australia) and Merge (USA). The new album was recorded in Kilgour's hometown of Dunedin with his backing band The Heavy Eights. Recording of the album was split into two parts, with some songs laid down in winter 2004 at the Tinshed, and the rest between 2005 and 2006 at Studio One.