Chasing Spirits to Floating Islands
When his first solo album, Chasing Spirits, was released late last year, Ockham Collective resident Kingsley Spargo had big plans for 2020 – before COVID-19 kicked them to touch. Finally, with lockdown lifted and life starting to return to whatever the hell the ‘new normal’ is, it’s restart time. October sees Kingsley returning to the stage for a headline gig in Tauranga, followed by a rekindling of his association with national treasure, author Witi Ihimaera, in arts festival performances in Hastings and Christchurch.
It was an off-the-wall musical musing which sparked the songs on Chasing Spirits: what would arise if you were to combine two iconic Pacific instruments from dramatically different traditions – the pūmoana (conch shell) and the pedal steel guitar? The results aren’t at all what you’d imagine. RNZ’s William Dart described the album as being ‘like a trip to an all-star cocktail lounge. Not only does [Kingsley] play guitar, brass and taonga pūoro (traditional Māori instruments), he’s a smooth vocalist.’
You can hear it for yourself at Tauranga’s Jam Factory on October 9, where Kingsley will be joined by Chris Orange on double bass – with Davey Beige (formerly of the Peter Stuyvesant Hitlist) in support.
It’s been a couple of years since Kingsley first performed with Witi Ihimaera (acclaimed author of The Whale Rider, Bulibasha and Ockham Award–winning memoir Māori Boy) at the Going West Writers Festival in Titirangi, producing a live soundscape to accompany Witi reading from his just-released second memoir, Native Son. The two are revising the format to celebrate the release of Witi’s new book, Navigating the Stars: Māori Creation Myths, as part of the Word Christchurch festival on October 31.
The concept has been expanded for their appearance at the Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival on October 18, in a brand-new show calling Floating Islands. Directed by Kingsley and his partner Kim Meredith, it includes readings by Witi, vocals by singer and actress Mere Boynton, and an ocean of sound conjured up by Kingsley and his long-time collaborator in electro-acoustic duo Alargo, Alan Brown.
Says Kingsley, “It’s exciting, as Hawke’s Bay is where I grew up. We created the show specifically for the festival. Mere lives in Napier and Witi has strong connections there too.”
If you can’t make it to Hastings for the Floating Islands debut, fear not – they’re hoping to tour the show to other centres.
Kingsley Spargo performs live at Jam Factory in Tauranga on October 9.
Floating Islands debuts at the Hastings Opera House (Toitoi) on October 18.
An Evening with Witi Ihimaera & Kingsley Spargo takes place at The Piano on October 31.
Listen to an excerpt from Witi & Kingsley’s Going West performance here.
Watch Kingsley perform Fishing For Love from his album Chasing Spirits here.
