Andrew Dubber     

That’s Caitlin Smith. We’re coming to each other’s rescue. I need to get to New Zealand, and she needs help with her new album.

Her last album was gorgeous – her jazz roots were plainly there – but all the same, these were contemporary, strong and accessible popular songs. Really great record with some of my favourite New Zealand artists playing on it.

Anyway… I received an email from Caitlin this morning. She’s invited me to come to NZ and produce her new record. Not only is it brilliant timing from my perspective – but it’s incredibly exciting. She’s one of New Zealand’s top female vocalists, she’s a really smart songwriter (seriously – go listen) and the all-star lineup of kiwi musicians she’s put together is staggering. I’m actually a little bit starstruck by the whole thing.

The album project has support from Amnesty International and the Green Party and is being released in association with a campaign concerning violence against women. It’s funded by Creative NZ and is particularly interesting with respect to the bid itself. The idea is that the creation of the recording as a work in progress is documented and made public. So part of my role will be about that process.

Sadly, the project has suffered some setbacks along the way, not the least of which was the tragic death of singer Mahinarangi Tocker, an artist I absolutely loved, and was lucky enough to record with once upon a time – for a Strawpeople track that we never finished.

But some of the setbacks have been logistical, and part of my role as producer will be to pull all the threads together.

You can guarantee that some of this will be happening in a very online kind of way. One of the things I’m really going to have to think through is the issue of accessibility. Caitlin’s legally blind, and so jumping on the social networks is, for the most part, a bit of a pain.

I have some ideas.

In a way, Caitlin’s pulling me out of ‘retirement’ for this project. It’ll be the first album I’ve produced in almost 11 years. I’m an ex (and reformed) sound engineer, and used to run a record label a long time back. I think I started to know what I was doing as an objective overseer of the recording process around about the time we ran out of money and I had to seek gainful employment in the world of academia.

But coming back to it with a bunch of different experiences and perspectives will be really interesting. We’re going to be sorting out all of the arrangements (in the musical and the logistical sense of the word) on this visit – and all going well, I’ll be heading back in April to produce the finished album.

Part of the project, I’m led to understand, will be happening in Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios, some of it will take place in other studios around New Zealand – and there’s a strong possibility of some hookups in London and further afield. In short, I’m really excited to work on it.

I’ve worked with Caitlin before – though not actually on a music project. I made a documentary programme about her around eight years ago. I got to know her fairly well through that, and there was talk briefly at one stage, before I left New Zealand, of being involved with her last album in this kind of role.

Problem neatly solved
And… that’s how I’m getting to New Zealand.

I get to do the Great Blend event for Russell Brown, record the interviews for Sam Coley’s Zane Lowe documentary*, appear on ‘Playing Favourites’ with Kim Hill (NZ’s version of Desert Island Discs), catch a bit of sun, enjoy a bit of time with the whanau and – just maybe (though, sadly, unlikely) – if I can twist time and space, and stretch my luck even further – get to stop in at Webstock… ‘cos look who’s speaking at THAT!!!

So – thanks to everyone for their really brilliant suggestions; to Craig McGill and Whyte and Mackay for seriously considering sending me over to liveblog Dramfest for the Dubber and Clutch / Twhisky project; to Mark Robinson from George Jazz for the initial hookup; to Russell Brown for the amazing speaking gig; Creative New Zealand for the wherewithal to make it possible – and to everyone else that’s weighed in and helped out.

I really hope I can do the project justice, as I’ll not only be producing the recording – but also overseeing digital strategy. I have just received my e-Ticket – and we are all systems go.

*Sam Coley produced the excellent Bowie’s Waiata documentary on RNZ National and ‘Down Under The Moonlight’ for Radio Hauraki – either of which you may have caught if you were paying attention late last year,

Tagged: Internet, Music, New Zealand