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DON MCGLASHAN
Origins Gallery
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This gallery tells the story of our geological origins – how New Zealand split from the super continent Gondwana and the evolution of its plant and animal life, from dinosaurs to flightless birds.
World Unwitnessed: Aotearoa Before Humans
Track 3 length 8:42
Don McGlashan remembers childhood trips to the beach where his father, a civil engineer with a lifelong interest in geology, would pick up stones and point out the seams and cracks, telltale signs of huge, violent forces. Holding those still, cool pieces of quartz and manganese he would feel like he was holding all the remembered energy of the ancient cataclysms that made them.
These powerful memories made the Origins gallery a natural starting point for his composition. The plate tectonics and magnetism displays made him think of long, slow sound patterns, with a drawn-out melody over them – in his words “like a speck of dust floating over the world before the arrival of life as we know it”.
Big drums and deep piano notes seemed right for dinosaurs’ footfalls. Moa sounds originated with an emu-caller (borrowed from a friendly museum employee), while insects and birds provided an opportunity to combine themes and instrumentation and bring the piece into the world we inhabit today.
About the Artist
Don McGlashan is recognised as one of New Zealand’s foremost songwriters, artists and performers, with five entries in APRA New Zealand’s Top 500 Songs of All Time. His career spans the seminal post-pop-punk band Blam Blam Blam, the innovative and influential The Front Lawn and, from 1991-2002, the platinum-selling band The Mutton Birds. The Mutton Birds album Envy of Angels made the UK Sunday Times top 10 list when it was released in 1997, and critics later hailed the Kiwi songwriter as “one of Britain’s most intelligent, poetic songwriters”. He is a two-time winner of the APRA Silver Scroll award for songwriting, for ‘Anchor Me’ in 1994 and ‘Bathe in the River’ in 2006. McGlashan opened for Crowded House on their recent tour of the US and Canada, played a guest-spot with the band and is part of Neil Finn’s project 7 Worlds Collide. Back in New Zealand since 2000, he has composed extensively for film and television, with his latest project being the score of Toa Fraser’s movie Dean Spanley. McGlashan received an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award in 2002.
Don McGlashan website
Track Credits
Composed by Don McGlashan
Don McGlashan: Sampled piano, electric guitar, percussion, euphonium, flugel horn, emu caller Ashley Brown: Cello
Recorded and mixed by Don McGlashan at Evelyn St Studios.
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