Turn up the Volume
Soundtracks to riots, beaten-up old guitars and conch shells make up a new exhibition on the history of Kiwi music. By Jack van Beynen.
THEY called it ‘‘cultural cringe’’. The way record shops would stack the LPs together – Split Enz, Flying Nun alt-rock, Herbs reggae, a Poi E single, Howard Morrison hymns and DD Smash albums – colourful sleeves all bundled together in a section labelled ‘‘New Zealand’’.
But that was in the 1980s. Back then, not much linked the records apart from where they were made. That’s no longer the case. Lorde is sweeping up at the Grammy Awards, Savage sells millions in the United States, Marlon Williams is appearing on Conan O’Brien’s chat show in front of millions of viewers, and Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood turns up on drums for Liam Finn.
The innovation and hard work of Kiwi musicians have put them on the world map as they start their own record labels, self-fund tours, sell their own records and make their own merchandise.
Kiwis are no longer cringing. They’re buying into the success.
Behind each success are the objects that showcase the musicians’ path to stardom – the guitars and records and amplifiers; the posters, costumes, set lists and merchandise.
And, once again, they’re all stacked on shelves, leaning on each other in a concrete bunker. But instead of lumping them together as a single genre, Auckland Museum is displaying more than 200 of these objects in its Volume exhibition. Cleaned and mounted, they trace the country’s musical history from the 1950s to today.
The exhibition also features interactive exhibits that let visitors make their own tracks.
There is a 70s pub set where you can play along to a Dragon song with real instruments; a replica set from 60s television show C’mon where visitors can simulate performing on TV; a DJ booth where you can mix your own tracks; and a replica 1980s record store.
Curator Victoria Travers says the exhibition is designed so people can have fun as well as learn, and these interactive exhibits are a big part of that. ‘‘It’s very hands-on, it’s very ears-on,’’ she says.
‘‘We know that a way to connect with content and stories is to use more of your body than just your mind.
‘‘With an exhibition on music it would be crazy if we didn’t give visitors a chance to actually make their own music and play with music and explore music.’’
Most of the the items were loaned to the museum by the people who made that history: the musicians. Here are some of their stories. Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa opens at Auckland Museum on Friday. exhibition his battered steel-string acoustic guitar called ‘‘Ol’ Manky’’.
‘‘To most people it’s just a crappy, beaten up, cheap-ass guitar, and it looks it, and it sounds it as well. But for me it represents so much: dreams and aspirations and hope and freedom. It was my ticket.’’
He picked up Ol’ Manky around 2002, when he was playing with Salmonella Dub and used it for touring and writing his solo material, including his biggest hit, You’re Always on My Mind.
‘‘Even though it looks manky, to me it’s probably my pride and joy out of all the amazing guitars I have. I’ve got really expensive guitars, but this $300 thing is a part of my life, we’ve done so much together.’’
He hopes a ‘‘punk-ass’’ kid like he was might come through, see Ol’ Manky and realise you don’t need top-of-the-range gear to make good music.