Phil Garland
The founder and life member of the Christchurch Folk Club,
Phil Garland, won the Tui for the best folk album of 2007.
The folklorist and
balladeer’s 18th record ‘Southern Odyssey’ has
taken out the Best Folk Music Album for 2007 announced Jan 27th
at the Auckland Folk Festival in Kumeu.
Garland’s
achievement will also be acknowledged at the New Zealand Music
Awards in October 2008. Often described as the father of New
Zealand Folk Music, Garland has previously been a four
time-finalist for the award.
His very first album
‘Springtime in the Mountains’ took out the inaugural
Folk Album of the Year Tui at the New Zealand Music Awards in
1984 as did ‘Send the Boats Away’ a year later - an
album to which he contributed. Two further Garland albums -
‘Hunger In The Air’ in 1987 and ‘Wind In The
Tussock’ in 1989 - also reached finals selection in the New
Zealand Music Awards.
Numbering amongst his many achievements is
a Radio New Zealand commissioned musical documentary for national
broadcast. The programme, Landfall New Zealand, was selected from
60 international entries to win the prestigious Hoso Bunka Award
in Japan. Garland has also appeared on the American TV show "Our
Amazing World" singing traditional and original New Zealand songs
to an estimated audience of 60 million viewers.
The other
finalists for the Folk Album of the Year 2007 were The Hobnail
Boots from Wellington with ‘The Fortune Horses’ and
Auckland’s Owen Hugh for ‘You and I’. New
Zealand Music Awards spokesperson Campbell Smith says
Garland’s win shows the seasoned artists can still pump out
top tunes. “Phil’s win demonstrates to me there is
great value in experience and that perseverance is one of a
musician’s greatest traits.
For more than 30 years his
mission has been to gather and preserve for posterity the stories
and songs of New Zealand. “A third Tui is just reward for a
musician who has given so much to the New Zealand folk scene over
many years. RIANZ is delighted to acknowledge that contribution
once more.”
More about Phil Garland, including sound clips, lyrics, bookings
and reviews can be found at his website, www.philgarland.co.nz.
