Iconic New Zealand poet Sam Hunt and The Clean frontman David Kilgour first hatched a plan to collaborate after a chance meeting at Dunedin airport. The connection initially resulted in the 2008 album Fallen Debris, on which Kilgour took the reins of Hunt’s words while his band The Heavy 8s provided atmospheric backing.
Determined to get Hunt behind the microphone and record something live, Kilgour invited him to write and recorded in Dunedin. After four days of brainstorming, improvising and jamming in Port Chalmers’ venue Chicks Hotel, the pair had the makings of their new 13-track album The 9th.
The result has been described as a “bold, sometimes raucous, consistently passionate meeting.”
The supergroup will come together for a performance of their new material at Auckland’s Kings Arms Tavern this June. The night will kick off with Hunt performing a short solo set, before he is joined by Kilgour & The Heavy 8s for tracks off The 9th. After a short break, David Kilgour & The Heavy 8s will perform songs off their 2014 LP End Times Undone.