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Join respected music commentator and critic William Dart for a half-hour of rock, pop, country, folk and beyond. From new releases to forgotten gems, he draws on an encyclopaedic knowledge and gargantuan record collection to offer fascinating insights and surprising links. William’s choices are sometimes classic, sometimes quirky, always engaging and entertaining.
This programme concluded in December 2024, but you can enjoy episodes below.
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Beginnings and Endings
30 Aug 2020William Dart takes a look at new albums by Drab City and Bright Eyes, both with distinctive opening tracks. Read more Audio
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Indigo Girls' Look Long
23 Aug 2020Indigo Girls have a new album out called Look Long and it's been lifting William Dart's spirits for some weeks. Read more Audio
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Mansfield
16 Aug 2020William Dart takes a look at Charlotte Yates' splendid new Mansfield album with a host of Kiwi musicians responding to one of New Zealand and the world's finest writers. Read more Video, Audio
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Annie Ross - a jazz diva remembered
9 Aug 2020William Dart pays tribute to a very special jazz singer (and much more), who passed away in July 2020. Read more Audio
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Squeezing More In - the songs of Sean O'Hagan and Nick Hakim
2 Aug 2020William Dart profiles two songwriters, Sean O'Hagan and Nick Hakim, who can't stop tending and adding to their songs, creating saturated beauties that sometimes teeter on the brink of self-indulgence.
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Women Songwriters at the Silver Scrolls
26 Jul 2020Women songwriters have done well at the APRA Silver Scrolls in recent years, but taken over the full 55-year history of the award, the record is not so great: only twelve have won the top prize… Read more Audio
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In Memoriam Morricone
19 Jul 2020William Dart pays tribute to the Italian film composer Ennio Morricone, who died 6 July 2020. Read more Audio
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The Hypnotic Songscapes of Mali Mali
12 Jul 2020William Dart explores the songs of Auckland songwriter Ben Tolich, AKA Mali Mali, following the ten-year trail to his latest album, I Was Told to Keep an Eye Out. Read more Audio
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Michael Daugherty's Tribute to Woody Guthrie
5 Jul 2020William Dart features a curious tribute album with contemporary American composer Michael Daugherty celebrating the Dust Bowl songwriter Woody Guthrie. Read more Audio
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The Phoenix Foundation and Shona Laing
28 Jun 2020William Dart looks at two new releases which serve up quite a few surprises: some great, re-released and previously unreleased recordings by The Phoenix Foundation and Shona Laing. Read more Video, Audio
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Quickies with Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields
21 Jun 2020William Dart looks at Quickies, the latest release from The Magnetic Fields, highlighting the deliciously manipulative songcraft of Stephin Merritt. Read more Video, Audio
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Barbara Dane & Lucinda Williams: Speaking Up
14 Jun 2020William Dart profiles two of America's staunchest women songwriters, Barbara Dane and Lucinda Williams, who doesn't hold back from cutting to the chase on her new album, Good Souls Better Angels. Read more Video, Audio
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