William Dart

Janis Joplin passed away fifty years ago, on 4 October, 1970. William Dart submits a little piece of his heart by way of a tribute. Audio

William Dart features Suzanne Vega, Bettye LaVette and Paul Kelly dipping into the songbooks of Lou Reed, Paul McCartney and Cole Porter. Audio

William Dart catches up on music that has slipped out of recent programmes' schedules, with Edith Piaf, Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, Shirley Collins and Seth Haapu sharing unexpected common ground. Audio

William Dart celebrates Maori Language Week with Maisey Rika's superb new album, Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea. Audio

After delighting in some truly bizarre comings-together from the past, William Dart looks at the new releases from Taylor Swift with The National, and Bebel Gilberto with Thomas Bartlett. Audio

William Dart takes a look at new albums by Drab City and Bright Eyes, both with distinctive opening tracks. Audio

Indigo Girls have a new album out called Look Long and it's been lifting William Dart's spirits for some weeks. Audio

William 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. Video, Audio

William Dart pays tribute to a very special jazz singer (and much more), who passed away in July 2020. Audio

William 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.

Women 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… Audio

William Dart pays tribute to the Italian film composer Ennio Morricone, who died 6 July 2020. Audio

William Dart features a curious tribute album with contemporary American composer Michael Daugherty celebrating the Dust Bowl songwriter Woody Guthrie. Audio

William 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. Video, Audio

William Dart looks at Quickies, the latest release from The Magnetic Fields, highlighting the deliciously manipulative songcraft of Stephin Merritt. Video, Audio

William 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. Video, Audio

In April, the music world lost the great American producer Hal Willner to Covid-19. William Dart tributes a man whose various albums did the same for a panorama of musical heroes, stretching from Kurt… Video, Audio

Bill Direen of The Bilders fame is back with a new band and an album that bears its name, Ferocious. William Dart looks at some of Direen's new music, together with a few Bilders classics and a… Video, Audio

We've waited almost eight years for a new album from Fiona Apple, so her Fetch the Bolt Cutters is a cause for celebration. William Dart celebrates. Video, Audio

We're just over halfway through New Zealand Music Month. How's it faring for our local musicians in these Covid-19 times? William Dart features new music by Kate Owen, Aidan Fine, and Olivia Foa'i… Video, Audio