Herbs awarded ‘Independent Music NZ Classic Record'

 

I had the pleasure of being invited to be part of the judging panel for this year's Taite Music Prize, and also choosing the classic indie record. It was awarded to Herbs, for this deeply crucial record, 'What's be Happen?' The band had previously been recognised by the NZ Music Hall of Fame at the Silver Scrolls in 2012.



Press release: "The Taite Music Prize: Announcing this year’s ‘Independent Music NZ Classic Record’ Award.

IMNZ is proud to announce the second award to be presented at this year’s Taite Music Prize 2015 event.

The ceremony is to include the ‘Independent Music NZ Classic Record’, which aims to acknowledge New Zealand’s rich history of making fine albums that continue to inspire us and define who we are.

The panel to determine the recipient of this new award was made up of a broad section of music media / industry specialists, who have given the nod this year to the Herbs’ ‘What’s Be Happen?’ (Warrior Records, July 1981) mini-album as one of NZ’s classic records.

The award is scheduled to be presented by Moana Maniapoto and will be accepted by members of the band and label.

When told of the news this week, Dilworth Karaka  of Herbs said: “Thank you, that is much appreciated. It was our first bunch of songs that we’d ever recorded and was a strong indicator for the political material  we would carry on to do – the memory has carried on, and it’s still our most popular record.”

Peter McLennan, author, musician and judging panelist said: “Herbs’ recording debut ‘What's Be Happen?’ holds up as a vital slice of our cultural history and a landmark for Pacific reggae.

"Dropping in the dark days of the 1981 Springbok Tour, the mini album showed the band pulling together a strong set of six originals ­– they knew they were doing something right when people started asking them about a song off the EP, ‘Dragons And Demons’, wanting to know which Bob Marley album it was from. It's still a crucial recording, to this day.”


The winner of the Taite Music Prize for 2015 will be announced on Wednesday, 15th April in Auckland.