Hamish Kilgour: Co-founder of New Zealand band the Clean dies at 65 | Music
Hamish Kilgour, co-founder new zealand The Clean band has died at the age of 65. This musician has been missing since November 27th. His cause of death has not been disclosed.
The Clean’s American label Merge Records said of his passing:
As a founding member of Clean, along with his brothers David and Robert Scott, Hamish produced one of rock music’s most important and timeless productions. As a drummer, Hamish had a propulsive, instantly recognizable style and understated power. He was happy to see him play. As a singer, guitarist and songwriter, Hamish is one of the most colorful and creative artists we have been fortunate enough to work with, a group that started with Lisa Siegel, Mad Sheen and of course The Clean. He was the only musician. Hamish is also an accomplished visual artist and his visionary paintings grace the sleeves of many records.
Ben Goldberg of Ba Da Bing Records, who released Kilgour’s solo material, called Kilgher “unfathomable in his kindness, his love of music and his politics. He never lost sight of his ideals even in the darkest of times. You can hear his heart in every beat, strum and syllable he made.”
The Clean formed in Dunedin in 1978. Their 1981 debut single Tally Ho! was their first release on Flying Nun Records. Reaching his No. 19 spot on the New Zealand Singles Chart, the song was the first hit for the label that would go on to influence the indie pop sound known as the Dunedin Sound around the world.
The sporadically involved band broke up for much of the ’80s, releasing only two EPs and one follow-up single, Getting Older, before releasing their debut album Vehicle in 1990. In London, thanks to an offer from Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis, who released an album in partnership with Flying Nun.
The band split up and reformed over the next decade. They signed with his Merge Records and released his 2001 album Getaway featuring Ira Kaplan of Georgia Hubley and Yolatengo.
Their most recent album was 2009’s Mister Pop. Peter Gutteridge died in 2014The band was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in 2017.
Kilgour has also performed with various acts and released solo material, including his 2014 debut solo album All of It and Nothing.
He lived in New York City for nearly 30 years and apparently returned to New Zealand in his later years.
“Music is a living thing, it really is” he told Stuff magazine in 2019“You can twist and turn that structure while you’re making it. There’s a special kind of magic there when you’re with a group experiencing it together. You go deep inside yourself.” Reach out and pull something up, it’s like nothing else in the world.”
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/dec/06/hamish-kilgour-co-founder-of-new-zealand-band-the-clean-dies-aged-65 Hamish Kilgour: Co-founder of New Zealand band the Clean dies at 65 | Music