Songs based on poems inspired by films: Bill Direen’s Dustbin of Empathy

He's reached that stage of getting called a legend of the underground and certainly, Bill Direen is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most singular, long serving and distinctive poets and musicians. His career began in the fertile music and theatre scene of Ōtautahi Christchurch in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.  Forming the group The Bilders (for which he has been sole constant, with a fascinating roster of international players) Direen was to be an influential figure in the early days of Flying Nun.  Direen has gone on to work with numerous collaborators over numerous countries, never confined to one artform or scene; from his current home in Middlemarch Otago, to New York and time spent living in Berlin and Paris.    He joins RNZ’s Culture 101 to discuss some of his recent work, which finds much of its inspiration in the history of  film. He has been crowned a legend of the underground and certainly, Bill Direen is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most singular, long serving and distinctive poets and musicians. His career began in the fertile music and theatre scene of Ōtautahi Christchurch in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.  Forming the group The Bilders (for which he has been sole constant, with a fascinating roster of international players) Direen was to be an influential figure in the early days of Flying Nun.  Direen has gone on to work with numerous collaborators over numerous countries, never confined to one artform or scene; from his current home in Middlemarch Otago, to New York and time spent living in Berlin and Paris.    He joins RNZ’s Culture 101 to discuss some of his recent work, which finds much of its inspiration in the history of  film.

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