Celebrating new children's music album on East FM, this Saturday arvo
Children’s music with an environmental conscience is her habitat, and to celebrate the release of her new album for the younger folk, Claudia Robin Gunn is the featured artist on tomorrow’s She’ll Be Right on Saturdays Show with PJ Taylor, 3-7pm (NZ time) July 23 on East FM.
Claudia will join us in the studio from 3.30pm to 4.30pm, to talk about Sing for the Sea – Little Wild Ocean Friends (Little Wild Music), and if we’re really well-behaved, she’ll play a song or two live.
The Cockle Bay mum and songwriter says the 24-song collection is a deep dive into the theme of sea life and conservation.
“Children’s connection to the oceans and the little, the wild and the gentle giant creatures that call it home.
“There are songs of ferries and tugboats, glow in the dark sea life, escaping octopus, and saving our ocean from plastic,” says Claudia.
“Styles include gentle seashore lullabies, sandcastle rock ’n rollers, rollicking sea shanties, mirror ball dance parties and everything in between.”
A true story brought to life in song is of Inky the Octopus, who escaped from Napier Aquarium in 2016, and now stars in his own theme tune, after many children's books have detailed the escapade.
Sing for the Sea – Little Wild Ocean Friends is produced by Tom Fox at The Sound Room, illustrated by Howick mum Elise De Silva, and a matching songbook is authored by Claudia’s sister Melissa R Gunn.
Funded by Creative New Zealand, the album was produced entirely at distance to mitigate Covid delays and lockdowns throughout its year in making.
The She’ll Be Right Show with PJ beams out of East FM, East Auckland’s community-powered public service radio station, on local frequencies 88.1FM and 107.1FM, nationally and globally at www.eastfm.nz... and on app iHeart Radio.
East FM is proudly the official broadcaster for www.howick175.co.nz... and in keeping with the theme of celebrating our local achievers, we’re hearing Claudia Robin Gunn’s musical story on Saturday.
There are very favourable reviews of Little Wild Ocean Friends:
‘Featuring vocals that elevate her modern take on folk music, Gunn’s voice is at times almost ethereal, making it the perfect companion to lyrics that tell the tale of creatures found deep in the ocean. Each track has its own story to tell and is strengthened by the intentional way that each song focuses on only one creature or aspect of the watery environs. Animals spotlighted include whales, squid, octopus, and jellyfish, while rock pools, seaweed, and coral reefs are also shown special treatment. Although each song is packed with scientific facts, they are consistently entertaining and never feel didactic.’ - (Veronica De Fazio - Kids Rhythm and Rock)
‘If Florence and the Machine recorded an album of songs about the ocean and conservation, it would probably sound like Claudia Robin Gunn’s new collection.’ - (Jeffrey Cohen - Mr Jeff 2000)
‘One of the wonders of this collection of songs (as well as the music she’s written that has come before it), is that she could easily fit in the canon of great women songwriters before her: Sarah McLaughlin, Taylor Swift, Imogen Heap. Claudia Robin Gunn has the privilege of not only being a killer songwriter, but also of living on the beautiful sea-surrounded island of New Zealand. This is an album children around the world need and would love to hear.’ - (Greg Walker - Prism Reviews)
Director: Little Wild Music: www.claudiagunn.com...
The album is available on all streaming services:
bfan.link...
Bandcamp (album plus PDF Songbook download)
claudiagunn.bandcamp.com...
The songbook (standalone ebook) is on digital services:
books2read.com...
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
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4.7% Second half of November
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43.9% 1st December
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17.7% A week before Christmas
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32.6% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below