“The best laid schemes o'mice an'men gang aft a-gley” Robert Burns - To a Mouse (1786). 

Perhaps the only line of Robert Burns I can faithfully recite, in small part thanks to the study of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men in college. It is a quote I have revisited throughout the tribulations of my short, unprosperous life.

Thankfully, the quote deserves no such recitation for Ae Fond Kiss, a compilation of various Dunedin artists coming together to celebrate the works of Robert Burns, whose nephew was one of their city’s founding fathers. 

It is the Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet of music; a modernisation and a tribute some two hundred years later by the artists’ contemporaries in the mode of the age.

It is a very Dunedin idea, for it is generally only typical for the Southern towns and cities to embrace their colonial heritage with such pride (with the exception of perhaps Dannevirke). 

The history of my town is known by but a few, with the names of our forefathers occasionally emblazoned on street signs, the more Germanic sounding all but forgotten since the Second World War saw them replaced in favour of names more fitting for an Englishman.

And from such a Dunedin idea, the Dunedin sound comes. Distant and languid, as is the mode and the style of the odes and reveries on which these songs are based. 

I liked how the artists took their source and ran with it. It has created such a mix of styles, from the more traditional stylings, such as Matt Langley's Celtic tinged rendition of To Ruin, to the experimental and eclectic, like AJ Sharma's interpretation of the same poem, which is the standout track for me. You couldn't find two different tracks with the same origin.   

Ae Fond Kiss an appeasement to my literary background and my appreciation of niche music, and will no doubt be an appeasement to lovers of the Southern sound, and those who trace their links to the Edinburgh of the South.

To all Dunedin musicians, current or ex-patriot, there is a second compilation in the works. Please visit this page for more details. Be aware the due date for submission is June 15^th, 2016.

For details on where to find Ae Fond Kiss, visit Zelle Records.

• 1
  Anxiety Club
• 2
  Devilskin
• 3
  Coridian
• 4
  Take Hold
• 5
  Skinny Hobos
• 6
  Shihad
• 7
  L.A.B.
• 8
  Head Like A Hole
• 9
  Villainy
• 10
  Katchafire

• 
  Muroki @ Galatos, Auckland - 19/04/2024
• 
  Dougfest Junior @ Big Fan, Auckland - 20/04/2024
• 
  When The Cats Away @ Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington - 21/04/2024
• 
  Luke Buda @ Whammy Bar, Auckland - 20/04/2024

• 1
  TOO SWEET
  Hozier
• 2
  BEAUTIFUL THINGS
  Benson Boone
• 3
  LOSE CONTROL
  Teddy Swims
• 4
  I LIKE THE WAY YOU KISS ME
  Artemas
• 5
  SATURN
  SZA
• 6
  STICK SEASON
  Noah Kahan
• 7
  END OF BEGINNING
  Djo
• 8
  LIKE THAT
  Future And Metro Boomin feat. Kendrick Lamar
• 9
  ESPRESSO
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 10
  WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
  Ariana Grande

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