29 June 2020 - 0 Comments

Beloved New Zealand music duo, The Front Lawn, are releasing a new album today of songs from their hit TV show, Kiri and Lou.

Harry Sinclair and Don McGlashan started The Front Lawn in 1985 and their unique mix of music and theatre found success across Europe, America and Australia as well as in New Zealand. They decided to take a well earned rest in 1991, Sinclair to write and direct movies while McGlashan toured with his band The Mutton Birds.

Now The Front Lawn is back together writing songs for the hit TV series Kiri and Lou, written and directed by Sinclair, with score by McGlashan. The series is made in stop motion animation, voiced by comedy greats, Jemaine Clement, Olivia Tennet, Rima Te Wiata, Jaquie Brown, Josh Thomson and Mark Wright. It is rolling out around the world, and is already a hit on BBC’s CBeebies.

Of the project Don McGlashan says, “back in the Front Lawn days we were two fairly child-like adults making pieces together for grown-up audiences. Now we’re doing these pieces for children. We’re both Dads now, which I suppose helps - and we’re still just as child-like as we used to be. We’re still exploring and learning as we go, so nothing’s really changed.”

Sinclair added, “more than ever what we do is just simply about trying to make good work. We have nothing to prove, and that feels good. I like to think we are a little less egotistical than we used to be, but I’m aware that generally only egotistical people think such thoughts.”

Made for pre-school children but enjoyed by all the family, Kiri and Lou centres around music, the environment, nature, feelings and friendship, and explores values such as kindness, thoughtfulness and empathy.

McGlashan said, “the actors are so deeply inside the characters now, that sometimes it feels like the forest is real, and our job is just to go out with our notebooks and tape recorders and gather songs and stories from it.”

Kiri and Lou Singalongsongs is available to purchase on iTunes Music and stream on Spotify and Apple Music. Kiri and Lou screens on TVNZ 2, 6.55am weekday mornings and is available to watch on TVNZ on Demand.

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