Delaney Davidson (born 15 December 1972) is a singer-songwriter from Lyttelton, New Zealand. He is known for his musical production, guitar work, and being a multi-instrumentalist. Besides his music, Davidson is also involved in graphics, Visual arts, theatre, and films. He usually performs solo with his Ghost Orchestra but has collaborated with various projects. Davidson's musical style is influenced by Folk music, noise music, Rock music, and Country music, while being firmly rooted in the blues.
Early life and family
Born in
Auckland, Davidson is the son of John William Davidson and Glyn Ellen Abbott. He grew up in
Christchurch, was educated at the Christchurch
Rudolf Steiner School and played in several
punk rock and
blues bands, before being expelled from school and moving to
Melbourne.
1993–1999: Early years
Early musical connections for Davidson were in Melbourne when he began working with
Stu Thomas,
Nique Needles, in
Doghouse, and Brass Bed. He also got a taste for
macabre performance with
Ewan Cameron in Theatre of Hell and took part in Premeditated Depredation, a freak performance art piece. After six years in Melbourne, he started to turn his attention to country music and solo performance.
2000–2003: Dead Brothers
Moving to
Switzerland in 2000, Davidson met the Voodoo Rhythm Records Family, run by Reverend Beatman, and joined the Dead Brothers. He toured with them for three years, recording WunderKammer and Flammend Herz, the soundtrack to the Tattoo Film of the same name.
2003–2009: Ghost Orchestra
Davidson also began to develop his solo show into the Ghost Orchestra.In 2009 Davidson toured the US with Holly Golightly, and as a duo with Reverend Beatman.
2009–2011: Between Europe and New Zealand
Straddling the globe, he continued to work in Europe and began to reconnect with his roots in New Zealand, becoming instrumental in the Lyttelton folk scene and recognised as a seminal influence on artists like Marlon Williams,
Tami Neilson,
Aldous Harding,
The Eastern and
Nadia Reid.
2011–2014: Production
2011 saw his album production work extend beyond his solo albums into his three collaboration albums with Marlon Williams and led to him producing
Tami Neilson’s breakthrough album
Dynamite!, and follow-up release
Don't Be Afraid. His production work continues to grow with some of New Zealand’s long term established artists: Barry Saunders, Harry Lyon and
Jordan Luck.
2014–2017: Co-writing
Davidson has worked extensively with co-writing attending
Pat Macdonald's Steel Bridge Songfest, and has co-written with
Kim Richey,
Tami Neilson, Reverend Beatman,
Eric McFadden, Marlon Williams,
Troy Kingi, and Nathaniel Rateliff.
Awards and career highlights
In 2010, Davidson won the Sad Song Competition in
Berlin and was declared champion of the One Man Band competition in
Zurich the following year.
No Depression described the sound of Davidson's 2010 album
Decapitation as "altogether dirty, lonesome, restless and wildly engrossing."
Anthony Healey, Australasian Performing Right Association's (APRA) Director of NZ Operations, said of the song 'You're a Loser" from Davidson's album Bad Luck Man: "There is an honesty and integrity to all Delaney's songs and is evidenced in spades in 'You're a Loser'. This song is anything but a loser and we are immensely proud of the reputation Delaney has achieved both internationally and at home."[" APRA Best Country Music Song," The Big Idea] The song won Best Song at the New Zealand Country Music Awards.
Davidson's 2011 album Bad Luck Man featured the track 'Little Heart', which threw him into the spotlight as a finalist in the 2011 APRA Silver Scroll Awards. Although he didn't win, he was thought of as the people's favourite.[OnSong, Simon Sweetman, Penguin Books, New Zealand (2012)]
In 2013, Davidson collaborated with fellow New Zealand musician Marlon Williams (of the Unfaithful Ways) for the album Sad But True – The Secret History of Country Music Songwriting Volume 1. It was received positive reviews in mainstream publications, with The New Zealand Herald dubbing the collaboration "seamless" and a "heady concoction of truth-seeking".[ NZ Herald] It was also praised for seamlessly harmonising the young "clean" voice of Williams with the "darker" vocals of Davidson.[ NZ Music Awards ] The album later won Davidson and Williams won the New Zealand Music Awards' Country Music Album of the Year.[NZ Music Awards Music Album Of The Year 2013] RIANZ managing director, Chris Caddick, congratulated Davidson and Williams on their win. "Well done to Delaney and Marlon on their richly deserved Tui for the album Sad But True. Their take on a classic American art form is brilliantly executed and a real joy to listen to."
Davidson followed up the first volume of Sad But True with two more instalments, the second self-released on The Grand Ole Hayride tour. The third volume, Juke-Box B-Sides, reached number 12 on the New Zealand Albums Chart in February 2014.
Davidson was also the winner of the APRA New Zealand Country Music Song of the Year
In 2014, he co-wrote 'Whiskey & Kisses' with Tami Neilson. It was later released on Neilson's album Dynamite!, which Davidson also produced. Davidson made his second appearance on the New Zealand Albums Chart in September 2015, with his album Lucky Guy peaking at number 24.
In 2015, Davidson received the New Zealand Arts Foundation Laureate award.
Film and television appearances
-
The Road to Nod – Slowboat Films
-
Voodoo Rhythm Documentary
-
The Dead Brothers Documentary
-
Delaney Davidson on the Gravy
-
Reverend Beatman and Delaney Davidson Cheese On Toast
-
New Sound of Country Music Documentary
-
Devil In The Parlour Documentary
Discography
With the Dead Brothers:
-
2004: Flammend Herz (Voodoo Rhythm Records)
-
2006: WunderKammer (Voodoo Rhythm Records)
Delaney Davidson:
-
2007: Rough Diamond (Stink Magnetic)
-
2008: Ghost Songs (Casbah Records)
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2010: Self Decapitation (Voodoo Rhythm)
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2011: The Harbour Union, featuring Davidson, The Eastern, Lindon Puffin, Al Park, The Unfaithful Ways, Tiny Lies and Runaround Sue
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2011: Bad Luck Man (Voodoo Rhythm)
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2012: Sad But True – The Secret History of Country Music Songwriting Volume 1 (with Marlon Williams) (Lyttelton Records)
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2013: Sad But True Volume Two (As "The Grand Ole Hayride" with Tami Neilson, Marlon Williams and Dave Khan) (Self-released)
-
2014: Sad But True Volume 3 – Juke-Box B-Sides (with Marlon Williams) (Lyttelton Records)
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2014: Swim Down Low (Outside Inside Records)
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2015: Diamond Dozen (Squoodge Records)
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2015: Lucky Guy (Southbound Music)
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2016: Devil In The Parlour: 6 Live Tracks (Rough Diamond Inc)
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2018: Shining Day (Glass Redux)
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2024: Out Of My Head (Rough Diamond Inc)
Produced:
External links
