Kingsley Spargo

Kingsley Spargo is renowned for leaving audiences mesmerised with music that pulls at the heart. His recent compositions include narratives around yearning and the geometry of life, and these beautifully-crafted songs draw on personal life experiences. RNZ reviewer William Dart describes his 2019 album Chasing Spirits as ‘a bit like a trip to an all-star cocktail lounge’. Spargo has delighted audiences alongside luminaries Don McGlashan, Tim Finn, Violent Femmes, SJD, and recently with the inimitable Witi Ihimaera. But he is also known for working across theatre and free improvised music in his collaborations with poet Courtney Sina Meredith, dance company Black Grace (Guerilla Collection), composer Eve de Castro-Robinson, and his pūmoana can even be heard on the Dalai Lama’s album Inner World. On Chasing Spirits, Spargo teams up with pedal steel and electric guitarist Neil Watson (The Finn Brothers, Tami Neilson) and double bassist Chris Orange, whose pedigree spans the golden era of 70s Auckland punk (Terrorways, The Features) to free jazz in Japan. Guest appearances on the album include jazz pianist Alan Brown (Bluetrain, Nathan Haines), Courtney Sina Meredith on vocals, and bonafide Kiwi rock guitar legend Harry Lyon (Hello Sailor, Coup D’État)