Karen Hunter Plays Cathedral Square

17 December 2003

Free Friday Lunchtime Concert, Friday December 19, Cathedral Square, 12.15pm to 1.15pm

A unique singer/songwriter with sassy humour and slinky grooves, Karen Hunter is at the forefront of original New Zealand music. She brings her unique style to Cathedral Square this Friday from 12.15pm to 1.15pm

From the raw and funky live CD "Inside Outside" (2001), through the sensuous melodies, fretless bass, subtle cello and vocal percussion which permeate her debut CD "The Private Life of Clowns" (1998), it is hard to confine Hunter to any specific genre. Her albums explore the diversity of her musical taste and experience.

Hunter is a rhythmic player and a unique combination of melody and groove characterises her sound. She utilises a percussive thumb technique, independent bass lines and finely placed harmonics to add sparkle. Her early influences include Joan Armatrading, Blood, Sweat and Tears, and Patti Smith, providing her with an appreciation of passion and power in many different forms. She is not afraid to experiment with texture, and finds a way to fit ambient soundscapes alongside distorted acoustic guitars.

Hailing from a family of musicians and music teachers, she started playing as a child (violin, piano, and clarinet), but confesses it was when she started learning guitar at age nine that she found her true voice/instrument. Songwriting was a natural progression, and Hunter travelled throughout her late teens and twenties, playing her way around Australia, USA and England.

Complementing her career with teaching guitar, voice and songwriting, Hunter has developed alongside her students. She has shared skills with those in the youth clubs of London, prisons in Auckland, festivals in Amsterdam, Australia, United States and Britain as well as in schools, community workshops and private lessons. "Creative Sound/play" is the name given to her right brain-left brain approach of combining songwriting with non-dominant hand painting and writing.

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