Another name long associated with the music of Dunedin who has started releasing his own music is relocated “Louisiana Swamp Fiddler” Alan Starrett. Dunedin based since 1984, the multi-instrumentalist appears on albums albums by The Clean, The Bats, David Kilgour, Magick Heads, Robert Scott and the 3Ds over the past 4 decades . He was a member of Dunedin ‘super-groups’ Mink and Pop Art Toasters in the 1990s and he’s a recent and current member of The Puddle. In his spare time (or maybe in his real life) Starrett is a music teacher and composer of neo-Medieval classical music. Here’s “Affirmation” from his just-released live orchestral album “Anamneses”:

Since 1996 Starrett has performed with an improvising string group called Strork, sometimes with free-form dancers and even gamelan. For this recording of these 12 Starrett-composed pieces from a live concert at Marama Hall on 11th of June 2023 Strork was augmented with many friends from different orchestra of various abilities. The string orchestra includes one member who for some pieces plays a variety of woodwind instruments – bassoon on this piece.

While Starrett describes the music as neo-Medieval there’s some experimentation in that “neo” part which keeps these 12 pieces unusual, a little bit dark at times, and interesting – even to non-classical ears (like PopLib) – which also gives them a European arthouse film soundtrack feel. It may not be The Dunedin Sound as we know it Jim, but it is most certainly the Sound of Dunedin.