PMH/Scene and heard: Collecting the Dunedin Sound

Hocken Collections in Dunedin, New Zealand, has been collecting and curating music relating to the Dunedin Sound music scene since the 1980s, with recorded music, published texts, documents and photographs gathered to document the scene, and contextualize the narratives that exist within it. Through examination of three particular collections that highlight different aspects of the Dunedin Sound scene, distinct threads emerge, offering dynamic opportunities for curation, and for complete collections, or discrete parts of the collections, to be reinterpreted in new ways. Through these examples, we can see that collection and curation of a music scene is more than just acquiring officially recorded music: visual materials, correspondence, setlists, song lyrics and documents relating to the music industry or the scene allow for a broader narrative, while unofficial live recordings demonstrate development of musical styles across that scene.