Taradale Song: Homegrown artist records song as nod to suburb's past

Napier songwriter Tracy Rudzevecuis (centre in red) with local artists next to Taradale Town Clock. Photo / Paul Taylor

Napier singer-songwriter Tracy Rudzevecuis has recorded a track called Taradale Song in a nod to the suburb's history.

The Taradale Town Clock chimes feature in the track and she hopes the song will be used by local schools and at Taradale events in the future.

Despite writing the song over a decade ago, Rudzevecuis did not play it publicly until 2017 at a Napier concert with the backing of the Napier Pipe Band.

During the past two months, she has worked with a group of 10 local artists to officially record the six-minute track for the first time.

It will be released next year before Anzac Day on a website she is planning to launch with her other material.

"The reason that I wrote this song is when I would go away overseas and come back to Taradale, the two things that would stand out to me were the Taradale Town Clock chimes ... and also the bagpipes playing around town.

"When I heard them I would smile and think I'm back home."

Bag pipes and the clock chimes both feature in the song that honours soldiers that left the township in the past to go to war.

Rudzevecuis worked with guitarist Rik Bernards to help write the song back in 2009.