SoundBites: Gin Wigmore, Kurt Cobain, Nirvana

Gin

Gin Wigmore has always lent herself well to a musical cocktail. The gravelly voiced Kiwi singer, who notably appeared on Smashproof's massive 2009 hit Brother, is making waves on Aussie radio with new song Willing to Die.

The single, featuring hip-hop acts Suffa and Logic, follows the release earlier this year of her third album Blood to Bone.

The song samples Rosie, a recording of a chain-gang song made at Parchman Farm prison in the late 40s which has been previously sampled by Jay-Z and David Guetta.

Gin, who now lives in Los Angeles, kicks off her New Zealand tour on November 22, playing gigs from Invercargill to Auckland. North Island dates include Havelock North, New Plymouth and Rotorua.

Montage of Heck: The Home Recordings is not an easy listen, nor is it supposed to be.

The companion piece to the HBO documentary about Kurt Cobain, featuring a selection of cassette recordings chosen from hours of material, is as raw and emotional as you'd expect.

It's a fascinating listen, rather than a pleasant one, as the album explores in a way the late Nirvana singer's songwriting process.

There are a few familiar moments - a demo of Been A Son appears, as does a cover of the Beatles' And I Love Her - but much of the record consists of experimentation, spoken-word pieces and the musical ruminations of an artist at work.

The standard CD version has 13 tracks, while the deluxe 31-track edition is on CD, cassette and double-LP vinyl.

Revisit a classic
With the release of Montage of Heck, why not dig out those Nirvana classics. Be honest, when's the last time you listened to Bleach, Nevermind or In Utero?

But perhaps their most enduring album is MTV Unplugged in New York.

The live acoustic recording was released seven months after Kurt Cobain's death, and featured versions of their own songs (including a brilliant About A Girl) as well as covers of David Bowie and Lead Belly among others.

Album highlight The Man Who Sold The World is better than Bowie's original.