Like a sunnier version of the throbbing pulse of the Velvet Underground before it, the sound of the Clean, from Dunedin, New Zealand, refuses to go away. With a permanent cast that has remained the same for almost 30 years, brothers David and Hamish Kilgour and Robert Scott have survived the occasional band breakup, Hamish moving to New York, David releasing solo albums and Robert starting his own band, the Bats. With its most recent records (including the new Mister Pop on Merge), the Clean proves, once again, there is rock ‘n’ roll life after 40. The band members make music whenever they can assemble all the parts and remain a permanent fixture in the rock landscape. The Clean is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with them.
Robert Scott: Well, I do have a certain fascination and love of our native birds. I try and paint them, too, and Handbook Of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds is very useful for this, as it is quite tricky getting out to draw them in the wild. I have made a few three-meter-tall moas, suitable for the garden. Other favorites are the takahe, kokako and kaka.
