Penguin ditty wins Takaka songwriter and musician prestigious APRA award
Songwriter and yurt builder Levity Beet. Photo: Clayton McErlane.
With a captivating song about a little blue penguin, Takaka’s Levity Beet has won this year’s Australasian Performing Right Association Limited (APRA) award for Children’s Song of the Year.
APRA board member Arthur Baysting praised the winning entry as turning “the worthy genre of environmental songs upside-down with a crazy, catchy number that kids will find irresistible. His Little Blue Penguin is heading for musical stardom.”
Levity wrote the winning entry after finding a squashed penguin on the road near Tarakohe and feeling compelled to write a song about the little blue. It took him 20 minutes, and from there he developed an album about native New Zealand creatures.
Levity (aka Nicholas Hollis) was inspired at an early age by his uncle, musician David Hollis. Later he toured with the Auckland band Kiwi Jam with two home-schooled children in tow. This developed into musical storytelling around New Zealand, and eventually into writing music for children. Based on the Kapiti Coast for a while, Levity has happily returned to Takaka where he finds the wide empty landscapes he needs.
“I have many different ways to get inspired, but my favourite way to find inspiration is to go for long walks at a fast pace to get my heartbeat up and then the tunes just come to me. I need space to feel comfortable that nobody can hear me because I sing out loud.”
Today, Levity records his own tunes, which are funky, light-hearted, down-to-earth and easy to listen to.
Although his winning song and album have an environmental context, he is not pushing any particular agenda, he says.
“I got a big sheet for each animal and researched the facts about them, and then took out some bits here and there that were nice and rhythmical. I wanted to introduce the lesser-known animals to the children so they can say ‘Isn’t that an incredible creature?’ but there is no obvious message.”
Little Blue and the Living Treasure Band features 13 tracks about native animals, and Levity has also produced an album of action songs, music games and fun tunes for younger children called How Much Is That Piranha In Your Gumboot?
Despite his success, his greatest fan and critic is still his three-year-old daughter. “I know that I’ve got it right when my daughter starts humming my songs,” he says.
Levity also teaches the ukele, guitar, bass guitar and builds yurts and cob ovens.
His albums are available from www.amplifier.co.nz and he can be contacted for music tuition on 525 7610.
APRA, a non-profit service organisation, was established in 1926 to administer the rights of the world’s songwriters, composers and publishers and also hosts the Silver Scroll, Maioha and SOUNZ contemporary music awards.
Ina Holst
