Music month: The pain behind the music genius of Reuben Winter
7 May, 2021 08:00 PM
10 minutes to read
The first words I said to him were f off . I was coming off-stage at an all-ages venue, all juiced on what my 14-year-old self thought was a groundbreaking rock performance. So when an older kid gave me a congratulatory, Nice set, I replied it with a misguided attempt at playing it cool. F off, I said, with woeful false bashfulness.
The older kid walked away. He was slightly elfish and wore a Disneyland cardigan that set him apart from the crowd of wannabe punks in their mum s borrowed denim. As I put my guitar away, a friend grabbed my shoulder, Dude, that was Reuben Winter.
Listen To Reuben Samuel Winter s Milk III Album Chris Cudby / Tuesday 20th April, 2021 9:47AM
Launched with shows across Aotearoa celebrating the inimitable sonic vision of
Reuben Samuel Winter (Waitaha / Kāi Tahu / Te Aupōuri / Te Rarawa / Ngāti Kuri), the Tāmaki Makaurau songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer s posthumous album Milk III is out today courtesy of
Flying Nun Records. Recorded in 2019 at Red Bull Studios with
Ben Lawson,
Milk III was completed before the much-loved artist passed away in September last year at the age of 26, prompting an outpouring of grief and remembrance from throughout our music community. Released in collaboration with Reuben s whānau, all profits from the record will be split between Fibromyalgia Aotearoa New Zealand (he lived with fibromyalgia and chronic pain for close to a decade) and his whānau and future fund.