It came from nowhere.
Dudley Benson's 2008 debut album, The Awakening, was aptly titled.
Released on an independent record label he'd co-founded, the delicate song cycle that spoke of ancestry, friendship and childhood nostalgia might have been delicate in its approach, but the reaction was anything but quiet, as music critics hailed the arrival of an original New Zealand voice.
Not one to be boxed in, Benson followed The Awakening with 2010 release Forest: songs by Hirini Melbourne.
An album sung entirely in Te Reo, it was inspired by a love for the waiata of the New Zealand composer and a visit to the Ulva Island bird sanctuary, where Benson pondered the plight of our feathered fauna.
Again, unconventional.
As Benson prepares for a Puaka Matariki show at Dunedin Public Art Gallery tonight,
he explains he wouldn't have it any other way: it's not that what he seeks to do is particularly contrived; it's more a case of him following his heart.
For instance, tonight's show actually involves no music. Appearing as part of NGA MIHIZ, ''a performance-art evening inspired by Puaka Matariki, pregnancy, death and the digital age'', Benson will be joined by younger siblings, Jess and Edward.
''I can't say too much about the show because the impact of what we are doing won't be as strong.
It is a simple idea, but can only physically happen once. It is a silent performance,'' he explains while not really explaining, adding: ''I've taken the opportunity to create a performance-art piece that isn't musical at all.
''Matariki is a time when we as New Zealanders can look back at the year just past, as well as remember people in our lives who have passed.
"And in that way it is really healthy ... We lost our mother when I was 15, Jess was 13 and Edward was 3.
''I'm interested in performance art because, as a musician, I like to push boundaries in my live performances, to create a sense of urgency and create a relationship with an audience.
"Though I consider performance art as different to what I do as a musician, I'm interested in it.''
Curated by Benson, NGA MIHIZ also features performances by Auckland-based dancer Cat Ruka and Auckland/Dunedin-based Piupiu-Maya Turei.
Ruka, who last performed in Dunedin in 2011, when she brought New Treaty Militia to the city, will present Whiti-kaupeka, a solo dance piece, which she will perform despite being seven and a-half months pregnant.
Next weekend, Benson concentrates on matters of a more musical nature when he teams up with Brisbane-based female beat-boxer Hopey One for two concerts that will largely feature songs from The Awakening and Forest, accompanied by electronic textures, which Benson arranged for a tour to Japan late last year.
''I'm really interested in beat-boxing,'' Benson says of the vocal technique by which performers create drum-like rhythms.
''As a boy, I was involved in choirs and, even singing church music, you learn to think of your voice as a tool that can be used in a number of ways.''
Though his music is not exactly mainstream, Benson (29) recalls being drawn to those on the pop charts (Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Michael Jackson ...) as a 5-year-old growing up on the Port Hills near Christchurch.
''Mum used to let me wander around the hills singing to myself. From there it was quite a natural progression into choirs.''
At 11, Benson was a soloist for the Christchurch Cathedral Choir; he later studied composition at the University of Canterbury's School of Music before completing his tertiary education at the University of Auckland, where he graduated in 2010 with a bachelor of arts degree in Maori studies.
Having moved to Auckland in 2005, he steadily worked on his craft, building a following that grew with the release of The Awakening. However, he left the big smoke for Dunedin in 2011.
''Auckland, at some point, became to feel very unsustainable as a musician. Every time a friend mentions the average house price I have to laugh because I just can't believe it.
"There is that, but it is also quite a dirty city; you spend a lot of time in traffic. It culminated in me needing to move.
''Dunedin has a lot of things that are right. I did make friends here relatively quickly because I had met people through previous shows.
''Though I'm quite anonymous in Dunedin - and that's great - I can head back to Auckland and do a show and still get a strong turnout.
"I'm thrilled I can live here in an enriching environment and go to Auckland for just a week and have a really energetic time.''
Having released two studio albums, three EPs and a double live album, Benson is now working on a new album. However, he emphasises it's ''still a long way off'' and is loath to go into too much detail as to what it might sound like.
''My first album was very much about my Pakeha heritage; I sang about my ancestral lines back to France. I then moved to Auckland after I wrote that album and realised there was this whole other side to Aotearoa called Maori and I responded to that by making Forest, which was the other side of the coin to The Awakening.
''Now I'm going to try to find a balance. I'm still grappling with the best way to express that. Like anything in life, my approach is always changing,'' Benson says.
''I think I have a love-hate relationship with making music. I'm constantly struggling and doubting the process. I probably spend about 90% of the time beating myself up about the music. The other 10% is the time I'm actually physically making music.
''I see my role as climbing up this steep mountain and every now and again turning around and enjoying the view, all the time knowing that the road ahead is long and hard. That generally sums up how I feel about being an artist.
''I wouldn't want anyone to listen to my music if I wasn't stretching things. I think in New Zealand we can be a little complacent about providing something new. I feel we'd be doing ourselves more of a service, pushing what New Zealand music is, by being braver.''
Co-manager of independent label Golden Retriever Records, Benson admits he has ''a terrible fear of rejection'' that has precluded him from sending his music to larger labels.
Yet he agrees with the assertion that his compositions, while non-commercial at present, could appeal to a wider audience - in the same way artists such as Bjork and, more recently Gotye, have straddled musical boundaries.
''Ideally, I do need to make some approaches. I don't think too far ahead about grand plans or commercial takeovers. I have learned that projecting too far ahead often just leads to disappointment,'' he says, adding odd jobs and occasional commissions (including from Te Papa and the Auckland Art Gallery) help pay his bills.
Recent interest in Japan has also proved a pleasant surprise. HEADZ, a boutique independent label, contacted Benson after a Japanese DJ playlisted one of his songs, Audrey H, on alternative radio.
''The label wanted to release my catalogue there. I toured in November and December. I'd love to go back. I think it's important to keep fan-bases active in other territories.
''I'm guilty in not concentrating on that but, to be honest, I am quite happy if I don't strike commercial success but leave behind a legacy of work that speaks for itself.''
Catch him
Dudley Benson performs the following dates:
- Dunedin Public Art Gallery, NGA MIHIZ (performance-art evening featuring Auckland-based dancer Cat Ruka and Auckland/Dunedin-based Piupiu-Maya Turei), tonight, 8pm.
- Queens, Dunedin (with beat-boxer Hopey One), Saturday, June 29, 9pm.
- Dunedin Community Gallery (with Hopey One), Sunday June 30, 2pm.
