A Low Hum

A Low Hum is an independent New Zealand music and arts project founded and led by photographer, promoter and music impresario Ian Jorgensen, who originally worked under the name Blink. Based in Wellington, the project has operated across several connected areas of the music ecosystem rather than functioning solely as a conventional record label. Its activities have included releasing recordings, organising tours, producing music videos, publishing magazines and books, promoting concerts, operating a live venue, and creating distinctive festival formats. The project became particularly visible through its touring programme. During the mid-2000s, A Low Hum organised regular tours for emerging New Zealand bands, generally taking two to four acts through a network of venues in approximately a dozen New Zealand locations. The tours were accompanied by small-format magazines, often including a compilation CD and an album or EP, sometimes containing previously unreleased material. This combination of live promotion, physical publishing and recorded music gave A Low Hum a direct relationship with both artists and audiences. By 2009, it had organised or supported tours for more than seventy acts from New Zealand, the United States, Australia and elsewhere. A Low Hum also developed practical resources for musicians. In 2006 it published Local Knowledge, a guide intended to help bands tour New Zealand and understand the country's music-industry infrastructure. A later book, D.I.Y Touring the World, extended the same self-organising philosophy to international touring. The project subsequently supported the book with a six-part web series made during a world tour by Wellington band Shocking Pinks. From 2007, A Low Hum moved further toward record-label activity. It launched a monthly subscription CDR singles club and released albums by New Zealand artists including Disasteradio, Over the Atlantic and The Enright House. In 2008 it issued a series of free digital EPs by Secret Knives, Mount Pleasant and Red Steers. By 2010, the project had announced a shift away from CDs toward MP3 releases accompanied by artwork, reflecting the changing economics and distribution practices of independent music. The project's most prominent live initiative was Camp A Low Hum, a small-scale, multi-day festival built around intimate performances, multiple environments, unusual presentation formats and a deliberately communal atmosphere. The first event took place in 2007 near Wainuiomata and featured 49 bands and approximately 350 campers. The 2008 edition expanded to more than 60 bands and approximately 700 attendees. Later editions reached their capacity quickly, while the 2010 event was renamed Campus A Low Hum and moved to Flock House, an unused agricultural college near Bulls. The festival series concluded with its eighth event at Camp Wainui in 2014. Beyond Camp A Low Hum, the project created or promoted other events, including the nationwide Square Wave electronic-music festival, anniversary and New Year's Eve programmes, and the A Low Hum House event. Jorgensen also operated the Wellington venue Puppies from 2012 to 2014. In 2011 A Low Hum promoted thirty shows across New Zealand for the Flying Nun label's thirtieth anniversary. The project's website reported that it had promoted 560 events in New Zealand by February 2018. A Low Hum's later work broadened into documentation, education and music technology. In 2015 it published A Movement, a ten-book photographic box set documenting fifteen years of New Zealand music, accompanied by a national release tour. It also helped Wellington inventor and engineer Rohan Hill bring the Deluge portable synthesiser, sequencer and sampler to international attention. Jorgensen taught events, touring and media at Massey University's commercial-music programme and continued to tour artists internationally. The project is best understood as a flexible independent cultural platform whose central purpose is to connect musicians, audiences, documentation and self-directed creative infrastructure.

A Low Hum emerged in Wellington as the ongoing creative project of photographer and promoter Ian Jorgensen, who used the alias Blink during much of its early development. Rather than separating label, promoter, publisher and artist-support functions, Jorgensen used A Low Hum as an umbrella for interconnected music and arts activities. During the mid-2000s, the project became known for regular touring circuits supporting emerging New Zealand bands. Tours typically travelled through a broad group of New Zealand towns and cities, with two to four acts appearing at each stop. A Low Hum accompanied many tours with an A5 magazine containing interviews or features, a compilation recording and, in some cases, an album or EP. This model combined editorial discovery with live access and physical music distribution. In 2006 the project also published Local Knowledge, a practical guide for bands seeking to tour New Zealand and participate in the local music industry. In 2007, A Low Hum established Camp A Low Hum, a festival designed around small audiences, multiple performance environments and a participatory atmosphere. The inaugural event near Wainuiomata presented 49 bands to roughly 350 campers. The following year the festival expanded to more than sixty bands and around 700 people. Later editions reached their limited capacities, and the 2010 festival moved to Flock House near Bulls under the name Campus A Low Hum. The organisers retained the series' emphasis on intimate performances, repeated appearances by artists, unconventional sets and spontaneous activity. The festival series ended in 2014 after eight events. The same period saw A Low Hum develop more conventionally as a record label. It launched a subscription-based CDR singles club and released albums by Disasteradio, Over the Atlantic and The Enright House. It later issued free digital EPs by Secret Knives, Mount Pleasant and Red Steers. In 2010 the project announced that it would largely stop using CDs and concentrate on MP3 releases with visual artwork, reflecting the transition toward digital independent-music distribution. A Low Hum continued to build event platforms outside the Camp series. These included New Year's Eve programmes, A Low Hum House, anniversary events and Square Wave Festival, a nationwide electronic-music programme held in 2013. Jorgensen also ran Puppies, a Wellington live venue, from 2012 to 2014. In 2011 A Low Hum promoted a thirty-show national celebration of Flying Nun Records' thirtieth anniversary. Publishing and documentation remained central. Jorgensen released D.I.Y Touring the World in 2011, following Local Knowledge, and later produced a web series with Ash Smith while touring Shocking Pinks internationally. In 2015 A Low Hum published A Movement, a ten-volume photographic box set covering fifteen years of New Zealand music. The project also worked with engineer Rohan Hill to promote the Deluge portable synthesiser, sequencer and sampler, which later gained international recognition among electronic musicians. Jorgensen taught touring, events and media at Massey University's Wellington commercial-music programme. By February 2018, an A Low Hum website listing stated that the project had promoted 560 events in New Zealand.

• 2018

  Event-promotion activity reaches 560 events

  [1]A Low Humen.wikipedia.org

  The project's website reported 560 promoted events in New Zealand as of February.

• 2015

  A Movement is released

  [1]A Low Humen.wikipedia.org

  A Low Hum published a ten-book photographic record of fifteen years of New Zealand music.

• 2014

  Camp A Low Hum ends

  [1]A Low Humen.wikipedia.org

  The eighth and final Camp event took place at Camp Wainui.

• 2011

  D.I.Y Touring the World is published

  [1]A Low Humen.wikipedia.org

  Jorgensen released a follow-up touring guide focused on international do-it-yourself touring.

• 2010

  Campus A Low Hum relocates

  [1]A Low Humen.wikipedia.org

  The festival moved to Flock House near Bulls and adopted the Campus A Low Hum name.

• 2008

  Camp festival scales up

  [1]A Low Humen.wikipedia.org

  The festival expanded to four days, more than sixty bands and approximately 700 attendees.

• 2007

  Camp A Low Hum begins

  [1]A Low Humen.wikipedia.org

  The first Camp A Low Hum was held near Wainuiomata, featuring 49 bands and approximately 350 campers.

• 2007

  Record-label activities broaden

  [1]A Low Humen.wikipedia.org

  A Low Hum launched a monthly CDR singles club and began issuing albums by New Zealand artists.

• 2006

  Touring and publishing programme expands

  [1]A Low Humen.wikipedia.org

  A Low Hum organised regular tours around New Zealand, issued accompanying magazines and compilations, and published Local Knowledge as a touring guide for musicians.

Independent, artist-led and do-it-yourself music infrastructure combining touring, publishing, festivals, recordings, photography and community-oriented event production.

• Record label releases · 2007

  Music recordings

  A Low Hum released albums, singles, EPs and compilations associated with its touring and publishing activities. Its catalogue included work by Disasteradio, Over the Atlantic, The Enright House, Secret Knives, Mount Pleasant and Red Steers. Releases moved from CDR and compilation formats toward digital MP3 distribution.

• Music festival · 2007

  Camp A Low Hum

  Camp A Low Hum was a multi-day festival centred on intimate performances, multiple stages and environments, unconventional sets and communal camping. It began near Wainuiomata in 2007, later moved between sites and ended after eight editions in 2014.

• Music-industry book · 2006

  Local Knowledge

  Local Knowledge was a practical guide for musicians seeking to tour New Zealand and engage with the country's music-industry network. It reflected A Low Hum's emphasis on independent touring infrastructure.

• Music-industry book · 2011

  D.I.Y Touring the World

  This follow-up publication extended A Low Hum's touring advice beyond New Zealand. The print edition sold out, while a digital edition was made available through the project's website.

• Photography publication · 2015

  A Movement

  A Movement is a ten-book photographic box set by Ian Jorgensen documenting New Zealand's music scene over approximately fifteen years. Its release was supported by a national tour and mini-festival.

• Electronic-music festival · 2013

  Square Wave Festival

  Square Wave Festival was a nationwide electronic-music programme presented across multiple New Zealand cities in 2013. It used a distributed city-festival model rather than a single permanent site.

• 2018Where's My Room national tour

  New Zealand

  A Low Hum organised and promoted a national tour featuring Neil Finn and Liam Finn.

  Source
• 2015A Movement national release tour

  New Zealand

  The photographic box set A Movement was launched with a 25-date national tour incorporating live music and a mini-festival format.

  Outcome. The campaign connected a long-term photographic archive with live presentation and national distribution.

  Source
• 2013Square Wave Festival

  New Zealand

  A Low Hum presented an electronic-music festival distributed across venues in Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

  Outcome. The programme brought approximately seventy artists into a nationwide series of city shows.

  Source
• 2011Flying Nun 30th Anniversary celebrations

  New Zealand

  A Low Hum organised and promoted thirty shows across New Zealand during one month to mark Flying Nun Records' thirtieth anniversary.

  Outcome. The anniversary was presented as a large national live programme rather than a single commemorative concert.

  Source

• 2015

  Expansion into music-technology promotionStrategy

  Background

  A Low Hum broadened its activities beyond touring, publishing and conventional music releases.

  Action taken

  The project worked with engineer Rohan Hill to help bring the Deluge portable synthesiser, sequencer and sampler to an international audience.

  Aftermath

  The Deluge later appeared in specialist music-technology coverage and was used by musicians internationally.

  Source

• 2014

  End of the Camp festival seriesStrategy

  Background

  A Low Hum had produced eight editions of its flagship festival across several sites.

  Action taken

  The project concluded Camp A Low Hum with a final event at Camp Wainui.

  Aftermath

  A Low Hum continued with publishing, touring, photography, venue-related work and other event formats.

  Source

• 2010

  Shift from CDs toward digital releasesStrategy

  Background

  Independent music distribution was increasingly moving from physical discs to digital files.

  Action taken

  A Low Hum announced that future releases would mainly use MP3s accompanied by artwork rather than CDs.

  Aftermath

  The decision aligned the project with lower-cost digital distribution while retaining a visual and editorial component.

  Source

• 2010

  Camp A Low Hum becomes Campus A Low HumGeneration change

  Background

  The festival required a new site and a revised format after its early editions reached their intended capacity.

  Action taken

  The event relocated from the Wellington-region campsite to Flock House near Bulls and adopted the Campus A Low Hum name.

  Aftermath

  The organisers retained the festival's intimate and experimental principles while presenting it in a new educational-campus setting.

  Source

1. 1A Low Humen.wikipedia.org