It's Ōtepoti's Fault

It’s easy to obsess over what we consider to be a better time in our lives. Especially when we have visual evidence like photos and footage, that suggest life was once more golden somehow. I’ve been guilty of that. So this project was about examining that very thin line, the delusional idea that life used to be better.

– Dudley Benson on the video for 'It's Ōtepoti's Fault'

Zealandia is over an hour in length, with no fat on it. But if it has been put together with the precision of a symphony, it’s not without a sense of mischief, fun — and sex ... put simply, records this rich don’t come along very often.

– Nick Bollinger reviews Zelandia, the album from which this song is taken, Radio New Zealand, 14 August 2018

I’ve lived in Ōtepoti for 11 years now, and it felt like time to write about this place — the harbour, the sky, the underground river that flows through the city. I thought about this song as if I was a tour guide, introducing someone to my life here. Specifically, what it would be like if I were to meet my mum again, as an adult, and have her here with me. What would I say to her, what would she say to me?

– Dudley Benson on Ōtepoti/Dunedin