Steve Abel


Steve Abel is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and environmental activist.
Abel contributed his song Hospice for Destitute Lovers, and voice, as the character of Gert, to Florian Habicht's art-noir feature film Woodenhead. His debut album Little Death, recorded by Nick Abbott at Montage Studios in Grey Lynn, garnered favourable reviews when released in February 2006. It featured a “Kiwi supergroup” of notable New Zealand musicians including Geoff Maddock of Goldenhorse and Bressa Creeting Cake; Mike Hall and Milan Borich of Pluto; and Gareth Thomas of Goodshirt; and guest vocals by Kirsten Morell, also of Goldenhorse. Little Death was awarded the Alternatui for 2006 Album of the Year.
Abel's second album Flax Happy, featured the same band as his debut under the name The Chrysalids. It was recorded mainly at Roundhead Studios by Dale Cotton in July 2007. Two songs featuring Texan chanteuse Jolie Holland were recorded by Lee Prebble at in Wellington. Flax Happy was released in 2008 and 2009 to critical acclaim in both territories. Journalist Graham Reid described Abel as, “A refined writer whose lyrics have a bone-bare quality – the sound of someone writing and singing from a place where there is no guile, just hard truth and clear eyes.”
Having moved to live in Geneva in 2008, and encouraged by fellow musician Delaney Davidson, Abel entered and won The Saddest Song in the World Competition in Berlin in May 2009. He played at the CMJ music festival in New York later that year, and in November began recording his third album Luck/Hope with Jolie Holland, Shahzad Ismaily and Grey Gersten at Manhattan's

Activism

Abel was involved from 1998–2000 in the successful campaign by Native Forest Action to stop native logging on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. He later worked as a campaigner for Greenpeace from 2002 to 2006 during which time he was prominent in the New Zealand movement against genetically engineered food crops. He was also involved in actions against the proposed coal-fired power station Marsden B in Northland, New Zealand including a nine-day occupation in 2005 and the operation of a pirate radio station Heatwave FM which broadcast from Ruakaka in November 2006. The Marsden B proposal was later abandoned. Abel was one of the coordinators of the re-recording of the Don McGlashan song "Anchor Me" in 2005 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior.
Returning to Greenpeace in 2010, he helped coordinate the historic March Against Mining which took place in Queen Street Auckland on 1 May 2010. The march, later contributing to a government back-down on proposed mining of high-value conservation estate, was reported as the “biggest protest in a generation”. He campaigned in 2011 with Te Whānau-a-Apanui against the Brazilian oil company Petrobras’ plans for deep sea oil drilling in the Raukumara basin which included a flotilla that spent 42 days at sea. Petrobras relinquished their drill permits in December 2012. Abel has publicly advocated for peaceful civil disobedience as a means to resisting the oil industry and achieving political action to address climate change.
He will contest the New Lynn electorate at the 2020 general election as the Green Party candidate.
He currently resides in Auckland.
On 21 July 2020 Abel was arrested when protesting the removal of 30 native trees on private property in Avondale, Auckland.

Discography

Studio Albums