Philip Dadson is a New Zealand musician, artist, and instrument inventor born in 1946 in Napier. He was a member of the foundation group for the Scratch Orchestra and the founder of the ensemble From Scratch. Dadson is a graduate of the Elam School of Fine Arts, where he lectured from 1977 until 2001. In 2007, he co-authored the book Slap Tubes and Other Plosive Aerophones. His works include the wind-powered sculpture Akau Tangi, commissioned in 2010 by the Wellington Sculpture Trust. Dadson’s career was the subject of the 2015 documentary film Sonicsfromscratch. He received the Arts Foundation Laureate in 2001 and was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2005. Additionally, he received the New Zealand Antarctic Artist Fellowship in 2002 and the Fulbright-Wallace Arts Trust Award in 2006.
