Indi is the solo moniker of musician and composer Indira Force, formerly co-writer and lead vocalist of Christchurch neo-trip-hop duo Doprah. Following Doprah’s disbandment in 2016, she relocated to Berlin and released her debut album Precipice (2018, Flying Nun Records), fusing electronic production with orchestral arrangements of trombone, violin, saxophone, and flute. Force has since released music as Aridni Orca.
FLASHBACK to July 2022 — Enright House / Dr Hitchcock, Ed Muzik, Tiger Tones, Charlie Ash at Dux De Lux.
Dunedin noise-rock/post-rock trio formed in 1994. Signed to Flying Nun Records through manager Natasha Griffiths, HDU built a fearsome reputation with their intense, dynamic soundscapes blending dense noise with atmospheric beauty. BBC presenter John Peel once called them “one of the 10 best bands in the world you’ve never heard of.”
Cripple Mr Onion were a progressive metal band from Christchurch, New Zealand, formed in 1996 by Mike ‘Fud’ Fudakowski and Andy Woodd. Their name was borrowed — with Terry Pratchett’s blessing — from the fictional card game in the Discworld novels. Active until 2016, they were known for a sound described as spellbindingly beautiful one moment and violently cataclysmic the next.
Radio Control 99.4FM is Palmerston North’s student radio station, broadcasting from Massey University since 1981. Founded as Masskeradio — New Zealand’s first commercial student radio — the station launched the careers of Steven Joyce (RadioWorks, National MP, Minister of Finance) and helped shape the Manawatū alternative music scene across four decades.
Hard-working blues muso, heavily chronicled in the (brilliant) ‘Stranded in Paradise‘ book on kiwi music. Gamble was an English Immigrant who settled in Whangerei in 1963 as an 11 year old, picking up singing as a member of the Pukeroa… Read More »Hammond Gamble
FLASHBACK to April 2022 — Loma Prieta, Parents, Coate.
The Stage Door was a basement club in Hereford Lane, central Christchurch, that ran from 1964 to around 1968 under three names — King Bee Koffee Kellar, Stage Door, and Ram Jam Club. Home to Chants R&B and the city’s mod underground, it was Christchurch’s answer to the Cavern Club, and the site of one of New Zealand’s most celebrated live recordings.
The Plainsman was a no-alcohol coffee lounge, steakhouse and music venue that operated from 1962 to 1972 at 110 Lichfield Street in central Christchurch. One of the city’s most important musical venues of the beat era, it launched the careers of Ray Columbus, The Secrets, and Gary Thain — later of Uriah Heep — and hosted Dinah Lee, Chants R&B, and a young Johnny Farnham.
The Great Hall at the Christchurch Arts Centre is one of the oldest and most significant concert halls in Canterbury. Designed by Benjamin Mountfort in 1882 as College Hall for Canterbury College, it features Gothic Revival architecture with native timber panelling and a hammerbeam roof. Closed for earthquake restoration between 2011 and 2016, it reopened to international recognition and continues to host concerts, recitals, and events.
FLASHBACK to July 2022 — A Flight to Blackout, …Damage Done, Warble.
Auckland noise-rock trio God Bows to Math formed in 2008 and quickly became one of the most active bands on the Auckland underground circuit, releasing two albums and multiple EPs on Muzai Records.
The Bedford was Christchurch’s premier large-capacity live music venue of the 2000s, a converted warehouse on Lichfield Street capable of holding around 1,000 people. Demolished after the 2011 earthquake, it was kept alive through a series of marquee pop-up venues by owner Wendy Alfeld — earning national recognition for keeping live music alive in the city through years of disruption.
