The Chills, led by Martin Phillips, were a seminal New Zealand band central to the Dunedin Sound. Formed in 1980. Despite struggles, including the death of drummer Martyn Bull and Phillips’ drug dependency and health issues, they continued producing acclaimed albums until Phillips’ unexpected passing in 2024.
#thechills #martinphillips #nzmusic
Wellington-based funky pop rock group from the mid 1980. Formed by Gavin McLean and Jeff Thorpe after the demise of their previous group The List. Percussionist Dean Hutton (and production from Ian Morris) gave them a distinct sound on their first replace ‘In Stone In Steel’.
Well-known drummer Caroline Easther later joined the group, however the group only lasted a couple years, without attaining any commercial success. They recorded an album that went unreleased.
#nzmusic #circusblockfour
Auckland punky lo-fi group from former Herco Pilots members Chris Williams and Hugh Tercel. During their original run they released 2 cassettes (including one on Paul Lukers Industrial Tapes label) filled with DIY noise – toy instruments, junk percussion and the scratchy possible straight to tape recording possible!
#nzmusic #coalitionbroadcastcorporation
Palmerston North indie-rock 3-piece featuring ex-members of Foisemaster, Feast of Stevens and Shoeshine. Appeared on ‘Swamp MUSAK’, a compilation of local groups compiled and distributed by Radio Control 99.4 (Massey University’s student radio station).
Ross Harkness passed away in May 2020.
#nzmusic #cancermaidens
Melodic Christchurch indie-pop trio who released a catchy and incredibly brief 5 song EP, along with a handful of tunes straight to student radio that subsequently turned up on the ‘Indie Hit Disc’ radio promotion CDs. Holloway and Bycroft would later form The Undercurrents.
#nzmusic #thecentrewillhold #theundercurrents
Presumably named after a song by notorious cult leading serial killer (and Beach Boys collaborator) Charles Manson. One of Duane Zarakov, Celia Mancini and Brother Love’s many psychedelic rock acts – this time a Christchurch-based group who were around during 1991 (after the demise of The Axel Grinders, but before Space Dust and King Loser) and recorded a single cassette EP.
#nzmusic #undergroundmusic #ceasetoexist #theaxelgrinders #kingloser #spacedust
Excellent Dunedin dream-pop group Cloudboy are reuniting for a national tour after more than 20 years away. What better time than to revisit their band profile!
Formed as a side-project by 3 members of the Dunedin art-pop collective Mink – Cloudboy put out an EP, a couple singles and a terrific album back int he late 1990’s / early 2000s before vocalist Demarnia Lloyd started producing her own solo material.
See UTR for tickets
#nzmusic #cloudboy
Constant Pain were a sadly under-recorded group featuring brilliant underground noisy guitar legends Cameron Bain and Roddy Pain, along with a revolving drummers seat of some of New Zealand’s finest drummers. Walls of wailing feedback and rolling rhythm drive some immense tunes. Both guitarists passed away in the 2010’s.
#nzmusic #constantpain #undergroundmusic #crawlspacereocrds
Wellington ‘self-aware white-boy scenester rap’ crew. Primarily with 3 vocalists, but with occasional appearances from fellow Wellington-based rapper Tommy Ill and others. Taking queues from early Beastie Boys the crew are very much party focused.
The group formed as a sideline to Holiday with Friends while the main trio were recording fellow Wellington rap act Tommy Ill’s debut album.
#nzmusic #crackhouse5 #holidaywithfriends #tommyill
Edmund Cake is the quirky alias of talented Auckland-based musician and producer Edmund McWilliams – or at least it was for his 2004 album ‘Downtown Puff’. McWilliams has made his name with the brilliant trio Bressa Creeting Cake and as a producer to the likes of the Finn brothers, Anika Moa and Bic Runga.
#nzmusic #edmundcake #bressacreetingcake #piewarmer #rikstarrr
3-piece guitar-less surf trio out of Wellington with members using the aliases Capt Hammondhead (Nigel Patterson – screaming vintage organ), Segue Lugosi (Dylan Herkes – over-driven bass guitar), and Trevlac (rock-steady surf drums).
#nzmusic #surfmusic #thechandeliers #stinkmagnetic
Brilliant synth-pop group formed by former Whizz Kids / Pop Mechanix / The Swingers vocalist Andrew McLennan. Known solely for their one-hit wonder ‘Sierra Leonne’.
The Cartilage Family were a short-lived Dunedin group featuring Peter Gutteridge (and a bunch of his best early songs), Shayne Carter, Lesley Paris and Francisca Griffin. No official recordings exist and they only performed live twice; but the Cartilage Family were an important stepping stone for New Zealand Music.
Excellent Dunedin 4-piece with a stellar line-up. Dark, noisy guitar and driving rhythm, but sadly only a single hard-to-find album (plus a couple 7″ singles) to their name. Closely tied to Bruce Blucher concurrent band Trash.
Wellington punk band from the mid-1980’s. Released a handful of DIY cassettes, mostly on the Sound Mind label.
Oddly on their album ‘A short history’ they gave each of the band members home addresses, but not their last names!