Indie pop-rock out of Christchurch based around Joe Sampson (guitar / vocals / keys / bass etc) with James Sullivan (drums) and Ben Ordering (bass) on most of their recordings.
Strong on melody with big chiming guitar and unfussy rhythmic backing, their songs have a timeless quality to them – sometimes jangling, sometimes driving, and with Sampson’s powerful guitar playing always ready to attack.
Christchurch-based 4-piece mixing up a bit of Dunedin-jangle, punk vocal attitude and Krautrock or post-punk groovy rhythms. A superb band of musically gifted individuals producing catchy and at times challenging music.
Fronted by Stephen Nouwens with the very handy Brian Feary on the drums, Joe Sampson on guitar and Ben Odering on bass. Feary and Sampson created the Melted Ice Cream label to release the bands recordings, and subsequently the label has become a big part of Christchurch’s underground music community.
Sadly defunct fun surf-guitar trio from Christchurch who released a handful of live recordings on BandCamp before moving on.
Brash, noisy, post-Earthquake Christchurch group who made a bit of a splash with the ‘Welcome to Mediocrity’ release on local label Melted Ice Cream in 2012.
Christchurch power-pop Pop Mechanix began their life as ‘Splash Alley’. They built up a strong reputation locally and around the country with Dick Driver (and later, Peter McLennan) as front-man; but never quite made it to the next level in Australia.
Electric Blood was the formative group of Robert Scott; forming the group with his brother in 1978, and featuring any number of local friends and family members on extremely lo-fi DIY recordings.
A Bill Wood and Jules Desmond ambient/noise/drone duo from Wellington, sometimes with contributions from Ben Spiers. Quite a pleasant listen as far as drone recordings go – their recordings often posses a haunting quality.
Front-Woman for long-running Christchurch group The Dialtones. De Lis put out a very rare lathe cut 10″ EP on the late-great Mikey Hex’s Noseflute label in 1997; but it’s impossibly hard to come by these days (it wasn’t even listed on Discogs).
Half of the songs released here resurfaced on The Dialtones album, though with full band backing.
Fleur has also been a fixture in the Christchurch music scene since the 1990’s and has contributed guitar to Coal’s live performances, plus several other local groups. De Lis (who’s real last name is Walden) is the daughter of 1950’s/60’s vocalist Paul Walden.
Christchurch trio fronted by The Puddle’s Norman Dufty. Urgent, shuffling indie-rock, with warbly vocals (part Morrissey, part Stephen Cogle) and the occasional clarinet (from Dave Woods) sneaking through.
Onset/Offset Records founder Campbell McLay (bass) and Donna Lawson (drums) complete the trio; who released an LP split with Lawson’s other group Junkanoo in 1986, then followed it up with a couple cassettes in 1987.
Thanks to German label Unwucht re-issuing a heap of old Onset/Offset releases their appearance on the Krypton Ten compilation is now (slightly) more accessible.
Slick Auckland-based soul-funk-pop collective led by vocalist/guitarist Richard Setford. They made a big impression with their live performances, including quite a bit of television exposure around the nationwide National Anthem charity event, plus supporting Black Eyed Peas and high profile festival slots overseas.
Christchurch Celtic Rock who played all the local Irish pubs all across New Zealand (and occasionally Australia) from 1999 to 2002.
Made up of members of a number of local hard rock groups. Recorded an album at Blast Studios in 2000.
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!
A bizarre cassette release from Robert Scott and Andrew Strang; providing incidental sound and commentary of the long drive (in a Bedford van) from Christchurch to Dunedin.
Gas were a 3 piece garage-rock 3 piece from Christchurch, featuring ex-members of The McGoohans, Drowning is Easy and Scorched Earth Policy. Formed in 1995 and ended in 2002.
Christchurch-based punky proto-grunge outfit that formed after the dissolution of Ian Blenkinsop’s Drowning Is Easy, a 4-piece that featured Blenkinsop along with future Scorched Earth Policy band-mate Mick Elborado, Craig Davison and Andrew Valance. Noted rock music historian George Churton would replace Elborado on bass and eventually become the lead vocalist.