thebigcity

f artists

Fatal Jelly Space

Auckland all-female punk outfit Fatal Jelly Space were one of the most ferocious live acts in the early 1990s New Zealand music scene, releasing the Hole EP on Flying Nun Records in 1990.

n artists

Negative Nancies

Biography Art rock trio from Dunedin based around the vocals and keyboard of Emilie Smith, Tess MacKay’s industrial drumming and vocals, and the legendary…

m artists

Jazmine Mary

Neo-folk and dark pop artist from Gippsland, Australia, based in New Zealand. Their trio of albums — The Licking of a Tangerine (2021), Dog (2023), and I Want to Rock and Roll (2025, Flying Nun) — trace a path through visceral, haunting folk music and bold psychedelic pop.

Venues

Wunderbar

Quirky two-room bar built into the hillside of Lyttelton, opened in 1991 by German publican Jörg Schwarz with a distinctly Berlin-influenced interior. One of the port town's best-loved live music venues.

f artists

Family Cactus

Wellington seven-piece indie pop and psych-folk band who released two albums on Arch Hill Recordings: Come Howling (2009) and Spirit Lights (2011). Known for their orchestral arrangements, the band wove guitars, organs, piano, synth, and autoharp into lush, expansive soundscapes.

c artists

Princess Chelsea

Auckland electropop singer-songwriter Chelsea Nikkel, recording as Princess Chelsea on Lil' Chief Records. Her four albums — from Lil' Golden Book (2011) to Everything Is Going To Be Alright (2022) — blend satirical wit with maximalist chamber pop. Winner of the 2023 Taite Music Prize.

a artists

All Seeing Hand

Wellington experimental trio combining Synthi AKS synthesis, throat singing and turntables in dense improvisational soundscapes.

b artists

Erny Belle

Ngāpuhi singer-songwriter whose alt-folk, country, and Pacific pop-tinged music is rooted in the Kaipara and her whakapapa. Her two Flying Nun albums — Venus Is Home (2022) and Not Your Cupid (2023) — established her as one of Aotearoa's most distinctive voices.

b artists

Beastwars

Wellington sludge metal band whose 2019 album IV debuted at number one on the NZ Albums Chart.

b artists

Beach Pigs

Auckland indie and pop-punk four-piece who released their debut EP on Arch Hill Recordings in 2012, followed by the album Grom Warfare in 2014. Known for their high-energy live shows and sun-soaked guitar pop.

a artists

Alaska!

Auckland indie folk project who released the album FLAWS in 2012 before evolving into Farah Loux. Active in the Auckland independent music scene of the early 2010s.

g artists

Glass Vaults

Wellington electronic pop duo Richard Larsen and Rowan Pierce, whose albums have been released on Flying Out and UK label Melodic.

p artists

Purple Pilgrims

New Zealand sister duo Clementine and Valentine Nixon — great-granddaughters of Scottish folk musician Davie Stewart — whose devotional dream pop spans Not Not Fun Records and Flying Nun. Albums: Eternal Delight (2016) and Perfumed Earth (2019). Now also recording as Clementine Valentine.