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The Rip

Legendary New Zealand underground musician Alastair Galbraith’s first band. Flanked by Robbie Muir and Jeff Harford they put out 2 extremely hard to find EP’s in the mid 80s that show-case Galbraith’s brilliant talent for song-writing at an early age, particularly on their second EP – ‘Stormed Port’.

#nzmusic #undergroundmusic #therip #alastairgalbraith #flyingnun

Rake

Loose Palmerston North noise punk outfit. Very few details exist online other than their link to Palmerston North labels Yellow Bike Records and Spotty Dog.

#nzmusic #rake #spottydog #yellowbikerecords

Ivan Zagni

English-born composer who on settling in New Zealand in the early 1980’s started working with many of New Zealand’s best and most creative contemporary independent musicians and groups – Tall Dwarfs, Blam Blam Blam, Big Sideways, Avant Garage etc.

#nzmusic #ivanzagni

The Chandeliers

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

Sleepers Union

Blissful psychedelic pop from Simon McLaren, known for his high-energy, explosive songs in Loves Ugly Children and The Subliminals, partnered with The Onedin Line’s Mark Anderson. The group have released 2 albums 13 years apart, with a live band consisting of well-known Auckland-based musicians.

#nzmusic #sleepersunion #psychpop

The Gordons

The Gordons appeared out of (almost) nowhere in March 1980 to take the mantel of Christchurch’s (and soon New Zealand’s) loudest band; however they were more than just loud. It’s the songs they created during their initial year and a half run that have fuelled the legend of the Gordons. Through blistering feedback and propulsive bass come visions of a dystopian future, and anti-regime anthems.

#nzmusic #thegordons #bailterspace

Primmers

Auckland punk group from 1979-1980 who were part of the AK79 scene. Their recordings (which were later compiled into a retrospective release) show some reggae and new wave influence.

#nzmusic #nzpunk #primmers #zwines #ak79

The Superettes

Auckland punk group that marked the arrival of Jed Town. When The Superettes broke up Town formed famed post-punk group The Features; who would eventually morph into Fetus Productions.

#nzmusic #nzpunk #thesuperettes #ak79 #thefeatures #fetusproductions

Live: Opossom and T54

Flashback to Opossom playing the Darkroom Bar on June 30th, 2012 with support from local legends T54.

#nzmusic #opossom #t54 $mintchicks #bicrunga

Venus Cafe

Vaguely hippy Cafe on Lichfield street that hosted a number of diverse small-capacity shows in the late 1990s. The Cafe was upstairs from the ‘Lick Er Lounge’ bar and next to ‘Danz Nightclub’.

#nzmusic #christchurchvenues #venuscafe #lickerlounge #danznightclub

Little Stevie McCabe

Little Stevie McCabe has been an underground force in New Zealand music since the early 80s, playing n anarchic form of Rock’N’Roll through a variety of bands – most notably as a key member of The Axemen.

However as a solo musician McCabe was hyper-productive, and when he passed away recently (September 2023) he left behind some 300 unreleased cassette recordings.

#nzmusic #littlesteviemccabe #theaxemen

Out of the Compost

Wellington group from the late 1980’s; notably sponsored by the NZ Student Arts Council. A review of the debut EP turned up in Feminist magazine ‘Broadsheet’ and there’s a very short clip of them performing at the 1987 Mangawhai Women’s Festival.

#nzmusic #feminist #outofthecompost #oderecords

Bygone Era

Bygone Era were a prominent but short-lived late 1980’s rock group with hardcore punk aspirations, during an era when New Zealand had few hardcore punk groups.

They put out an EP, and a split 7″ with The Warners on Onslaught Records label (run by vocalist Rowan Coffey’s brother Simon) before breaking up in 1989, their full length album ‘Get Airborne’ coming out posthumously.

#nzmusic #nzhardcore #bygoneera #thewarners

Live: Flying Nun Records 30th Birthday

Flashback to the Flying Nun Records 30th Birthday show, November 26th, 2011 at the CPIT Students Association with The Clean, The Subliminals and T54.

#nzmusic #flyingnun #t54 #thesubliminals #theclean

Live: Flying Nun Records 30th Birthday

Flashback to the Flying Nun Records 30th Birthday show, November 19th, 2011 at the CPIT Students Association with High Dependency Unit and Delaney Davidson

#nzmusic #flyingnun #hdu #delaneydavidson #highdependencyunit