Marie and the Atom were an experimental pop group created as a performance and song-writing vehicle for Gill Civil. The group released 3 boundary-pushing EPs in the mid 1980’s and are best remembered for their song ‘Isol’.
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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.
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Simon Griggs’ mighty fine Propeller Records – was (along with Ripper Records) the label that kicked off New Zealand’s independent record scene with an absolute hoard of excellent singles through the first few years of the 1980s.
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Miltown Stowards were a short-lived Auckland pop group with ska, jazz and funk overtones that featured Fiona Anderson (who later became the head of Vodafone NZ), Brent ‘Sid’ Pasley, Kelly Rogers, Grant Hewson, Mark Dansey and Benny Staples. Known for fantastic live energy.
Ira Robbins (Trouser Press): “A jazzy-cum-classical nine-person ensemble with clarinets, cello, tuba and bassoon (in addition to guitar, bass and drums), New Zealand’s determinedly oddball Avant Garage sounds like something Zappa might have done in his Dada orchestral phase.”
Biography No kidding big: this New Zealand band boasts a dozen members, including four horn people, four guitarists and two drummers. Seven of ’em are songwriters, which (not surprisingly) makes this a pretty eclectic record, fusing rock, jazz, funk and… Read More »Big Sideways