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The Dead C

The Verlaines

Formed in late 1980, The Verlaines is Graeme Downes’ long-standing song-writing vehicle, and one-hell of a brilliant, literate band at that. With the classic early 1980’s line-up of Downes on guitar and vocals, Alan Haig on drums and Jane Dodd on bass, the Verlaines released excellent singles such as ’10 O’Clock In The Afternoon’ from the EP of the same name, and of course their signature tune ‘Death And The Maiden’, which stands as one of the true kiwi classics.

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Tanaka-Nixon Meeting

Mid 1990’s free-noise duo made up of Danny Butt (Flies Inside The Sun) and Michael Morley (The Dead C etc). Released three ultra-rare Peter King 8″ lathes on Morley’s Precious Metal imprint, along with 2 albums and a single. Went from noise, scrapes and drones to releasing their own take on electronic dance music with 1998’s ‘Twelve Inches Heaven’.

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The Strange Girls

Fantastic folky lo-fi group from Dunedin from the super-prolific Clayton Noone and ex-Ho’ Dogs guitarist Kaaterama Morehu – who sadly passed away in 2020.

“At their best, The Strange Girls made ruminative, repetitive and atmospheric bummer folk”

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Gate

The mostly-solo recordings of The Dead C’s Michael Morley. From noise, destructive guitar in the late 1980’s and 1990’s through sampling diversions and drones in the 2020’s, Morley has been a particularly creative force.

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A Handful Of Dust

One of Bruce Russell’s (Dead C) and Alastair Galbraith’s darkest outfits, often dealing with distinct imagery and motif’s in their music and especially pronounced in their liner notes (most of which are distributed through Russell’s Corpus Hermeticum label).

Formed by the duo in Dunedin in 1984, and primarily a free noise group. Though primarily a duo, Peter Stapleton had been a regular contributor from 1993 until his passing in March 2020.

Angelhead

Biography Dark Xpressway post-punk outfit featuring Rachel Shearer (Lovely Midget), Michael Morley (The Dead C, Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos), Stella Corkery and Deborah Hinden. Pretty much in the same vein (and influenced by) other port-chalmers based bands of… Read More »Angelhead

Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos

Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos were a Dunedin-based duo consisting of Michael Morley and Richard Ram.

The groups recordings are based around strong rhythm tracks – usually plucked bass guitar and drum machine, with shout-sung vocals, fractured guitar riffs and organ squeels, with samples and other sound manipulations added into the mix. Though experimental, Wreck Small Speakers retained a high level of musicality and accessibility.

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2 Foot Flame

Peter Jefferies, Michael Morley and Jean Smith (American singer-songwriter behind Mecca Normal) project, who released a couple of dark, but unfortunately unfocused albums on high profile American indie label Matador in the mid 90s.

The Renderers

The Renderers are New Zealand’s prime example of southern-fried country, and are indeed one of our finest ever bands. Brian Crook formed the Renderers with his partner Maryrose in early 90’s Christchurch when The Max Block failed to go anywhere,… Read More »The Renderers

Xpressway

Xpressway was formed by Bruce Russell in 1985 to release his then-fledgling Christchurch band the Dead C, live archival recordings from This Kind Of Punishment and the debut solo material from Alastair Galbraith. Over the course of the next 23… Read More »Xpressway

Brown Velvet Couch

Biography Essentially the group Trash with Paul Cahill, Bruce Blucher (Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos, Alpaca Brothers), Robbie Yeats (The Renderers, The Dead C, The Verlaines) performing under his Bo Martak alias, , but fronted by Viv Crowe (Fats Thompson). Brown… Read More »Brown Velvet Couch

Flying Nun Records

The independent label that put New Zealand Music on the map. From Roger Shephard’s formation of the label in 1980 through to now, Flying Nun has been a mark of creative, quirky, inventive music with a distinct kiwi flavor.