The Chills, led by Martin Phillips, were a seminal New Zealand band central to the Dunedin Sound. Formed in 1980. Despite struggles, including the death of drummer Martyn Bull and Phillips’ drug dependency and health issues, they continued producing acclaimed albums until Phillips’ unexpected passing in 2024.
#thechills #martinphillips #nzmusic
The Great Unwashed were a quieter, folkier edition of The Clean, a contrast to their raucous earlier sound. Peter Gutteridge’s contributions to their song-book should not be understated, with ‘Born in the wrong time’ an absolute classic.
#nzmusic #greatunwashed #theclean
The Alpaca Brothers were a short lived noisy post-punk band from Dunedin formed by Bruce Blucher and Nick Wilkinson in 1984, with a young Steve Cournane soon joining as drummer. The group disbanded after releasing a single EP for Flying Nun, but miraculously resurfaced recently (after a 36 year absence) with a new album.
#nzmusic #alpacabrothers
Recorded in a typically DIY fashion and released straight to cassette in 1989, this rucous live album features a stellar band line-up. Bob Scott was joined by future 3D Dave Saunders (just arrived in Dunedin), Australian guitarist / vocalist Ken Stewart, former-Chill Alan Haig on the drums, and billed as a special guest on organ; Peter Gutteridge – just prior to the release of his incredible solo album ‘Pure’.
#mrbignose
The very first group to record on Flying Nun Records, fronted by legendary experimental guitarist Roy Montgomery. Dark and Gloomy, evocative recordings – suitably earning the nickname ‘Roy Division’.
#nzmusic #pingroup #flyingnunrecords #roymontgomery
The Cartilage Family were a short-lived Dunedin group featuring Peter Gutteridge (and a bunch of his best early songs), Shayne Carter, Lesley Paris and Francisca Griffin. No official recordings exist and they only performed live twice; but the Cartilage Family were an important stepping stone for New Zealand Music.
The key group of New Zealand underground legend Peter Gutteridge (despite being a founding member of BOTH the Clean and the Chills). Snapper made driving, droning guitars-infused with synths post-punk throughout the 1980s and 1990s before Gutteridge disappeared from the public eye.
The Clean have left a giant stamp on New Zealand Independent Music. The group that came to define ‘The Dunedin Sound’ had a terrific topsy-turvy career that spanned 5 albums and a number of EPs, singles, compilations and live releases over a 31 year time-span.
Underground rock’n’roll lifers from Christchurch fronted by enigmatic and sometimes confrontational front-man (and downhill Mountain Bike enthusiast) Andrew ‘Ox’ O’Connell. A long cast of supporting characters and a handful of rough-and-ready recordings – all self-released.
Biography As a strong song-writer behind the seminal flying nun 3-piece the clean, david kilgour developed his own style of country tinged psychedilic rock-guitar playing, earnest vocals and a distinct kiwi sound that he made all his own. kilgour (and… Read More »David Kilgour
Biography A short-lived super-group of sorts featuring martin phillips, david kilgour, noel ward, alan starrett and mike dooley. Members Discography Links
This week I got to interview one of my idols – New Zealand Music legend David Kilgour; who’s song-writing, singing and guitar-work has been a cornerstone of the New Zealand sound since the Clean first surfaced in 1979.Tell me about… Read More »David Kilgour
On Monday, September 15th I saw an innocuous Facebook post by Doo Ragnarok, aka Duane Zarakov, aka Pat Faigan – a fairly typical post by Pat, who spends a great chunk of the day posting excellent youtube clips of classic… Read More »RIP Peter Gutteridge
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.