Posts tagged with New Zealand bands
December 20, 2011 | New Music | 
by Contributions |
Wellington band The Dims have released two EPs in the past six months, with the latest installment entitled No Chemical Ills. Drawing inspiration from cult Kiwi acts like The Gordons and The Dead C, the trio condense their sound into distorted songs best described as ‘noise-punk’, and lasting only a couple of minutes.
August 22, 2011 | New Music | 
by Simon Birch |
My favourite at the moment, from New Zealand, which also gave Lord of the Rings its set. That was the best thing about the film, which as far as I can make out, was about some midgets trying to offload a ring. Apparently it took them ages: three movies to be precise. And they had a really powerful wizard that could’ve done the job in about five minutes. But he didn’t. What a dick.
May 28, 2010 | Video | by Zolton 
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It would be great to be able to call Aussie band Dropbears‘ one hit wonders for this slippery pop song from 1982. But they weren’t even that. Instead, outside of a few Australian loyalists, this killer track — Fun Lovin’ — slipped into obscurity, only resurrected in its full finery on backward looking culture blogs. Oh, wait, is that us?
March 16, 2010 | New Events | by Zolton |
My favourite record label, the New Zealand-based Flying Nun — home to seminal acts such as The Chills, The Bats, The Clean, and The Verlaines — has been reinvigorated recently with the return of the label’s founder, Roger Shepherd, to steer the reigns and return this wonderful low-fi cottage industry back to its rightful glory. To mark the occasion, NZ On Screen has launched a collection of classic Flying Nun music videos, curated by Shepherd, including this frightfully progressive effort (it was made in 1981) from that doyen of Kiwi indie-pop, Chris Knox.
December 8, 2009 | Video | by Zolton |
When I was teenager, I was obsessed with the bands that seeped out of sleepy Dunedin, in New Zealand’s ruggedly beautiful South Island. There was an absolute contrast back then between those acts on the Flying Nun label, presided over with paternal wariness by the godfather of low-fi pop, Chris Knox, and the slicker bands that emanated out of the upper reaches of the North Island. I liked the immediacy and the accessibility of the South Island acts, particularly The Chills, The Clean and The Bats. This grainy, weather-beaten footage captures The Bats at their melodic best; bass clunkers, pasty faces and all.
October 13, 2009 | Video | by Zolton |
Oh boy! The Mockers were the poppiest Kiwi band that no-one outside of the Shaky Isles ever heard of. Take a trip back to the 80s and be prepared to dance.
September 9, 2009 | New Music | by Zolton |
The Chills were the first band I ever saw. Well, actually, they were the first band I never saw, despite my best intentions. I was fifteen at the time, and my friend got word that the seminal Flying Nun act, who hailed from the deepest, darkest trenches of Dunedin, New Zealand, were to play a show that night at the now long gone Max’s in Petersham, Sydney. We had to go. It was The Chills, the very symbol of low-fi sullen rebellion, with their ruddy cheeks and out of tune guitars. So we whacked handfulls of gel in our hair and resolved to sneak our way past the doorman. Only my friend arrived at the venue a little earlier than me (his Dad was clearly a better driver than mine) and promptly sauntered into the venue, while I was turned away for ‘obviously being a minor’. Dammit! They were probably better on record anyway.
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October 17, 2008 | New Music | 
by Amy Freeborn |
New Zealand-born, globe-trotting, communal-living, psych rockers, The Datsuns, have a new album, a relatively-new drummer and a new living set-up, so expect something fresh from the Anitpodean ex-pats. ‘The new record has a lot of different styles and influences’, says The Datsuns guitarist and vocalist, Christian. ‘When we were doing this record a great thing was that we could try different things that we hadn’t done in the past’, he says, thanks to the addition of new drummer, Ben, offering as an example: ‘The last track on the record is an eight minute psychedelic song; it was a pop song but we turned it psychedelic. We said to Ben ‘play psychedelic drums’ and he did. It was completely improvised. He enabled us to do anything we wanted to do’.
September 13, 2008 | Video | by Zolton |
This live performance of Liam Finn’s Second Chance is the reason why music cuts so deep to the soul. The guy is giving it everything, and then a little extra on top. And, no, I’m not talking about the beard.
May 14, 2008 | Video | by Zolton |
Oh man, what I wouldn’t give to be able to sing like Neil Finn. His voice rasps with all the sincerity and integrity of a thousand heartfelt melodies. Heck, I’d probably trade my prized collection of Archie comics for just the chorus on this song. Driving Me Mad? You betcha(dupa). This man is a treasure. Bow low indeed.
November 1, 2007 | New Music | by Zolton |
Back in the day, New Zealand pop absurdists, Split Enz were the finest damn Australasian band around. This track, I Walk Away, off their final album — Spellbound — is their ultimate moment: a hefty dose of pure melodic majestry, wrapped around the aching lyrics and quirky arrangements of genius frontman, Neil Finn.
April 28, 2007 | Video | by Zolton |
I spent the formative first six years of my life in Wellington, New Zealand, a beautiful windswept city framed by a magnificent harbour in one direction and a stunning collection of green, rolling hills in the other. It was here, on a return visit many years later and deep amongst the clipped accents and ruddy faces of the weather-beaten locals, that I stumbled upon the vast catalogue of the then Dunedin based record label Flying Nun. And what a roster of acts they housed — The Chills, The Bats, The Clean, Tall Dwarfs, The Verlaines, and my favourite guitar-pop band, Straitjacket Fits. Read more
Singaporean design studio Angelus Novus has a great side project, Vanguard Designs, which specializes in one-of-a-kind bicycles as well as customization and restoration of older, more classic bikes. Read more
Very few band reunions get me excited, but I’ve consistently loved Faith No More since I was 13. I loved their pre-Mike Patton era, I loved King for a Day, and I even loved their track with Boo Yah Tribe on the Judgment Night soundtrack. Kerrang recently hinted that a FNM reformation is in the works for ’09, and though bassist Billy Gould has emphatically denied the rumors, the general consensus is that the reunion is on.
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Australian group Pivot have recently signed with the mighty Warp label and — even better (well, for us anyway) — have written a fun Secret Playlist for us. You can see where the many disparate influences have seeped into their latest recording, the beautiful and colourful, O Soundtrack My Heart.
A young female once said, ‘if I were into hot bikie guys, I would always hang out at Deus’. Translation: Guys on bikes like to hang out at Deus Ex Machina because they love the quality custom bike and all the quality trimmings. And, seriously, even the most Toyota Corolla driving of women will be entranced by the beauty of the custom work done by this place. Men and women alike fill the humid, tin-roofed showroom, running their fingers from the rough leather seat thing to the glossy front cover thing to the shiny metal handlebar things. Of course, if you really don’t care, or don’t know how to appreciate a thing of beauty, then, surely, you will love the Deus café. Truffle oil drizzled field mushrooms appear on the breakfast menu. If that doesn’t make you bow at the Altar of Deus, then you can go to hell.
Let them sing it for you is a web widget that allows you to type in a sentence which is then played back using the same words culled from a library of popular songs. For instance if you type the word “I” it will play Chris Isaak singing that word in the song Wicked Games. If a word cannot be found, you can enter a song which contains the missing word and expand the library.
The song Blasphemous Rumours by Depeche Mode is just about the most dark, beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. There’s something very compelling about it all: it’s gloomy and depressing during the verses, but then this sexy, almost hypnotically melodic chorus bursts in out of nowhere. The song came out in 1984 and is reputedly based on a true story, with singer Dave Gahan concluding at the end of it all: ‘I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumours but I think that God’s got a sick sense of humour, and when I die, I expect to find Him laughing’. Brilliant.
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The divine By Marlene Birger was as charming as ever at Copenhagen Fashion Week, merging delicate feminine fabrics with the indie street cool that Western Europe is infamous for. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
The return of the Brionvega rr226
Italian brand Brionvega has resurrected the classy Radiofonografio piece first created in 1965. The updated version is just like the original turntable/radio unit, but also has a CD/DVD player.
Never ever, ever, ever, ever park here
Some friendly advice for the neighbours, who simply don’t get it, or street art? You decide which one it is.
Mathematics? Leave me out. Fashematics? Now you’re talking! This gem of a site is a runway equation that adds up to a whole lot of wonderful.
Here are a couple awesome pieces by Matt Leines that were recently on display in the Doubting Thomases exhibit at Nudashank gallery in Baltimore. Gives me ideas for Halloween. Read more
Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. Read more
Okayboss is an illustrator based in sunny Sydney who combines the powers of PB&J sandwiches, cats on the Internet, and a pocketful of edible crayons into a rainbow Voltron drawingbot. His shirts are anything from abstract space particles, to hands with expressions, while his music-inspired art prints are playful, witty, and gorgeous. Okayboss items are available for sale in the Lost At E Minor Store. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
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