New Zealand-based singer/songwriter Alastair Galbraith first emerged during the mid-1980s, playing in Dunedin-area bands including the Rip and Plagal Grind. Making his solo debut with 1992's Morse, he became known for his signature abbreviated songwriting style, with most of his compositions clocking in under two minutes. After 1995's Talisman,... [+] Read More

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Led by former Gordons guitarist Alister Parker, noise-rock unit Bailter Space emerged from Christchurch, New Zealand in 1987. Originally joined by former Clean and Great Unwashed drummer Hamish Kilgour, Pin Group alum Ross Humphries on bass, and Glenda Bills on drums, the group issued their debut EP, Nelsh Bailter Space, on the famed Flying Nun... [+] Read More

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From his earliest days as a member of the legendary Clean onward, singer/songwriter David Kilgour stood among the most important figures on the New Zealand pop landscape. A native of Dunedin, Kilgour first emerged in 1979 as the guitarist of the Clean, the highly influential trio he co-founded with his drummer brother Hamish; when the group... [+] Read More

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Pioneers of the lo-fi aesthetic and towering figures of the New Zealand pop music scene, the Tall Dwarfs were formed in 1979 by singers/songwriters Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate following the demise of their previous band, the legendary Toy Love. Recording on Knox's four-track machine, the duo debuted with the 1981 EP Three Songs, highlighted by... [+] Read More

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The Chills were one of New Zealand's best and most popular bands of the '80s, making a small but consistent series of chiming, hook-laden guitar pop. Both the songs and the arrangements were constructed with interweaving guitar hooks and vocal harmonies, creating a pretty, almost lush, sound that never fell into cloying sentimentality.... [+] Read More

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The Clean were one of the most influential New Zealand bands of the post-punk era. The band formed in the town of Dunedin in 1978, when Hamish Kilgour (drums) and his brother David (guitar) recruited David's school friend, guitarist Peter Gutteridge. Soon afterward, they opened for New Zealand punk rockers Enemy.

The Clean were one... [+] Read More

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Forerunners of post-rock and the modern-day revival of space rock, the Dead C were an improvisational, hugely prolific noise-rock trio indebted to Sonic Youth (whose Thurston Moore was an avowed fan), as well as Krautrock and psychedelia. Challenging and mostly instrumental, they were a definite anomaly on the New Zealand scene, which was still... [+] Read More

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Toy Love were a New Zealand new wave band that grew out of the country's first punk band of note, the Enemy. And while their small number of recordings were pretty much by-the-numbers new wave pop with a few moments of inspiration, Toy Love (and especially their founding member Chris Knox) proved to be an important starting point for New... [+] Read More

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