Nicholas Drain Lowe is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica.
The Dunedin sound was a style of indie pop music created in the southern New Zealand university city of Dunedin in the early 1980s.
Louder Than Love is the second studio album and major-label debut by American rock band Soundgarden. It was released on September 5, 1989, by A&M Records. After touring in support of their debut album, Ultramega OK (1988), Soundgarden left SST, signed with A&M and began work on its first album for a major label. The songs on the album featured a metal-leaning grunge sound with some songs featuring unusual or unorthodox time signatures.
The Verlaines are a New Zealand rock band from Dunedin. Formed in 1981 by Graeme Downes, Craig Easton, Anita Pillai, Phillip Higham and Greg Kerr, the band went through multiple line-ups.
Rock music in New Zealand, also known as Kiwi rock music and New Zealand rock music, rose to prominence first in 1955 with Johnny Cooper's cover version of Bill Haley's hit song "Rock Around the Clock". This was followed by Johnny Devlin, sometimes nicknamed New Zealand's Elvis Presley, and his cover of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy". The 1960s saw Max Merritt and the Meteors and Ray Columbus & the Invaders achieve success. In the 1970s and early 1980s the innovative Split Enz had success internationally as well as nationally, with member Neil Finn later continuing with Crowded House. Other influential bands in the 1970s were Th' Dudes, Dragon and Hello Sailor. The early 1980s saw the development of the indie rock "Dunedin sound", typified by Dunedin bands such as The Clean, Straitjacket Fits and The Chills, recorded by the Flying Nun record label of Christchurch. New Zealand's foremost hard rock band Shihad started their long career in 1988.
Shayne P. Carter is a New Zealand musician best known for leading Straitjacket Fits from 1986 to 1994, and as the only permanent member of Dimmer (1995–2012).
Straitjacket Fits formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1986 and were a prominent band in the Flying Nun label's second wave of the Dunedin sound.
Dimmer was the name under which New Zealand musician Shayne Carter recorded and played music from 1994. It began as an umbrella name for jam sessions and short-lived band line-ups, then home recordings, then an ensemble with various members and guests. This evolution led to more settled four-piece rock band. At least 41 musicians have been acknowledged as playing a part in Dimmer over 18 years, with Carter the only permanent fixture.
Andrew Mark Brough was a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Dunedin, New Zealand. Best known for his work with the Straitjacket Fits, he later led the band Bike. In 1996 he was shortlisted for the APRA Silver Scroll and in 2008 he was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.
The DoubleHappys were a New Zealand rock band based in Dunedin who short-lived but influential, and part of the Dunedin sound music wave of the 1980s.
Melt is the second album from Dunedin, New Zealand band Straitjacket Fits. It was the last to feature the original line-up of Shayne Carter, Andrew Brough, John Collie and David Wood; Brough was to leave before the third album, Blow. The album reached no. 13 on the New Zealand music charts, and sold 40,000 copies in the United States.
Blow is the third album released in 1993 by New Zealand band, Straitjacket Fits. The album has a harder, less melodic sound than the band's previous albums. This reflects the change of line-up, with Andrew Brough having left the band prior to this album's recording, to be replaced by Mark Petersen. It also reflect's the band's change of recording method and a change of producer. The album was described by one contemporary reviewer as "...twisted rhythms, see-sawing guitars, and brash intensity... Straitjacket Fits at their least user-friendly and most challenging."
Life in One Chord is an EP by New Zealand band Straitjacket Fits, released in 1987. It was the band's debut release. All of the tracks from the EP were included as part of an extended version of their first full album, Hail. The songs are credited to Shayne Carter/Straitjacket Fits except for "Sparkle That Shines". "Sparkle That Shines" was released as a single in 1989.
Promises, Promises is the second studio album by New Zealand punk rock band Die! Die! Die!.
Boodle Boodle Boodle is a 12" EP by New Zealand band The Clean. Released by Flying Nun Records in 1981, it is one of the more important releases in the Dunedin sound genre. The EP reached number four in the New Zealand music charts, despite being listed in the singles chart, and stayed in the top 20 for nearly six months.
Sparkle in the Rain is the sixth studio album by Scottish rock band Simple Minds, released on 6 February 1984 by record label Virgin in the UK and A&M in the US.
She Speeds is a song by Dunedin, New Zealand band Straitjacket Fits. The song was released on their debut 'Life in One Chord EP' in 1987. The EP was recorded at the Lab Studios in Auckland, New Zealand and reached number 10 on the NZ Top 40 charts later that year. A video was filmed for She Speeds for just $250 by Johnny Ogilvy and the song quickly became a cornerstone of their live sets. The song would later be dropped from their sets as the band moved away from its early sound.
John Collie is the former drummer for New Zealand band Straitjacket Fits. Collie was previously a member of Doublehappys with Shayne Carter, a band which he had joined in 1984. Collie also drummed for ephemeral Dunedin "super-group" The Weeds on their one-off 1985 single "Wheatfields".
Peter Gutteridge was a New Zealand musician, credited with pioneering the "Dunedin sound" with The Clean and The Chills.
All the Lights in the Sky is the debut album by the English rock band Area 11. Released on 31 January 2013, the album was originally available exclusively on digital format, however as the band grew they began to distribute limited edition physical copies of the album. All The Lights in the Sky was written and produced entirely by the band themselves and released independently. Despite the band's strictly independent status, the album was a success and spawned a number of sell-out tours across the UK. The album's name, as well as the track Heaven-Piercing Giga Drill, are a direct reference to the Japanese anime series Gurren Lagann.
