Kaleidoscope World is an early song by New Zealand band The Chills. It appeared as the first track on the Dunedin Double , a seminal EP shared between four bands, which launched those bands' careers nationally and internationally (the other bands were Sneaky Feelings, The Verlaines, and The Stones).
New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, and the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.
The Chills are a New Zealand rock band formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band is essentially the continuing project of singer/songwriter Martin Phillipps, who is the group's sole constant member. For a time in the 1990s, the act was billed as Martin Phillipps & The Chills. In the 1980s and 1990s, The Chills had some significant chart success in their homeland, and were a cult band in other parts of the world as one of the earliest proponents of the Dunedin sound.
The Dunedin Double EP was a seminal record in New Zealand music. An unusual format, it contain two 45rpm 12" discs, and at nearly 50 minutes length, it is longer than many albums.
While not strictly a single, and never released as such, Kaleidoscope World is regarded as an early Chills manifesto. [1] Written by Chills frontman Martin Phillipps, "Kaleidoscope World" was, like many other early releases from the Flying Nun label, recorded in very lo-fi surroundings, on Chris Knox's four-track tape by Doug Hood in a room at Paul Kean's house. [2] The line-up of the Chills that recorded the song consisted of Martin Phillipps (guitar/vocals), Alan Haig (guitar), Frazer Batts (keyboards) and Terry Moore (bass).
Flying Nun Records is an independent record label formed in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1981 by music-store manager Roger Shepherd.
Chris Knox is a New Zealand rock and roll musician, cartoonist and movie reviewer who emerged during the punk rock era with his bands The Enemy and Toy Love. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, he formed the group Tall Dwarfs with guitarist Alec Bathgate. The Tall Dwarfs were noted for their unpolished sound and intense live shows. His 4-track machine was used to record most of the early Flying Nun singles.
Paul Kean is a New Zealand musician and music producer. He first played in the Basket Cases in 1977/78.
The song features a swirl of jingle-jangle guitar over a background bass pulse and quiet synth, and is a prototype and epitome of what came to be known as the "Dunedin sound". The EP, and "Kaleidoscope World" in particular, were the launching pad for Dunedin's acceptance as an important source of New Zealand music. As engineer Doug Hood said of the track: "It was the one that made you think, boy, there's really something special happening here." [3]
The Dunedin sound was a style of indie pop music created in the southern New Zealand university city of Dunedin in the early 1980s.
The song became the title track of The Chills' 1986 compilation Kaleidoscope World , which collated all the band's early single and EP releases.
Kaleidoscope World is a compilation album by New Zealand group The Chills, released in 1986 on Flying Nun Records in New Zealand and on Creation Records in UK. The album was a compilation of early singles, plus all the Chills' tracks which featured on the Dunedin Double EP and The Lost EP. It was reissued in 1987 by Flying Nun with a bonus 7-inch single, "I'll Only See You Alone Again"/"Green Eyed Owl". It was rereleased again in 2016 by Flying Nun and Captured Tracks with a further 7 bonus tracks.
