Dunedin Sound: A History of the Dunedin Sound

The Dunedin sound refers to music created by a collective of bands from Dunedin, New Zealand beginning in the early 1980s. Stylistically, the Dunedin Sound fits into the larger jangle pop and post-punk movement of the 1980s. Groups of the era drew inspiration from 1960s groups like the Beatles and the Velvet Underground, but they also responded to the punk energy that had infiltrated the second half of the 1970s. Dunedin bands adopted a similar songwriting approach as their contemporaries in cities like Auckland, Los Angeles, New York, and London.

In the post-punk era of the late 1970s and 1980s, the New Zealand music scene centered around the nation's capital of Wellington and its largest city, Auckland.

• The locale: The comparative isolation of Dunedin, plus the town's misty, drizzly weather, led to many young songwriters staying indoors to write lo-fi, indie-pop songs inspired by punk and the psychedelic sounds of the late 1960s.
• Flying Nun Records: Christchurch-based record label Flying Nun Records, founded in 1981, was a linchpin of the New Zealand scene. Its roster included Dunedin bands like the Clean, the Chills, the Bats, the Verlaines, the Stones, Able Tasmans, Bored Games, Straitjacket Fits, Tall Dwarfs, Snapper, Bailter Space, Chris Knox, Look Blue Go Purple, Sneaky Feelings, and the 3Ds.
• The mainstream: Only one group in the Dunedin Sound broke through to the mainstream: the Chills, whose album Submarine Bells hit number one in New Zealand in 1990. Other groups, though less well known, were celebrated for innovative songwriting and for maximizing the lo-fi production tools at their disposal.
• Global recognition: Groups with comparative international success in the 1980s included Straitjacket Fits and the Verlaines—both appeared on the 1993 No Alternative compilation album—and the Clean.

The Dunedin Sound was Kiwi culture's answer to the jangle-pop scenes found in American cities like Athens, Georgia, and Los Angeles (home of the Paisley Underground genre). Characteristics of Dunedin Sound include:

1. 1. Lo-fi psychedelia: A significant number of Dunedin Sound groups mine the lo-fidelity psychedelic jangle of the Velvet Underground and related groups from the late 1960s and early 1970s.
2. 2. Clean aesthetics: Despite their often lo-fi recording setups, Dunedin Sound groups typically feature clean guitars, sincere vocals, and minimal effects.
3. 3. Pop structures: The groups of the Dunedin Sound largely align with the jangle-pop song forms common in the 1980s post-punk era. Any experimentation tends to fall within the boundaries of verse-chorus-bridge songwriting.

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