Episode 6 (Spring 2026)
15:00 - 16:00 Sunday March 1st, 2026
Ayan & Christian, with Henry

"There was no one direct cause for what happened in music in New Zealand in the 1980s. But it cannot be denied that an extraordinary amount of wonderful music was created in that decade. Most of it was from the South Island, Dunedin in particular, or had some connection with these places. And much of it was connected to Flying Nun Records." – Roger Shepherd, In Love With These Times (2016)

This week, we invited our good friend / the host of EREBUS (Tuesdays, 9pm-10pm), Henry, to have a discussion on Flying Nun Records and the so-called "Dunedin Sound." This DIY/Indie record label formed in 1981 in Christchurch, New Zealand and notably brought global attention to the blossoming music scene further south in Dunedin. While I'd personally not heard of the bands associated with this scene and the label, I discovered in my research that they've been pointed to by some of my favorite musicians (like Stephen Malkmus of Pavement, Sonic Youth, & Yo La Tengo to name a few) as direct inspiration!

During the episode, we talked about those influences, as well as the influence these Dunedin groups had on "Dolewave" artists in 2010s Melbourne.

Playlist – Made by Henry & Christian

"Cattle And Cane" (1983) by The Go-Betweens

"Ambivalence" (1981) by Pin Group

"Point That Thing Somewhere Else" (1981) by The Clean

"North By North" (1987) by The Bats

"Jesus What a Jerk" (1989) by The Verlaines

"Part Past Part Fiction" (1990) by Submarine Bells

"Emma's House" (1998) by The Field Mice

"Grace" (1991) by Look Blue Go Purple

"Sign the Dotted Line" (1992) by Tall Dwarfs

"Outer Space" (1992) by 3Ds

"Napoleans Last Letter to France" (1992) by Able Tasmans

After the end of our hour – Henry's Dolewave picks

"Dreamin" (2011) by Twerps

"Water Damage" (2013) by Dick Diver

"Back Bar" (2016) by The Ocean Party

"Sweaty Hands" (2016) by The Goon Sax

"Talking Straight" (2018) by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

"Boundary Line" (2019) by Scott & Charlene's Wedding

Sources / Further Learning

[1] Wikipedia - Flying Nun Records
[2] Wikipedia - Dunedin sound
[3] About Flying Nun
[4] Heavenly Pop Hits: The Flying Nun Story (Music Documentary 2002)
[5] In Love With These Times - A 2016 autobiography by Roger Shepherd