Culture

“The Dunedin Sound is the sound of honesty” - Martin Phillipps

It’s hard not to write about the Dunedin Sound without quoting Martin Phillipps. In fact, this is the second article I have written using this quote in my two years at Critic. It proves how integral the iconic musician was to Dunedin and its music, and the legacy he left behind when he died last July. 

Given how Martin Phillipps’ name has become synonymous with the Dunedin Sound, it may come as a surprise that he was originally from Wellington, born in Aotearoa’s capital in 1963. He moved to Dunedin at age seven when his father became chaplain at the University of Otago. Phillipps formed his first band, The Same, during his time at Logan Park High School, where he was thrust into the spotlight as lead singer. There, he credited the sounds of Nick Drake and The Beach Boys as influences for his guitar playing. 

Phillipps is most well-known for his role in The Chills as the lead singer and songwriter. Not long after finding his feet with The Same, Phillips formed The Chills in 1980 with Jane Dodd, Rachel Phillipps, Peter Gutteridge, and Alan Haig. The lineup changed over time – but Phillipps remained the consistent member throughout. Here is the list:

The Chills would soon become a staple band within Ōtepoti through the Dunedin Double EP in 1982 with the historic Flying Nun label. Alongside Sneaky Feelings, The Verlaines and The Stones – three bands that were also key to the Dunedin Sound – the EP featured the song Kaleidoscope World, now a beloved song in The Chills’ discography. It’s both the name of their first compilation and the title of a Flying Nun exhibition at the Hocken celebrating 40 years of the label in 2021.

The band enjoyed spikes of popularity during the ‘80s. In 1984, The Chills exploded into national fame due to the 1984 single Pink Frost that became both a signature ‘Dunedin Sound’ track as well as a beloved New Zealand track. Again, they made their mark with I Love My Leather Jacket in 1986 and Heavenly Pop Hit in 1990. Throughout the band's career many hiatuses and lineup changes would ensue – right up until the date of Phillipps’ death on July 28th, 2024 where he was still active in a scene he helped form. One last album, Springboard: Early Unrecorded Songs was released seven months later. 

A lot of the music Phillipps made has been very important to me, especially growing up in Dunedin. It’s been a consistent in my life, from first hearing Pink Frost on a New Zealand music compilation, to a lecture in first-year playing I Love My Leather Jacket, and my friend and fellow Dunedin musician Lucky Pollock lending me their vinyl collection which featured plenty of The Chills’ records (there were two copies of Brave Worlds). As Critic’s Local Product columnist last year, during May (New Zealand Music Month) I ran a series interviewing older Dunedin bands and I excluded The Chills. I felt it was too obvious, something I regret due to Phillipps’ passing two months later.   

But Martin Phillipps’ music is not just about me. I’m one of the many in the Dunedin community – listeners, collaborators, friends and admirers – who benefited from his life’s work. I reached out to a few so they could let everyone know what Martin meant to them.  

Amanda Mills is the Hocken Curator for Music and AV, and music writer at NZ Musician and Audioculture Iwi Waiata. 

“My friendship with Martin began professionally with a request for the Hocken to hold the launch of The Chills’ ‘Somewhere Beautiful’ live album, a significant moment for the band as it was their first recorded release in nearly a decade. He even loaned us his prized leather jacket (currently on display at Tūhura Otago Museum) to make a giveaway postcard for the event, something he would do again in 2021 for the Hocken's ‘Kaleidoscope World: 40 Years of Flying Nun’ in Dunedin exhibition. For that exhibition, his generosity went further as he gifted the Hocken the FIMO [clay] artwork for The Chills’ 1986 album ‘Kaleidoscope World’. In my other role as a music writer, Martin was incredibly generous with his time, talking to me on several occasions for articles about The Chills (past and present) in NZ Musician, answering questions which no doubt he was asked multiple times before. Our friendship evolved around and during these moments, and he was someone I connected with about music (his, and the artists he loved) and all things nostalgic. He is deeply missed.”

Favourite song(s): Pink Frost, You’re Immortal, The Great Escape 

Lucky Pollock studied music at the University of Otago and grew up in Dunedin playing in notable bands Porpoise and Riot Gull, as well as solo ventures with beet-wix and Lucky Omen.

“I felt that Martin Phillipps and The Chills' music had an energy I could connect to. Dunedin has this dark energy about it and is a bit depressive, so people often see it as a catalyst for the ‘Dunedin Sound’ and I think Martin tapped into that the best. They were very mystical sounding which fit well for a period in my life where I felt very disconnected. It was really grounding to hear some music that embodied a lot of the energy I was experiencing at that time. It was only his music and The Verlaines I could listen to because all other music would make me feel confused and overwhelmed, only he could articulate how I felt.”

Favourite song(s): Wet Blanket

Alison Blair teaches music at the University of Otago and wrote an article for The Conversation after Martin’s passing.

“I first met Martin through a mutual friend, Roi Colbert. He'd been making Roi a mixtape of songs about rain, which is a memory that’s stuck with me. Over the years, the music artist we talked about the most was David Bowie, who Martin had a real collector’s knowledge of. In my office, there’s an Aladdin Sane collectors’ item hanging up, and a copy of Bowie’s Baal EP that he thought I might like.”

Favourite song(s): Night of Chill Blue

Ian Chapman is a musician, author, and former Senior Lecturer in the Department of Music, Theatre and Performing Arts at the University of Otago. He is the author of the book The Dunedin Sound: Some Disenchanted Evening which Martin helped supply artwork and information for. 

“I was aware of The Chills throughout the ‘80s when I was in Hamilton and saw all those Dunedin Sound bands come through and just knew they were something special and different. I didn’t know the ins and outs of it until I moved down to Dunedin and became friends with all these great musicians – including Martin. One of the cool things about the Dunedin Sound meant they could only afford to do the artwork themselves so the art was so inherently linked to themselves. In Martin’s case there was no gap between what was in his mind visually as well as sonically, which made his work so special. Martin and I shared a love of David Bowie which made it easy for us to connect. I’d often go around to his house to talk about that kind of stuff and his house was like a museum of music. We would be talking about a CD, vinyl or tape and he would be like, ‘Oh yeah I have that’ and you wouldn’t see him for ages because he would be digging through all this pop culture memorabilia. Martin had a great sense of humor – but was very self effacing, which I liked. He was proud of his work which I liked – as he should have been. It’s a great loss. He was a delightful guy.”

Favourite song(s): Heavenly Pop Hit, Kaleidoscope World