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Savage | Homegrown | Wellington | 2013

Alister Parker w/ Bailterspace | Powerstation | Auckland | 1995

Born from the ashes of hugely influential band The Gordons, Bailterspace are the undisputed New Zealand pioneers of shoegaze. This three-piece sonic orchestra (consisting of Alister Parker, John Halvorsen and Brent McLachlan) have been creating their signature spatial, multilayered soundscapes together in one form or another, for the best part of forty years.

I first heard The Gordon’s at primary school and have fond memories of pogoing around the living room to Adults and Children, so it came as no surprise to me that my first live Bailterspace experience would be close to biblical (spot the fanboy). I was maybe 18 when I took this photo of Alister while the band were touring their fifth studio album Wammo. The whole show was sonic bliss. While we often use comparisons to explain life’s experiences, at the time, I simply didn’t have one. At a complete loss for words, I remember walking home down Symonds Street in contemplative silence.

Make no mistake, although these lads were eventually signed to Flying Nun (and often lumped in with Dunedin Sound), they were distinctly divergent to the rest of the catalogue. Uncaged in a live environment, they were a different beast altogether. Characteristically louder (much louder) with a more adaptive use of feedback and distortion, their origins can in fact be traced back to the early eighties Christchurch Sound.

Never courting anything resembling commercial, a number of albums have seen the NZ charts, albeit always dancing the fringes. Regardless, the band has grown a well-deserved cult following over the years, jointly releasing work on Flying Nun and infamous American indie label Matador Records from their inception (and in later years on Turnbuckle Records, Arch Hill Music and Fire).

Their last album Trinine was released almost seven years ago now. I can only hope and pray this wasn’t the last we’ll hear from this great New Zealand band.

Darcy Clay | Albert Park | Auckland | circa 1996

Gone far too soon, this hero of the kiwi number 8 wire ethos forged a cult following in the New Zealand music scene in the mid-‘90s with his no-fi, do-it-yourself, one-man-band mentality. Darcy Clay (born Daniel Bolton) appeared out of nowhere with his hit single Jesus I Was Evil, a song recorded on a four-track tape in his bedroom. His music has been described as country-fried punk rock; an unpolished, raw and stripped back sound forged by a myriad of influences from hair metal to Beethoven. Call it what you will, his sound is infectious and timeless, as enjoyable and accessible today as the time it was released.

I was maybe 17 when I took this candid snap of Daniel playing the bFM Summer Series in Auckland’s Albert Park. And while a number of well-known bands took the stage that day, it felt like everyone was there to see the enigma that was Darcy Clay. He only played five or six live shows in his short career, and I managed to catch him twice (the second time was opening for Blur at the North Shore Events Centre in October of ‘97). To this day, Jolene remains my favourite cover of a Dolly song ever recorded.

Clay only produced one 6 track EP in his lifetime which etched its way into the fabric of our audible culture. Jesus I Was Evil went to number five in the national charts and Darcy posthumously won Most Promising Male Vocalist at the New Zealand Music Awards in 1998.

More than twenty years after his death, his inspiration still ripples through the kiwi underground. And while he has influenced many, there will only ever be one Darcy Clay.