For NZ Music Month, we're asking local musicians to tell us about the New Zealand songs they love the most. Today, Zen Mantra (Sam Perry) gives us a short and sweet rundown of his own.
Photo: Supplied
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Headless Chickens - Gaskrankinstation
This song’s a total banger with a great music video. My bud Wilkie showed it to me last year and I think it’s safe to say I’ve ended up drunkenly screaming the lyrics at every party since.
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Skeptics - Mamouth
Skeptics are totally my favourite New Zealand band of all time. It's still so far ahead of everyone. This is got to be one of the best pop songs in New Zealand music history but it's soooooo underrated.
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Log Horn Breed - Sorry
Log Horn Breed/Log Horn Recording (their studio/warehouse space in Christchurch) is a total institution. They’re playing with a drum machine now and it sounds wicked. All hail Dean Christ.
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The Dance Asthmatics - Linoleum
Another modern day classic from the Church. This was my fav New Zealand album of 2015.
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The Mint Chicks - 2010
I couldn’t go past a ‘top 5 NZ songs’ list without mentioning The Mint Chicks - my first major NZ music crush. They’ve had a lasting influence on me. Earlier on, they inspired me to really embrace the pop element in those heavier songs. But more recently it was Ruban Nielson's guitar work on this album which got me very deeply obsessed with those '60s and '70s b-movie horror soundtracks from Europe. You can hear a lot of those bizarre brass/piano/harpsichord lines in his guitar playing.
