ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the idea of the "Dunedin sound" in a contemporary setting, and examines how discourses associated with this concept manifest in a variety of mediated and ethnographic contexts. The association of The Chills and other Flying Nun bands in the 1980s scene to the city of Dunedin has been explicit since the label's early releases. Fans and media alike substantiate their celebration of Dunedin bands by emphasizing their perceived influence on more successful international artists. The notion that the "Dunedin sound" has "a vital legacy still felt to this day". Fishrider Records' founder Ian Henderson's attitude regarding the relationship between contemporary Dunedin indie pop and its predecessors is less confrontational. Dunedin is remote: it is located in the "bleakly isolated and uninhabited southern part of the South Island". Fans and media alike substantiate their celebration of Dunedin bands by emphasizing their perceived influence on more successful international artists.
