A high street strip, a gothic seductress, a cultural lesson, a bomb threat, a photo booth, a photo shoot, a cruise down the main street, a broadcast from outer space, a floaty necklace, a Harajuku girl and a mysterious staircase.
February 1998
Breathe “Purple”
Breathe had funding for 11 videos, but so far only two have been available. But now here’s one from their first album, before they were signed to Sony. “Purple” features a seductive but murderous goth chick. She’s the only one who has good hair in the video.
Director: David Stubbs
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
Moana and the Moahunters “Moko”
In 2003 this song won the grand prize at the International Songwriting Competition. It’s largely a spoken-word piece, with Moana explaining the history and importance of tā moko, and a chorus sung in a jazzy mid-’90s style. The video goes with a simple style – Moana and her co-performers in a black studio, letting the message of the song dominate. Tame Iti and his full-face moko makes a cameo appearance.
Voom “Relax”
This is one of those songs that people love, inspired by a relaxation tape. The video sees Buzz from Voom walking along Broadway in Newmarket, slowly taking off his clothes, while passersby aren’t quite sure how to react. Just relax, guys.
Director: Sigi Spath
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
April 1998
Eye TV “Freeze Frame & Fade Out”
The video starts off feeling like a 48hours film, with young guys in suits doing over-the-top acting in ridiculous settings. But then the video concludes with the classic bomb-defusing wire-cutting scenario. Suddenly the video comes alive with tension and drama, as we wait to see whether Auckland will be spared from a suitcase nuke.
Director: Duncan Cole
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
Inchworm “Give Up”
The star of “Give Up” is a photo booth where loads of people pose. The YouTube description notes that it features “pretty much everyone who lived in Hamilton, NZ in 1998.” Well, it’s very Pakeha Hamilton. The photo booth is located outside the Hamilton railway station, which literally makes it the most interesting thing that’s happened there in 17 years.
Fun fact from Eddie Hodad: the Hamiltonians in the Inchworm video are grouped by flat.
Director: Greg Page
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
August 1998
Urban Pacifika “One”
The chorus of “One” is based on Split Enz’ “One Step Ahead”, with the rest of the song turned into an all-star hip hip and R&B track, showing off the best talent from Phil Fuemana’s Urban Pacifika Records. The video sees Moizna, Lost Tribe, AKA Brown and Dei Hamo cruising around Auckland at night.
Director: Joe Lonie
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
Bailter Space “Right Now”
There’s a lot going on in this video, which makes full use of the latest innovations in green screen and computer graphics technology. It’s a bit like a first year film student going crazy in the edit suite, but yet it does feel generally coherent, in a weird futuristic way. A Manhattan skyline feat. the World Trade Center makes an innocent appearance.
October 1998
Bic Runga “Sorry”
This video looks very American, set in a derelict house while Bic (who is wearing a necklace of floating black feathers?) and her band play the song. In real life, Bic played all the instruments, so the band in the video are just four fit dudes acting as her band. Because it is the ’90s, one of them isn’t wearing a shirt.
Director: Julian Boshier
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
Che Fu “Without a Doubt”
As a double A-side with “Machine Talk”, “Without a Doubt” reached No.1 in the singles chart in October 1998. The video is based around Che doing a photo shoot, wearing several different jackets (leather, camouflage, puffer). It’s a simple set-up, but Che is a charismatic performer and gets to have a bit of fun.
Director: Duncan Cole
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
December 1998
Breaks Co-op “Such the Spot”
So, it’s another one of those videos where someone goes to Tokyo, shoots a bunch of footage around the Yamanote line and in interesting neighbourhoods like Harajuku and Shibuya, then edits it into a music video. Just once I’d like to see this treatment flipped around on New Zealand, footage of random Auckland commuters used as a sign of hip urban life. The one good thing the “Such the Spot” video has is the bride, who seems to be a Harajuku scenester, rather than an actual bride. Her bra strap is showing.
Note: the video was on YouTube but has since been taken down.
Cloudboy “(You’re So) Pretty”
There’s some ethereal electronica from Cloudboy. The video sees Demarnia Lloyd wandering around an old building, climbing up into a bell tower, where a mysterious man in a hat is waiting. The video is shot in the dreamlike state of night vision.
Director: Ozy Bsy
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision