Dunedin loses a musical son, ‘rain taps the window pane’
- Written by: Alison Blair, Teaching Fellow in Music, University of Otago
The announcement on The Chills’ social media last night that Martin Phillipps had died hit me in the chest: shock, sadness, my stomach in flutters. Martin was a friend, and his death has deeply saddened me. I know I’m not the only one.
Martin had many friends, and he was well-loved in Dunedin. Today there is a whole community – Martin’s family, friends, acquaintances and loved ones – navigating and processing his loss.
As founding member of The Chills, he was not only a pivotal musician who leaves an important legacy, but also a friend entwined in the life of the city, and the wider music community.
I first met Martin over 20 years ago. He’d made a mix tape for a mutual friend, Roi Colbert, with songs all about rain.
In Roi’s record shop – Records Records, housed in the iconic pale apricot terrace houses of Dunedin’s upper Stuart Street – we chatted about rain-themed songs and agreed on some favourites. We also agreed you could listen to the whole tape on a rainy day.
The Chills themselves had recorded a song about rain on their 1987 debut studio album Brave Words. When Martin sang “Rain taps the window pane”, it became a lasting image for me, recalling those wet Dunedin days. But, of course, being inside at home while the rain pours down outside is a universal experience.
The sound of Dunedin
A sense of place, land and human experience was present throughout Martin’s songwriting. In this way, he crafted the songs that would become part of many people’s personal soundtracks – though resonating ever more deeply if you lived in Dunedin.
Martin was from here, and his music was from here too. It evoked people, places and memories through imagery of landscapes, the sea, friends, home.
Linking a style of music to a particular place can quickly become cliché. But to many of us in Dunedin, Martin’s music, his melodies and imagery, are bound up with our lives in this southernmost city. The songs are part of its landscape and architecture, imprinted in minds and hearts.
