Drawing from Dimmer's debut album I Believe You are a Star, this early video effortlessly channels the minimalist cool that would be a Dimmer trademark. The set is dark, dominated by a red-lit 'Dimmer' sign likely inspired by one showcased in Elvis' iconic 1968 comeback special. The vocals are provided by four males in white suits — including a pint-sized version of Dimmer founder Shayne Carter, and, briefly, his late father. The first, long in gestation Dimmer album signalled a new stage in Carter's career, with sparse grooves dominating over guitars. 

'Spill The Light' kicked off a fruitful collaboration between Betchadupa and Gerald Phillips, with the recent design school graduate taking on the roles of director, animator, actor and cameraperson. The process involved filming himself, then drawing over the footage frame by frame. The result has our head-bopping protagonist sitting down and losing himself in this mellow single from Betchadupa's self-titled EP. The band appear in animated cameos, going about their daily routine, while our listener remains blissfully oblivious.  

A simple line drawing animation for this little ditty from the Slugbucket Hairybreath Monster EP. The video features smoking sharks, animated versions of the Slugbucket character, Alec Bathgate, and Chris Knox himself. It’s fitfully low-tech as usual, but the clip still manages to use correct apostrophes throughout!

When Bic Runga broke out in 1996, 'Drive' was the lead single from her hit album of the same name. Opting to stay with the simplicity of her original demo clearly paid off: the song earned then 20-year-old Runga the 1996 APRA Silver Scroll Songwriting Award. Director Justin Pemberton wisely creates a video that matches the song. Alternating black and white with colour provides a moody feel without drawing attention to itself, leaving Runga to deliver a delicate performance on a song that would have a major impact on her career.

Don McGlashan's lyrics have often told stories. His observational talents are again on display in 2015 single 'Lucky Stars', from his third solo album of the same name. McGlashan captures a small moment in time: an everyday journey in West Auckland becomes an opportunity for reflection, and the conclusions he draws are simple and profound. Ian Hart's video is a diorama; McGlashan stars, but in two dimensional form — cut-out scenes play out against coloured backgrounds, like a children's storybook come to life.

Kimbra's second single, the jazz inflected 'Simply on my Lips', was recorded when the future pop star was 16 and still at school. The starkly simple black and white video was directed and animated by Joel Kefali (later one half of award-winning video team Special Problems). It placed Kimbra with her guitar in the corner of a room, whose walls became a canvas for Kefali's line drawings. The result won the Best Breakthrough category at the 2007 Juice TV awards. Within months, Kimbra had signed an international management contract and relocated to Melbourne.

Being one of Tall Dwarfs’ more experimental tracks, it probably makes sense that the accompanying video would be as perplexing. Chris Knox shows his penchant for bizarre DIY animation as line drawings of creatures morph into lines of lyrics, then into human figures who keep losing their heads. The song itself does little to provide any easy answers, the minimal vocals rumbling out of a swamp of muddy riffs. Both 'Disease Day' songs appeared on 1984 EP Slugbucket Hairybreath Monster, which website All Music called "another chillingly perfect gem". 

Set at the apex of the magnificent Te Mata Peak, Ed Davis' spectacular one shot wonder appears devilishly loaded. Opening on a transmitter tower, we pan to discover our brooding hero slouched in front of TV. Cropping to widescreen allows Davis to cleverly frame the action and draw focus, as our axe wielding hero busts a valve, unleashing a world of hurt upon the offending appliance. Backing away from the dispute, amidst breathtaking scenery, we close on the root of evil - the loathsome tower.