Chris Knox
The man referred to as the "spiritual godfather of the Flying Nun scene" has undergone numerous incarnations during a long musical career: from his arrival amidst the punk era of the late 70s with The Enemy, to short-lived legends Toy Love, and over a dozen releases with the Tall Dwarfs (in collaboration with guitarist Alec Bathgate). There have also been several Chris Knox solo albums and projects - including 1995's Songs of You and Me, (hailed by the American music press as a piece of songwriting magic), classic love song ‘Not Given Lightly', a run of distinctive music videos, and screen appearances.
Chris Knox
Low-tech legend Chris Knox is an accomplished musician, animator, writer, cartoonist, and filmmaker. The former punk shaman has brought an energetic eclecticism to his work no matter what medium it forms in, and showcased his gift for DIY-style animation in many of the videos that accompany his music.
Making Music - Chris Knox
Indie legend Chris Knox is featured in this episode from a series made for secondary school music students. He performs 'One Fell Swoop' — a love song he describes as an aberration amongst his more "nasty" numbers — and explains its composition while denying Whitney Houston comparisons. Knox is typically forthright in discussing his varied career as musician, cartoonist, TV presenter and "renaissance bloke". He outlines his philosophy of DIY self-sufficiency and extols the virtues of never compromising (so that even failure is "much more meaningful").
The Chris Knox Collection
Low-tech legend Chris Knox is an accomplished musician, cartoonist, critic, filmmaker, and jandal wearer. As this collection demonstrates, his genius takes flight in the DIY aesthetic of his music videos. As Flying Nun founder Roger Shepherd says in his backgrounder, “this is a unique and important collection of work perfectly illustrating what is possible with the barest of resources and a free-wheeling imagination”. Russell Brown adds his view here. Alongside music videos, the collection also includes interviews with Knox and profiles of bands Toy Love and Tall Dwarfs.
Chris Knox: In conversation with Roger Shepherd, part one...
Chris Knox's music career began with legendary Dunedin punk band The Enemy, followed by post-punk heroes Toy Love, then the Tall Dwarfs and his own solo work. Knox has been a film reviewer on arts shows The Edge and Backch@t, and hosted the series The New Artland. As a singer-songwriter and music video director, he is known as a pioneer of lo-tech, DIY classics. For this special two-part ScreenTalk interview, Flying Nun founder Roger Shepherd chatted with Knox about his life and career. In part one, Knox talks about: His early love of film and how he first got into filmmaking The first footage of The Enemy, shot by cameraman Peter Janes Making the Toy Love video Squeeze Making the later Toy Love videos Rebel and Don't Ask Me Part two of this interview can be found here, where Knox talks about moving into making his own videos, being a film reviewer and TV presenter, and his comic strip Max Media.
Chris Knox: In conversation with Roger Shepherd, part two
Chris Knox's music career began with legendary punk band The Enemy, followed by Toy Love, then the Tall Dwarfs and his own solo work. He has appeared as a film reviewer on arts shows The Edge and Backch@t, and hosted series The New Artland. As a musician and music video director, Knox is known as a pioneer of lo-tech, DIY classics. For this special two part ScreenTalk interview, Flying Nun founder Roger Shepherd chatted with Knox about his life and career. In part one, Knox talked about his love of filmmaking, and early Enemy and Toy Love music videos. In the second part of the ScreenTalk interview, Knox talks about: Knox moving from appearing in music videos to directing his own with the Tall Dwarfs' Nothing's Gonna Happen Making the video for the Tall Dwarfs' Turning Brown and Torn in Two Making the video for his solo classic Not Given Lightly Becoming a film reviewer on TV arts shows The Edge and Backch@t Moving into television presenting, with an episode of Intrepid Journeys, and the series The New Artland Knox's long-running cartoon strip Max Media
The Flying Nun Collection
Record label Flying Nun is synonymous with Kiwi indie music, and with autonomous DIY, bottom-of-the-world creativity. This collection celebrates the label's ethos as manifested in the music videos. Selected by label founder Roger Shepherd: "A general style may have loosely evolved ... but it was simply due to limited budgets and correspondingly unlimited imaginations."
The Animation Collection
Animated plasticine. Talking chickens. Dancing Cossacks. Plus old favourites bro'Town, Hairy Maclary and Footrot Flats. From Len Lye to Gollum, feast on the talents of Kiwi animators. In his backgrounder to the Animation Collection, NZ On Screen's Ian Pryor provides handy pathways through the frogs, dogs and stop motion shenanigans.
Top Five Collection
NZ On Screen is a treasure trove of titles from Aotearoa's screen history. From time to time we've asked people to select their personal Top Five titles on the website. Click on any of the pictures below to sample a wide and varied list of titles as chosen by a wide and varied list of people: including A Dog's Show, Shortland Street, Len Lye, Outrageous Fortune, Billy T James, Boy — and music from 60s rock to Chris Knox.
Get a Life
Chris Knox wears a Madonna head-set mic and John Lennon sunglasses, with a t-shirt and bright yellow shorts, as he walks along Auckland's Ponsonby Rd singing and playing guitar. In background inserts Knox himself plays a mad air-guitar-playing chorus and censor. Very simple, but full of cheek and characteristic CK energy.