High Dependency Unit

High Dependency Unit formed in Dunedin in 1993 and following a single and EP their first full length LP Sum of the Few (1996) was released on Flying Nun Records. The three-piece melded sonics and psychedelia into moments that could explode with aggression or burst with beauty. Higher++ (1998) combined an EP with remixes by artists, into a set that seamlessly navigated raging guitars with sounds and rhythms explored by electronica.

Cross Channel Multi Tap (1998) cemented their reputation as an act willing to experiment with instruments and sounds. Recordings of the band were cut, spliced, edited, and overdubbed in a way that twisted extended jams into cohesive songs. Following the release of the EP Memento Mori in 2000, they embarked on a tour to the United States that culminated in a twelve-date tour with Steve Albini’s band Shellac and two weeks recording at his Electrical Audio studio in Chicago.
The resulting album Fire Works was released to much acclaim. From the two-minute punk rock opener Visionson through to the soundscape centrepiece Sarsaparilla, and epic closer Concentricity, the album managed to capture both the vast landscape of the Midwest and the intense claustrophobia of a band on tour. The band went quiet in the early 2000’s resurfacing only for occasional performances, but in 2006 released Tunguska, a single that continued their sonic exploration.

Metamathics was released in 2008 and possibly comes closest to capturing the band’s ferocious live sound. HDU re-emerged for a brief tour in 2011, to help Flying Nun celebrate their 30th anniversary and a performance at the Laneway Festival in 2016.

In between these sporadic appearances Tristan Dingemans has also performed solo as Kāhu, and with his bands Kāhu Rōpū and Mountaineater. Dino Karlis has been busy working with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Sonic Boom/Spectrum, and most recently his bands Great Barrier and Foundling.

Those who’ve experienced HDU live, will know it is not an overstatement to say that something magical happens when the three play together.