The guitarist of the influential New Zealand band The Chills was 61 years old

Martin Phillips, whose New Zealand band Chills influenced REM and Pavement, has died. He was 61.

His death was announced in a statement posted on Chills’ social media accounts on Sunday. No cause or date was given. New Zealand’s Otago Daily Times reported that Phillips had recently been admitted to hospital in Dunedin with liver problems.

The Chills were known for their jangly guitar pop. Phillips was the band’s only constant member in a career that attracted an international fan base spanning four decades.

Crowded House’s Neil Finn issued a statement on Sunday calling Phillips “one of New Zealand’s finest songwriters” and describing him as someone “fascinated and dedicated to the magic and mystery of music”.

Phillips formed Chills in 1980 with his sister Rachel, and the band signed to Flying Nun Records in 1982. The band’s first studio album, Brave wordsarrived in 1987.

Their sequel from the 90’s. Underwater bellswas released in the US by Warner Bros. subsidiary Slash Records, which helped her Heavenly pop hit at No. 17 on Billboard magazine’s Modern Rock chart.

Slash brought Chills to Los Angeles to record the band’s next album, 1992’s The Chills Soft bombhiring Peter Holsapple to play keyboards in the studio while Van Dyke Parks arranged the song Water wolves.

The Chills broke up after their tour Soft bombbut later reunited in a new line-up. The band’s latest album, Scatterbrain, was released in 2021.

Initially, no information was available about survivors.