Forming the New Zealand quartet Stellar* are Boh Runga on vocals, songwriting, and guitar—sister of Bic—alongside Chris van der Geer on guitar, bassist Kurt Shanks, and Andrew Maclaren behind the drums. Their opening release, the single "Happy Gun," surfaced in 1996 via the independent Papa Pacifica imprint. After securing a Sony contract, the follow-up cuts "What You Do," "Part of Me," and "Violent" each landed inside the Top 20. Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins oversaw production on the debut album Mix, which appeared to strong notices in August 1999 and has since reached five-times-platinum standing in New Zealand. Further singles arrived in the form of "Undone" and the Garbage-like "Every Girl," issued ahead of a repackaged edition of the album featuring Runga with blonde hair in place of her earlier bright red shade. Stellar* subsequently collected multiple Tui awards, the New Zealand music industry honors, among them Best Group and Best Album. The track "All It Takes" duplicated that earlier chart impact by reaching the Top Ten. Late 2001 brought the Bailey-produced sophomore album Magic Line.
