Celebrate Psi Phenomenon is a drone, noise and experimental music-focused label from Upper Hutt’s Campbell Kneale, the prolific performer behind Birchville Cat Motel and Black Boned Angel. The label often utilises a distinctive wallpaper aesthetic to their cover designs.
The label was particularly prolific from the mid 1990s until around 2008.
#nzmusic #experimentalmusic #dronemusic #celebratepsiphenomenon
Short-lived Wellington-based label. Their catalogue is book-ended by a couple of compilations, but otherwise their roster included releases by a handful of local rock’n’roll groups, the most well-known of which is probably The Raskolnikovs.
#nzmusic #monsterrrecords #theraskolnikovs
Prolific cassette, CDr and lathe-cut label run by Clayton Noone (aka CJA) and utilised by a fair few New Zealand (and some overseas) artists since the mid 1990s. Their first few years of releases had distinctive spray-painted covers. The original Don Lonie was billed as ‘America’s No. 1 high-school assembly speaker’, who recorded several albums for popular Christian record labels in the early 1960s.
#nzmusic #undergroundmusic #rootdonlonieforcash
Tiny late Christchurch-based label formed by Mike Richardson and headline act Barnard’s Star, who released 2 lathe cut 7″ singles and a CD EP of terrific electronic-infused shoegaze on the label. The other notable act is Hawaii Five-0, an excellent organ-driven indie-pop group that served as the debut of Annabel Alpers, who later found fame as Bachelorette.
#nzmusic #barnardsstar #hawaiifive0
Fine formerly Christchurch-based (their first release was a 7″ Lathe by Atonal Death in 1998), that released 18 experimental or ambient productions between 1998 and 2003, before label-head Peter Wright moved to London in 2003.
Ever-linked with the similarly-focused kRkRkRk label (who also release Wright’s material), Apoplexy has a less industrial focus, releasing artists such as Polio, Antony Milton, and with a back-catalog that includes material as varied as Atonal Death and Nick Hodgsons’ CM Ensemble material.
Bohemian Cafe that was one of the very few late night spots in Christchurch during the late 1970’s through to early 1980s. The Clean filmed the music video for notable early single ‘Beatnik’ here in 1982. The Volkswagens played here regularly, along with the likes of The Topp Twins (as 17 year olds!), and various other folk performers.
#nzmusic #nzvenues #theclean #beatnik #thevolkswagons #topptwins
Vaguely hippy Cafe on Lichfield street that hosted a number of diverse small-capacity shows in the late 1990s. The Cafe was upstairs from the ‘Lick Er Lounge’ bar and next to ‘Danz Nightclub’.
#nzmusic #christchurchvenues #venuscafe #lickerlounge #danznightclub
Simon Griggs’ mighty fine Propeller Records – was (along with Ripper Records) the label that kicked off New Zealand’s independent record scene with an absolute hoard of excellent singles through the first few years of the 1980s.
#nzmusic #propellerrecords #screamingmeemees #blamblamblam #newmatics
Cartel was a tiny, hidden away cocktail bay crammed into His Lordship’s Lane, what was (along with the adjacent SOL Square) a very hip art of Christchurch prior to the Canterbury Earthquakes. Run by Johnny Moore there were regular performers just about every night it was open, despite there not being enough room for a stage.
Fantastic DIY record label formed by Dylan Herkes in 1999. Originating in small town Manawatu, Stink Magnetic released hand-made Cassette Tapes by a diverse array of underground New Zealand acts: “NZ garage, surf, Hawaiian industrial, experimental country disco, Spaghetti Western, esoteric trash, rap and stone-age punk bands”.
Tiny bar upstairs from the well-known Honeypot Cafe that functioned as a low-key performance space under the venue names Metropolis (1990s) and the Green Room (2000’s), before falling victim to the Christchurch Earthquakes of 2010/2011.
The Otautahi Social Centre was a mid-sized old hall on Barbados Street in Central Christchurch which ran for a couple of years as an All-Ages-Friendly live music venue.
Being an unlicensed youth center, there was no bar or much in the way of formal organization, just a space set up with a small PA system, a few couches and a small kitchen and toilets out back. On occasion some kids would bring alcohol to shows (it was even openly endorsed at some punk gigs), but generally things got along in a friendly, community-orientated kind of way.
Internationally focused Auckland-based experimental / noise label run by Richard Francis (aka Eso Steel) as a sub-label of the now-defunct 20City label he created in the late 1990s.
Though only a total of 27 releases releases have seen the light of day so far (including Japanese experimental artist Kyoshi Mizutani, German visual / composition artist Marc Behrens and Francis’ own solo material), CMR looks to be succeeding the releases of his former label 20City with a professional approach to releasing far-reaching experimental music, so far of the laptop-drone persuasion.
Now defunct label run by Richard Francis – aka Eso Steel. 20City released a total of 4 albums and a handful of single-length releases before Francis re-established the sub-label CMR, distributing both through the Auckland-based Acroma mail-order website.
An experimental / noise label with releases from New Zealand, Japanese and American artists with Richard Francis central to most of the releases.
Mid-sized venue on the South side of Central Christchurch operated by long-time fixture of the Christchurch music scene – Al Park. Al had been a notable figure in the pub rock and (eventually) punk music that sprung up around the Mollett Street performance space in the late 1970’s, but it took until 2004 before Al had a venue of his own.