PseudoArcana is an underground experimental record label founded in Masterton, New Zealand around 2000 by sound artist Antony Milton. Operating primarily through limited-edition CD-R releases, the label has grown to more than 130 releases spanning experimental, drone, ambient, and avant-garde music, with a roster including Pumice, Seht, The Stumps, Purple Pilgrims, Paintings of Windows, and Peter Wright.
Apoplexy was a Christchurch-based experimental and ambient record label founded in 1998 by Peter Wright, who had previously co-founded the kRkRkRk label. Active from 1998 to 2003, the label released 18 experimental and ambient productions before Wright relocated to London, with highlights including his debut LP, Distant Bombs (2002), and Pariahs Sing Om (2003).
kRkRkRk is a Christchurch experimental and industrial cassette label founded in 1992 by TMA-1 members James Robinson and Peter Wright. Operating on a DIY ethic, the label grew to over one hundred and thirty releases, documenting a generation of Christchurch underground artists across cassette and digital formats. After Wright moved to England in 2003, David Khan took over as label head, continuing as a portable studio engineer until health issues brought its active phase to a close.
TV Eye was a collective rather than a label, with releases comprised of group, duo and solo material from the musicians that made up the South Island recording collective The Picnic Boys, plus a couple of hard-to-find compilations that include the same groups and a handful of others who may or may not feature key members Kevin Smith, Steve Watson, Pat Faigan, and Tim McCleod.
#tveye #nzmusic #thepicnicboys #sayyestoapes
Arclife Records was an excellent ‘home-grown’ independent label formed by the Arclife Trust, an arts organization that formed out of the Arc Cafe in central Dunedin.
The label had a strong, tight-knit community of local Dunedin groups on its roster – many of whom had moved on from the by-then Auckland based Flying Nun Records.
#nzmusic #arcliferecords
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
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
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”.
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.
Auckland-based independent label formed by Martin Phillips and Benjii Jackson in 2009, with Michael McClelland (previously a writer for The Corner, but that site appears to be AI generated spam now) and Maeve Munro, completing the team.
Every Secret Thing (aka EST – also the name of a comic/fanzine that Scott published) was a home taping label established by Rob Scott and incorporated a lot of his home demos (usually as Electric Blood, but also in many other totally unknown bands) along with ultra-rare recordings from the likes of Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos, the Weeds and various compilations featuring many Dunedin and Christchurch bands.