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TV Eye

Biography

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.

Inspired by the likes of Christchurch groups Perfect Strangers and The And Band along with Faigan and Watson’s massive record collections.

The Stooges, The Fall, Captain Beefheart, Bo Diddley, Swell Maps, The Clean, Meat Muppets, Flipper, Can, Love, The Seeds, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, early Pink Floyd, Pere Ubu, etc etc etc

Patrick Faigan

From 1982 till 1984 the various groups took a freeform approach to DIY recording and production, committing material either straight to cassette or using ‘higher-fidelity’ 4-track recorders like the Tascam PortaStudio or Fostex X-12. The collective recorded in bedrooms and lounges from Invercargill to Christchurch; releasing the results on cassettes or short-run vinyl albums with hand-drawn covers.

Label Roster

Compilation Discography

  • Weirdicats Cassette (1983, TVEYE006)
  • I Just Flew In From Invercargill, And Boy Are My Arms Tired! Cassette (1984, TVEYE009)

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