Also known as: —
Location: 27 Whittington Avenue, Woolston, Christchurch
Active: c. 1976–present
Current status: Operating
Website: nightshiftstudios.co.nz
Phone: (03) 381-0955
Email: arnie@nightshiftstudios.co.nz
Social: Facebook
History
Nightshift Studios is a recording studio in Woolston, Christchurch, founded and operated by Dutch-born engineer Arnie van Bussel. Van Bussel began recording informally while studying at Canterbury University in the 1970s, capturing demos for friends’ bands using rudimentary equipment. As demand grew — and as the Christchurch post-punk scene began to coalesce around the Flying Nun milieu — he established Nightshift professionally in a separate building at the rear of his home.
Working initially on an eight-track recorder, van Bussel offered something the city’s established studios couldn’t: a relaxed, affordable environment built on trust and people skills rather than sterile professionalism. His rate of $10 an hour made Nightshift the natural choice for bands with no money and a lot of ideas. The studio’s two-room setup — a modest live room and a control room anchored by van Bussel’s custom-built console, used continuously for over forty years — became one of the defining spaces of New Zealand independent music.
Nightshift’s place in Flying Nun history was secured early. In November 1980, The Newtones recorded there with soundman Fred Kramer, van Bussel’s 12-string double-neck guitar making it onto one of the tracks. In July 1981, The Pin Group cut two singles at Nightshift — including Ambivalence, which became Flying Nun’s debut release (FN001). The label’s second release, The Clean‘s Tally Ho (FN002), was also recorded there by van Bussel for $48. Ballon D’Essai recorded a four-track EP at Nightshift in 1981, with van Bussel behind the desk. The Gordons — later to become Bailter Space — also came through in these early years.
The Bats became Nightshift’s most consistent long-term clients. They recorded their first EP there in 1984 and a second, And Now Here Is Music For Firesides, in 1985; van Bussel engineered most of Daddy’s Highway (1987) there too. After unsatisfactory experiences with overseas producers, the band returned to Nightshift to self-produce their 1995 album Couchmaster — a vote of confidence in the studio’s character over commercial polish.
Nightshift has remained in continuous operation across five decades, expanding into digital recording alongside its original analog equipment. Later clients have included The Dance Exponents (Victoria demo), The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience, The Feelers, Atomic Blossom, and Hayley Westenra, spanning country, jazz, blues, metal, and everything in between. Van Bussel’s approach has never changed: get the sound, keep the artist comfortable, and trust the room.
He was a big bearded Dutchman, full of life…each time was like coming back to a familiar place, a good feeling.
Robert Scott (The Clean / The Bats), via Rockhappenz
Notable Recordings
- The Pin Group — Ambivalence (1981, Flying Nun FN001)
- The Clean — Tally Ho (1981, Flying Nun FN002)
- Ballon D’Essai — EP (1981)
- The Newtones — sessions (1980)
- The Gordons — early sessions (1981–82)
- The Bats — self-titled EP (1984, Flying Nun)
- The Bats — And Now Here Is Music For Firesides EP (1985, Flying Nun)
- The Bats — Daddy’s Highway LP (1987, Flying Nun)
- The Bats — Couchmaster LP (1995, Flying Nun, self-produced)
- The Dance Exponents — Victoria demo
- The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience — sessions