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.
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Junkanoo were a percussive band from Christchurch who put out a split album release on Campbell McLay’s Onset/Offset label in 1986, recorded at Arne van Bussell’s Nightshift Studios. The name ‘Junkanoo’ stems from a festival that was originated during the period of African chattel slavery in British American colonies.
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Terrific organ-driven indie pop group from mid to late 1990’s Christchurch. Put out 2 7″ lathe singles then promptly disappeared, but singer / keyboardist / guitarist Annabel Alpers went on to find fame with her solo project Bachelorette.
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The Renderers are New Zealand’s prime example of southern-fried country, and are indeed one of our finest ever bands. Brian Crook formed the Renderers with his partner Maryrose in early 90’s Christchurch when The Max Block failed to go anywhere,… Read More »The Renderers
Weird old Christchurch hard/sludge rock act who put out a few releases in the mid to late 90s. Made up of prominent poster artist Rock Hardman, Brother Love, Ken Mexted, Dave Clarke, and a revolving crowd of Bass players.
Brilliant 90’s Christchurch sludge-rock outfit comprised of Brett Lupton, Daryl Kirk and Mike Brassell (Hiss Explosion).
Took a thoroughly DIY, low-budget approach to release a series of warped, discordant guitar albums, based around excellent guitar-work and an inventive, lo-fi and somewhat sloppy (in a good way) approach to recording songs.
The solo recording alias of Michael Brassell, former member of Christchurch lo-fi legends Squirm, and future Hiss Explosion front-man. Brassell (who used the Hex pseudonym for many of his make-shift bands) formed the Noseflute label to release the classic 1995 debut Johnnie Horse – a scattered and thoroughly charming lo-fi oddity that shines well beyond the grit of his determined 4-track recordings.
2002, Failsafe Records Two wonderfully hand-packaged releases from local 3-piece Substandard. Best described as an instrumental band with involving guitar textures (Danny Bare), driving bass guitar (Gareth Heta) and funky drumming (Andrew Robbins); they been highly prolific around town this… Read More »Substandard – Low Electric City Pulses EP / Global Research Centre
Excellent two-man band that evolved out of old-school Christchurch Lo-Fi pioneers Squirm featuring Mike Hex (aka Mike Brassell, the head honcho of the Arc Life record label at the time) on guitar, backed by Peter Mitchell.
Hex moved the two-piece south to Dunedin in the early 00’s, and continued to be a pioneer of the south island Lo-Fi scene, incorporating simple delay techniques, open chords and melodic singing to create a beautifully sparse sound.