Fishrider Records is based in Dunedin, New Zealand.
We're not music industry. We're music arts & crafts.
Discover Fishrider Records releases on our Bandcamp page.
Find the full catalogue of Fishrider Records & Occultation Recordings releases we stock at our Storenvy Online Shop.
Subscribe to our (very occasional) new release mailing list here.
We're not music industry. We're music arts & crafts.
Discover Fishrider Records releases on our Bandcamp page.
Find the full catalogue of Fishrider Records & Occultation Recordings releases we stock at our Storenvy Online Shop.
Subscribe to our (very occasional) new release mailing list here.
NEW RELEASE NEWS!
Emily Fairlight self-released a wonderful album last year called "Mother of Gloom". Her small self-released LP run sold out quickly (unsurprisingly) and Fishrider Records is thrilled to announce that we are (re)releasing it, with the LP and CD scheduled for release in NZ/ Australia on 5 April 2019. Once again this is a co-release with Occultation recordings in the UK, where it will be released on 28 June. "Mother of Gloom" is available now.
"Fairlight is a folk singer with a touch of the weird and wonderful, travelling the same backroads as songwriters such as Will Oldham, PJ Harvey, Karen Dalton, Cat Power, Aldous Harding and Nadia Reid. "Mother of Gloom" a warm and intimate set of songs that highlight her ability to find shadowy moods in her music and most vividly via her exceptional and haunting voice." (Post To Wire)
Emily Fairlight recently completed a 12-show tour supporting Marlon Williams throughout New Zealand, backed by The Shifting Sands. In March she played several shows at SXSW in Texas with a backing band including musicians from The Shifting Sands and The Prophet Hens.
The video below is a stripped down version of "Body Below", the opening track from "Mother of Gloom", from a studio live session on Radio 13, accompanied by Mike McLeod of The Shifting Sands.
"I've been waiting for Emily Fairlight's album with bated breath and it hasn't disappointed. Have a listen to "Body Below". It's truly economic songwriting. An emotionally complex idea delivered simply in two minutes, 30 seconds." Marlon Williams
DOWNLOADS - we are changing the way we deliver free downloads with LP purchases. As so few DL codes are redeemed (less than 25%) and we would like to keep the cost of LPs down we will not be printing DL cards for future LPs. If you want a DL simply e-mail us via the 'Contact' form on the tab above, let us know what you bought and where (we're curious!) and we will e-mail you a DL code back. Simple.
NEW RELEASES
BAD SAV - bad sav [FISH024 LP/CD/DL/iTunes] UK release out now via Occultation Recordings
If guitar rock is dead, no-one told Bad Sav. The latest blast of Analogue Dunedin comes from the band that refused to be left behind. Although featuring Death And The Maiden guitarist/vocalist Hope Robertson and bassist/vocalist Lucinda King, plus Shifting Sands guitarist Mike McLeod (on drums here), Bad Sav are the primary strain from which both of those bands sprang.
When asked to describe her band’s sound in a 2010 interview, Hope suggested “...a missed punch and a grazed fist. Sad, heavy, unpredictable loud pop". Indeed, Bad Sav offer a far more guitar-oriented hard attack than DATM; their distinctive filtering and reassembly of influences from shoegaze, psychedelic noise-rock - and goodness knows where else - are combined using a uniquely electrified Dunedin sonic alchemy, bursting with colossal, majestic, melodic noise. Order now via Bandcamp.
"They conjure epic maelstroms of distorted guitars, pounding drums, reverbed vocals and squalling noisescapes to teleport listeners into their bruised sonic universe. The carefully balanced ten track collection is sure to be a local highlight of the year for many..." UTR
BAD SAV - bad sav [FISH024 LP/CD/DL/iTunes] UK release out now via Occultation Recordings
If guitar rock is dead, no-one told Bad Sav. The latest blast of Analogue Dunedin comes from the band that refused to be left behind. Although featuring Death And The Maiden guitarist/vocalist Hope Robertson and bassist/vocalist Lucinda King, plus Shifting Sands guitarist Mike McLeod (on drums here), Bad Sav are the primary strain from which both of those bands sprang.
When asked to describe her band’s sound in a 2010 interview, Hope suggested “...a missed punch and a grazed fist. Sad, heavy, unpredictable loud pop". Indeed, Bad Sav offer a far more guitar-oriented hard attack than DATM; their distinctive filtering and reassembly of influences from shoegaze, psychedelic noise-rock - and goodness knows where else - are combined using a uniquely electrified Dunedin sonic alchemy, bursting with colossal, majestic, melodic noise. Order now via Bandcamp.
"They conjure epic maelstroms of distorted guitars, pounding drums, reverbed vocals and squalling noisescapes to teleport listeners into their bruised sonic universe. The carefully balanced ten track collection is sure to be a local highlight of the year for many..." UTR
DEATH AND THE MAIDEN - Wisteria [FISH022 LP/CD/DL] iTunes UK release out now via Occultation Recordings
The second album from Port Chalmers, Dunedin band Death and the Maiden creates a shadowy world within a world; populated by melancholy melodic synth waves, dreamy reverb washed guitars and vocals that celebrate the excruciating beauty and crushing weight of everyday life.
The band - Lucinda King (vocals, Bass), Hope Robertson (guitar, drums, vocals) and Danny Brady (synths, programming) - create a beautiful depth of sound, nestled between the programmed beats, synth arpeggios, hypnotic guitars and a pulsing bass.
Continuing from their eponymous debut, "Wisteria" conjures dreams of love, decay. Sounding at times wispy and ethereal, "Wisteria" also has passages of driving, pulsing cacophony; breathing life into the dreams of the dead.
"This is the perfect soundtrack for the enveloping heat of a new season. Beautiful, scary and endlessly evocative." The Quietus (UK)
Read the full review in The Quietus here.
"a euphoric urgent post-punk sound that taps straight into a visceral need to nod and sway... "Wisteria" is more gutsy, more beat driven than their 2015 eponymous debut, and an enveloping, whole body experience." Album of the Week, The Listener (NZ)
The second album from Port Chalmers, Dunedin band Death and the Maiden creates a shadowy world within a world; populated by melancholy melodic synth waves, dreamy reverb washed guitars and vocals that celebrate the excruciating beauty and crushing weight of everyday life.
The band - Lucinda King (vocals, Bass), Hope Robertson (guitar, drums, vocals) and Danny Brady (synths, programming) - create a beautiful depth of sound, nestled between the programmed beats, synth arpeggios, hypnotic guitars and a pulsing bass.
Continuing from their eponymous debut, "Wisteria" conjures dreams of love, decay. Sounding at times wispy and ethereal, "Wisteria" also has passages of driving, pulsing cacophony; breathing life into the dreams of the dead.
"This is the perfect soundtrack for the enveloping heat of a new season. Beautiful, scary and endlessly evocative." The Quietus (UK)
Read the full review in The Quietus here.
"a euphoric urgent post-punk sound that taps straight into a visceral need to nod and sway... "Wisteria" is more gutsy, more beat driven than their 2015 eponymous debut, and an enveloping, whole body experience." Album of the Week, The Listener (NZ)
STEF ANIMAL Top Gear [FISH025 CD/DL/ iTunes] UK release May 2018 via Occultation Recordings
Stef Animal (The Golden Awesome) presents her debut solo release “Top Gear” - a concept album of fifteen tracks, each conceived and recorded in one session, each track made using a different piece of obsolete or unfashionable music equipment. The result is a collection of lo-fi epic miniatures. Even if you didn’t grow up with Atari video games, have no idea what Acorn and Commodore computers are or what acronyms like PCM and MIDI mean, you’ll still find the intricate universe of sound represented on “Top Gear” to be full of adventure, wonder, human emotion and melancholic weight. [NZ Release February 2018/ UK release May 2018]
" The fifteen-song collection is a journey through electronic dream-pop and lo-tech cinematic synthscapes, with Stef Animal's ethereal vocals drawing listeners deep into her finely composed universe of sound." Under the Radar NZ
"a glorious collision of fantasy game soundtrack and Enya style baroque ambiance where retro sounds meet high art, but in a listenable and enchanting form. If lo-fi epics weren’t a thing before, they are now!" Electronic North UK
" It’s creepy and soothing, calm and disjointed, measured and wild – somewhere these pieces seem to occupy several sonic spaces at once: relaxed and meditative, tranquil – but somehow mildly abrasive. I love that." Off The Tracks NZ
Stef Animal (The Golden Awesome) presents her debut solo release “Top Gear” - a concept album of fifteen tracks, each conceived and recorded in one session, each track made using a different piece of obsolete or unfashionable music equipment. The result is a collection of lo-fi epic miniatures. Even if you didn’t grow up with Atari video games, have no idea what Acorn and Commodore computers are or what acronyms like PCM and MIDI mean, you’ll still find the intricate universe of sound represented on “Top Gear” to be full of adventure, wonder, human emotion and melancholic weight. [NZ Release February 2018/ UK release May 2018]
" The fifteen-song collection is a journey through electronic dream-pop and lo-tech cinematic synthscapes, with Stef Animal's ethereal vocals drawing listeners deep into her finely composed universe of sound." Under the Radar NZ
"a glorious collision of fantasy game soundtrack and Enya style baroque ambiance where retro sounds meet high art, but in a listenable and enchanting form. If lo-fi epics weren’t a thing before, they are now!" Electronic North UK
" It’s creepy and soothing, calm and disjointed, measured and wild – somewhere these pieces seem to occupy several sonic spaces at once: relaxed and meditative, tranquil – but somehow mildly abrasive. I love that." Off The Tracks NZ
THE SHIFTING SANDS - Zoe/ Run [FISH021 7" single/ DL] UK release via Occultation Recordings
Recorded in Manny’s Estudio International in East Los Angeles by The Shifting Sands after the band toured the West Coast of the USA supporting David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights, this 7" single continues on from the saturated guitar rock of their Cosmic Radio Station album. Joining the Shifting Sands for the sessions was guest guitarist Steven Schayer – an LA-based musician with NZ connections, having played in The Chills during the early 90’s US-based “Soft Bomb” album era. Steven and studio owner/ recording engineer Manny Nieto brought a different flavour to complement the independent DIY No. 8 wire approach of The Shifting Sands.
Recorded in Manny’s Estudio International in East Los Angeles by The Shifting Sands after the band toured the West Coast of the USA supporting David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights, this 7" single continues on from the saturated guitar rock of their Cosmic Radio Station album. Joining the Shifting Sands for the sessions was guest guitarist Steven Schayer – an LA-based musician with NZ connections, having played in The Chills during the early 90’s US-based “Soft Bomb” album era. Steven and studio owner/ recording engineer Manny Nieto brought a different flavour to complement the independent DIY No. 8 wire approach of The Shifting Sands.
ÈLAN VITAL Shadow Self [FISH018 LP/CD/DL/ iTunes] UK release via Occultation Recordings
Èlan Vital formed in Dunedin’s None Gallery, an artist-run creative community in a former pharmaceutical factory near the city centre. Their sound takes contemporary European cold-wave synth-pop dance music layered on analogue drum machines, then blends in the warm psychedelic organ sounds of 1960s garage rock. Distorted, overdriven bass guitar adds a further element of chaos into the mix.
The expression Èlan Vital describes the vital force or impulse of life. The music on “Shadow Self” represents that life impulse in an ambiguous zone between machine and human worlds. A dense claustrophobic swirl of dark dance-tempo synth-pop blooms from gloomy cold industrial dance music with vocoder vocals into uplifting melodic dream-pop catharsis about memory, longing, and obsession
Èlan Vital formed in Dunedin’s None Gallery, an artist-run creative community in a former pharmaceutical factory near the city centre. Their sound takes contemporary European cold-wave synth-pop dance music layered on analogue drum machines, then blends in the warm psychedelic organ sounds of 1960s garage rock. Distorted, overdriven bass guitar adds a further element of chaos into the mix.
The expression Èlan Vital describes the vital force or impulse of life. The music on “Shadow Self” represents that life impulse in an ambiguous zone between machine and human worlds. A dense claustrophobic swirl of dark dance-tempo synth-pop blooms from gloomy cold industrial dance music with vocoder vocals into uplifting melodic dream-pop catharsis about memory, longing, and obsession
THE GRANITE SHORE Suspended Second [FISH023 LP/CD/DL] UK release via Occultation Recordings
The second album by UK band The Granite Shore, formed by Occultation Recordings owner Nick Halliwell and featuring Phil Wilson and Arash Torabi from The June Brides is an epic and majestic classic rock-pop album reflecting on anxiety and 'Brexit'. "Abba and Shakespeare are cornerstones, beacons in my cultural clutter" says Nick, citing influences on the album's sound and lyrics, and The Quietus praised the work as "perhaps the most affecting pop album since ABC's The Lexicon Of Love." The album also features Auckland based songwriter and guitarist for The Distractions, Steve Perrin, and The Puddle's Ian Henderson from Dunedin, so it has a strong local New Zealand connection.
The second album by UK band The Granite Shore, formed by Occultation Recordings owner Nick Halliwell and featuring Phil Wilson and Arash Torabi from The June Brides is an epic and majestic classic rock-pop album reflecting on anxiety and 'Brexit'. "Abba and Shakespeare are cornerstones, beacons in my cultural clutter" says Nick, citing influences on the album's sound and lyrics, and The Quietus praised the work as "perhaps the most affecting pop album since ABC's The Lexicon Of Love." The album also features Auckland based songwriter and guitarist for The Distractions, Steve Perrin, and The Puddle's Ian Henderson from Dunedin, so it has a strong local New Zealand connection.
For more releases check the 'Releases' page or our Bandcamp
Discover more Fishrider Records releases on our Bandcamp page. Our Storenvy Online Shop has all the Fishrider Records releases & also the Occultation Recordings releases we stock.
FINDING FISHRIDER RECORDS RELEASES WORLDWIDE
Easiest way to find a release is the online shop or https://fishriderrecords.bandcamp.com/
Or e-mail us via the contacts form and we will give you the best local options for your country. If you are in the UK, Europe or North America - Fishrider releases are available directly from Occultation Recordings http://www.occultation.co.uk
If your local record store doesn't stock the Fishrider release you are looking for tell them about us please! Our NZ/ Australia disributor is Rhythmethod NZ and our UK/ North America distributor is Cargo Records and in Europe it is Cargo Records (Germany).
Our releases can also be obtained by mail-order from Jigsaw Records in Seattle and Forced Exposure and a few titles are available on CD from CDBaby there too.
FINDING FISHRIDER RECORDS RELEASES WORLDWIDE
Easiest way to find a release is the online shop or https://fishriderrecords.bandcamp.com/
Or e-mail us via the contacts form and we will give you the best local options for your country. If you are in the UK, Europe or North America - Fishrider releases are available directly from Occultation Recordings http://www.occultation.co.uk
If your local record store doesn't stock the Fishrider release you are looking for tell them about us please! Our NZ/ Australia disributor is Rhythmethod NZ and our UK/ North America distributor is Cargo Records and in Europe it is Cargo Records (Germany).
Our releases can also be obtained by mail-order from Jigsaw Records in Seattle and Forced Exposure and a few titles are available on CD from CDBaby there too.
