Fishrider Records is a small Dunedin, New Zealand music arts & crafts record label specialising in literate, melodic psych pop, no wave & whatever other kinds of DIY subversive pop take our fancy.
Latest News
Trick Mammoth - Floristry (LP/CD)
Trick Mammoth are a flower cult pop band from Dunedin. Fragile, lucid, but rough around the edges, their songs are unintentionally sincere and bashfully honest, performed with open arms and a soft indifference. Drawing mostly on film, literature and poetry, their music has a shy pretension buried under layers of simplicity. With comparisons ranging from Black Tambourine to The Carpenters, this youthful trio of Adrian, Millie & Sam have crafted a sound saccharine sweet yet doused in death. Gorgeous dream-pop from the margins.
“one of those bands that burrows into your brain immediately upon first listen, due in part to infectious songs loaded with memorable hooks…The band’s particular brand of sweetly delivered, wistful pop carries a hint of melancholy to balance out the warmth. The resulting sound calls to mind such greats as Black Tambourine and The Go-Betweens crossed with a little Veronica Falls.” Perfect Midnight World (US)
“a kind of folk-rock which manages to be urgent yet bucolic, urban yet pastoral, psychedelic yet primitive… This music has grown up on the fringes of official history, in the undergrowth, where it’s blossomed into something truly gorgeous. And it’s this nonchalant rock music, …cool and simplified, which this young three-piece play” Les Inrockuptibles (France)
“What bands play upbeat songs that are touched by such sadness? What bands luxuriate in melancholy sweetness with such rich despondency? The Smiths and The Cure. Here's another: Trick Mammoth. Trick Mammoth belong to a lineage that includes Hatful of Hollow and Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. They create the sort of literate, romantic pop music that was indie's high-water mark…” Did Not Chart (UK)
“This is just about as perfect guitar-pop as you're likely to hear; lovely vocals, lovely sound, lovely song... just lovely.” Sound of Confusion (UK)
"Floristry is a good record. A damn good one...the album has an intangible substance which comes either from the impeccable songwriting or from the ability to create sonic bliss from such simple building blocks." Happy (Australia)
“Really fantastic stuff here…This is the sound of sunshine and springtime… The tunes are strong here - hooks a-plenty folks - …like the best bits of C86 mixed with stuff like Black Tambourine and Pam Berry's Glo-Worm.” A Pessimist is Never Disappointed (US)
“just another quiet miracle of sound and economic beauty stealing our hearts and ears courtesy the bottomless genetic pool that is Dunedin… a kaleidoscopic calling card of a band endowed with a natal understanding of their craft and a melodic promise well beyond their years… This is the type sound we were given ears for.” Caught in the Carousel (US)
“Trick mammoth go in search of the perfect feather-light pop song in this impressive 10-song debut… and come within a cat’s whisker of the sublime… the writing is strong and the overall dynamic enchanting.” Otago Daily Times
“All hail the new sound of Young Dunedin. I swear to god there is something magical in the air down there. Certainly something was fuelling this impressive production line of insanely addictive, quirky off-kilter Pop… “ Unpopular (UK)
"Floristry" - the debut album from Trick Mammoth - was released in NZ on 31 January and in the UK on 24 February 2014. It can be heard & ordered at http://trickmammoth.bandcamp.com/ or ordered at http://fishrider.storenvy.com/ ). Available in all good record stores! And, if it's not in your record store, please tell them they can order it from Rhythmethod (NZ), Cargo (UK/Europe) and Revolver/ Midheaven (USA)... or direct from us if anywhere else.
Males - 'Run Run Run/MalesMalesMales' (LP/CD)
Males are a guitar pop band from Dunedin, making ‘garage pop’ - insanely catchy short songs, crammed with melody, propulsive guitar, helium vocals & harmonies. It's helium-powered pop on a sugar diet, with serious themes. This debut mini-album collects together their first EP, a single & four brand new songs into one convenient bag of aural treats.
“23 minutes of the most celebratory and unselfconscious guitar-pop produced in this neck of the woods” Otago Daily Times
“brightly summertime pop cramming a lot of melodic hooks and guitar momentum into economic songs” NZ Herald
Males debut mini-album is available now on LP/CD & digital -
Buy it via Males' Bandcamp http://malesmalesmales.bandcamp.com/ (or visit our online shop http://fishrider.storenvy.com/ )
Males have a great new video for 'So High' here: http://youtu.be/Uj1xVDS5HoA
The Prophet Hens debut album "Popular People Do Popular People" (FISH010 CD) is out now.
Hatched from Dunedin's dreamy but dark 21st century pop underground, The Prophet Hens bring a ghostly reminder of the decaying southern city's musical past, when bands crafted melodic, chiming jangle-pop in seedy bars.
http://theprophethens.bandcamp.com/
“perfectly encapsulates the big bold ambition of Dunedin music with the quiet drama of isolation on a South Pacific island: part Chills organ-drenched pop, part bedroom angst” Did Not Chart (UK)
“The Chills are back after more than a ten year hiatus, but the big news out of New Zealand this year is the Prophet Hens first album. Taking the Chills’ torch and running away with it." Finest Kiss (USA)
“dark, jangly and wholly compelling guitar pop (too) generally referred to as "the Dunedin sound"...this album is a triumph…” When You Motor Away (USA)
"It’s the perfect, perfect New Zealand jangly pop album with nods throughout to the bands I worshipped during my youth particularly The Chills... I urge any fans of literate, chiming melodic pop records particularly those made in 1980’s Dunedin to give this a try." Clinton, Norman Records, UK
“this is music for cynics to rise above themselves to, and the Prophet Hens carry that tradition with aplomb, with élan, with grace. Listen up.” Caught in the Carousel (USA)
“sunny, singalongable pop tunes, reminiscent at times of The Chills’ Martin Phillipps” The Listener (NZ)
“I really like that… I’ll be playing more tunes from that in future, no doubt about it” Marc Riley BBC6music
Other recent releases...
Opposite Sex - Opposite Sex (LP/CD) http://oppositesex.bandcamp.com/
The sound of this trio is, they say, “an absurdist-logico mix of Euro-pop, Beat poetry, and subterranean lo-fi adventuring.” Although their music ranges from oddly poppy carnival waltzes through to manic and melodic post-punk and no wave this is no retro exercise. The album is their own unique genre-defying trip through the experimental pop underground of their imaginations.
“The new wave of New Zealand pop begins here...it’s remarkable, leaping from sea-sick waltzes and crunchy post-punk to ADD-pop.” **** Uncut
“The kind of half-melted, buckled pop that suggests they’ve just re-entered earth’s atmosphere after a long strange trip away... Opposite Sex attract rather than repel.” Q
“...one of those amazing pieces of ragged art that must simply be heard to be believed...Get it.” 9/10 Popmatters.com
“I absolutely adore it. It's going to be in my top five albums of the year definitely.“ Marc Riley, BBC 6 Music
The Shifting Sands - Feel (CD) http://theshiftingsands.bandcamp.com/
The album seems soaked in the atmosphere of life on the remote South East coast of this unstable island on the edge of the world, alternating between the dreamy and the urgent. . While the hyper-melodic jangle-pop sometimes references the “Dunedin sound”, the injection of synthesizer and sitar into the mix turns everything on its head. A collaboration involving many of Dunedin’s finest musicians past and present, including David Kilgour (The Clean), Robert Scott (The Clean, The Bats), Robbie Yeats (The Verlaines, The Dead C) and Lesley Paris (Look Blue Go Purple)
The Puddle - Secret Holiday/ Victory Blues (LP/CD) http://thepuddle.bandcamp.com/
The 7th album by The Puddle is the sum of two proposed 5-track EPs recorded a year apart and pulled together into one cohesive album. Their 1986-93 Flying Nun Records catalogue is long out of print but this collection (their 4th on Fishrider since 2007) is George D. Henderson’s response to 30 years of under-appreciation for their urgent psychedelia, sweet pop sentiments and garage rock undertones.
ABOUT FISHRIDER RECORDS
Fishrider Records started by accident in 2006 to release an album by The Dark Beaks. Albums by former Flying Nun psych-pop legends The Puddle followed, then an accidental masterpiece by Opposite Sex. In 2012, taking a cue from the postpunk era when independent labels collaborated together, Fishrider Records linked hands across the oceans with small UK label Occultation Recordings http://www.occultation.co.uk The Occultation catalogue includes The Wild Swans, Factory Star, The June Brides, The Distractions and The Granite Shore. We also have some co-releases given a simultaneous NZ/Australia and UK/ Europe releases - the Opposite Sex album, Factory Star's 'New Sacral 10" and now Trick Mammoth's 'Floristry'.
WHERE TO FIND FISHRIDER RECORDS
Outside of New Zealand only the albums from Opposite Sex and Trick Mammoth have retail distribution (UK and Europe). However you can easily find all our releases by using the artist bandcamp links above or using the online shop tab above.
If you are in the UK or Europe you can buy Fishrider releases directly from Occultation, saving time and postage. Likewise, you can buy Occultation releases from Fishrider in Australasia too.
If you are in North America you can buy from either Fishrider or Occultation and direct from the artist Bandcamp pages above. You can obtain our catalogue (LPs and CDs) in America from http://www.tediumhouse.com/labels/fishrider
CDs and digital albums are also available in North America from CDBaby
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/ThePuddle
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/OppositeSex
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/TheShiftingSands
http://www.cdbaby.com/artist/TheProphetHens
Listen to and download a free sampler of the latest Fishrider Records releases here:
Trick Mammoth are a flower cult pop band from Dunedin. Fragile, lucid, but rough around the edges, their songs are unintentionally sincere and bashfully honest, performed with open arms and a soft indifference. Drawing mostly on film, literature and poetry, their music has a shy pretension buried under layers of simplicity. With comparisons ranging from Black Tambourine to The Carpenters, this youthful trio of Adrian, Millie & Sam have crafted a sound saccharine sweet yet doused in death. Gorgeous dream-pop from the margins.
“one of those bands that burrows into your brain immediately upon first listen, due in part to infectious songs loaded with memorable hooks…The band’s particular brand of sweetly delivered, wistful pop carries a hint of melancholy to balance out the warmth. The resulting sound calls to mind such greats as Black Tambourine and The Go-Betweens crossed with a little Veronica Falls.” Perfect Midnight World (US)
“a kind of folk-rock which manages to be urgent yet bucolic, urban yet pastoral, psychedelic yet primitive… This music has grown up on the fringes of official history, in the undergrowth, where it’s blossomed into something truly gorgeous. And it’s this nonchalant rock music, …cool and simplified, which this young three-piece play” Les Inrockuptibles (France)
“What bands play upbeat songs that are touched by such sadness? What bands luxuriate in melancholy sweetness with such rich despondency? The Smiths and The Cure. Here's another: Trick Mammoth. Trick Mammoth belong to a lineage that includes Hatful of Hollow and Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. They create the sort of literate, romantic pop music that was indie's high-water mark…” Did Not Chart (UK)
“This is just about as perfect guitar-pop as you're likely to hear; lovely vocals, lovely sound, lovely song... just lovely.” Sound of Confusion (UK)
"Floristry is a good record. A damn good one...the album has an intangible substance which comes either from the impeccable songwriting or from the ability to create sonic bliss from such simple building blocks." Happy (Australia)
“Really fantastic stuff here…This is the sound of sunshine and springtime… The tunes are strong here - hooks a-plenty folks - …like the best bits of C86 mixed with stuff like Black Tambourine and Pam Berry's Glo-Worm.” A Pessimist is Never Disappointed (US)
“just another quiet miracle of sound and economic beauty stealing our hearts and ears courtesy the bottomless genetic pool that is Dunedin… a kaleidoscopic calling card of a band endowed with a natal understanding of their craft and a melodic promise well beyond their years… This is the type sound we were given ears for.” Caught in the Carousel (US)
“Trick mammoth go in search of the perfect feather-light pop song in this impressive 10-song debut… and come within a cat’s whisker of the sublime… the writing is strong and the overall dynamic enchanting.” Otago Daily Times
“All hail the new sound of Young Dunedin. I swear to god there is something magical in the air down there. Certainly something was fuelling this impressive production line of insanely addictive, quirky off-kilter Pop… “ Unpopular (UK)
"Floristry" - the debut album from Trick Mammoth - was released in NZ on 31 January and in the UK on 24 February 2014. It can be heard & ordered at http://trickmammoth.bandcamp.com/ or ordered at http://fishrider.storenvy.com/ ). Available in all good record stores! And, if it's not in your record store, please tell them they can order it from Rhythmethod (NZ), Cargo (UK/Europe) and Revolver/ Midheaven (USA)... or direct from us if anywhere else.
Males - 'Run Run Run/MalesMalesMales' (LP/CD)
Males are a guitar pop band from Dunedin, making ‘garage pop’ - insanely catchy short songs, crammed with melody, propulsive guitar, helium vocals & harmonies. It's helium-powered pop on a sugar diet, with serious themes. This debut mini-album collects together their first EP, a single & four brand new songs into one convenient bag of aural treats.
“23 minutes of the most celebratory and unselfconscious guitar-pop produced in this neck of the woods” Otago Daily Times
“brightly summertime pop cramming a lot of melodic hooks and guitar momentum into economic songs” NZ Herald
Males debut mini-album is available now on LP/CD & digital -
Buy it via Males' Bandcamp http://malesmalesmales.bandcamp.com/ (or visit our online shop http://fishrider.storenvy.com/ )
Males have a great new video for 'So High' here: http://youtu.be/Uj1xVDS5HoA
The Prophet Hens debut album "Popular People Do Popular People" (FISH010 CD) is out now.
Hatched from Dunedin's dreamy but dark 21st century pop underground, The Prophet Hens bring a ghostly reminder of the decaying southern city's musical past, when bands crafted melodic, chiming jangle-pop in seedy bars.
http://theprophethens.bandcamp.com/
“perfectly encapsulates the big bold ambition of Dunedin music with the quiet drama of isolation on a South Pacific island: part Chills organ-drenched pop, part bedroom angst” Did Not Chart (UK)
“The Chills are back after more than a ten year hiatus, but the big news out of New Zealand this year is the Prophet Hens first album. Taking the Chills’ torch and running away with it." Finest Kiss (USA)
“dark, jangly and wholly compelling guitar pop (too) generally referred to as "the Dunedin sound"...this album is a triumph…” When You Motor Away (USA)
"It’s the perfect, perfect New Zealand jangly pop album with nods throughout to the bands I worshipped during my youth particularly The Chills... I urge any fans of literate, chiming melodic pop records particularly those made in 1980’s Dunedin to give this a try." Clinton, Norman Records, UK
“this is music for cynics to rise above themselves to, and the Prophet Hens carry that tradition with aplomb, with élan, with grace. Listen up.” Caught in the Carousel (USA)
“sunny, singalongable pop tunes, reminiscent at times of The Chills’ Martin Phillipps” The Listener (NZ)
“I really like that… I’ll be playing more tunes from that in future, no doubt about it” Marc Riley BBC6music
Other recent releases...
Opposite Sex - Opposite Sex (LP/CD) http://oppositesex.bandcamp.com/
The sound of this trio is, they say, “an absurdist-logico mix of Euro-pop, Beat poetry, and subterranean lo-fi adventuring.” Although their music ranges from oddly poppy carnival waltzes through to manic and melodic post-punk and no wave this is no retro exercise. The album is their own unique genre-defying trip through the experimental pop underground of their imaginations.
“The new wave of New Zealand pop begins here...it’s remarkable, leaping from sea-sick waltzes and crunchy post-punk to ADD-pop.” **** Uncut
“The kind of half-melted, buckled pop that suggests they’ve just re-entered earth’s atmosphere after a long strange trip away... Opposite Sex attract rather than repel.” Q
“...one of those amazing pieces of ragged art that must simply be heard to be believed...Get it.” 9/10 Popmatters.com
“I absolutely adore it. It's going to be in my top five albums of the year definitely.“ Marc Riley, BBC 6 Music
The Shifting Sands - Feel (CD) http://theshiftingsands.bandcamp.com/
The album seems soaked in the atmosphere of life on the remote South East coast of this unstable island on the edge of the world, alternating between the dreamy and the urgent. . While the hyper-melodic jangle-pop sometimes references the “Dunedin sound”, the injection of synthesizer and sitar into the mix turns everything on its head. A collaboration involving many of Dunedin’s finest musicians past and present, including David Kilgour (The Clean), Robert Scott (The Clean, The Bats), Robbie Yeats (The Verlaines, The Dead C) and Lesley Paris (Look Blue Go Purple)
The Puddle - Secret Holiday/ Victory Blues (LP/CD) http://thepuddle.bandcamp.com/
The 7th album by The Puddle is the sum of two proposed 5-track EPs recorded a year apart and pulled together into one cohesive album. Their 1986-93 Flying Nun Records catalogue is long out of print but this collection (their 4th on Fishrider since 2007) is George D. Henderson’s response to 30 years of under-appreciation for their urgent psychedelia, sweet pop sentiments and garage rock undertones.
ABOUT FISHRIDER RECORDS
Fishrider Records started by accident in 2006 to release an album by The Dark Beaks. Albums by former Flying Nun psych-pop legends The Puddle followed, then an accidental masterpiece by Opposite Sex. In 2012, taking a cue from the postpunk era when independent labels collaborated together, Fishrider Records linked hands across the oceans with small UK label Occultation Recordings http://www.occultation.co.uk The Occultation catalogue includes The Wild Swans, Factory Star, The June Brides, The Distractions and The Granite Shore. We also have some co-releases given a simultaneous NZ/Australia and UK/ Europe releases - the Opposite Sex album, Factory Star's 'New Sacral 10" and now Trick Mammoth's 'Floristry'.
WHERE TO FIND FISHRIDER RECORDS
Outside of New Zealand only the albums from Opposite Sex and Trick Mammoth have retail distribution (UK and Europe). However you can easily find all our releases by using the artist bandcamp links above or using the online shop tab above.
If you are in the UK or Europe you can buy Fishrider releases directly from Occultation, saving time and postage. Likewise, you can buy Occultation releases from Fishrider in Australasia too.
If you are in North America you can buy from either Fishrider or Occultation and direct from the artist Bandcamp pages above. You can obtain our catalogue (LPs and CDs) in America from http://www.tediumhouse.com/labels/fishrider
CDs and digital albums are also available in North America from CDBaby
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/ThePuddle
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/OppositeSex
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/TheShiftingSands
http://www.cdbaby.com/artist/TheProphetHens
Listen to and download a free sampler of the latest Fishrider Records releases here:
Links to other New Zealand independent music labels we recommend:
If you are looking for more New Zealand music that is released by small independent labels we recommend:
Li'l Chief Records - consistently released great indiepop for 10 years: http://www.lilchiefrecords.com/
Arch Hill Records - took over from Flying Nun Records in the past decade as the great NZ alternative music label. http://www.archhill.co.nz/
Flying Nun Records - no introduction required. Currently re-inventing itself for the new millenium http://www.flyingnun.co.nz/
Muzai Records - home of noisier guitar pop: http://muzairecords.com/
The Attic - Dunedin recording & performance space & fledgling cassette/CDR label of young Dunedin talent http://www.theattic.co.nz/
Powertool Records - an extensive eclectic roster of underground artists http://www.powertoolrecords.co.nz/
Epic Sweep Records - leftfield experimental pop and noise, limited releases on cassettes, lathe-cuts, vinyl etc. http://epicsweeprecords.com/
Links to New Zealand independent self-released artists we recommend:
Dear Time's Waste - haunting, epic, beautiful, fragile, literate cinematic dream-pop http://deartimeswaste.bandcamp.com/
Strange Harvest - Icy electronic pop with desert-twang guitar, an angel voice & beating hearts. http://strangeharvest.bandcamp.com/
Astro Children - Space-gaze two-piece featuring Millie from Trick Mammoth http://astrochildrenmusic.bandcamp.com/
Kilmog - Spooky-themed jangling Dunedin powerpop involving ghosts, serial killers, spiders and a bit of madness http://kilmogs.bandcamp.com/album/i-dont-know
Trick Mammoth - Floral-pop Dunedin three-piece with exquisite pop poetry http://trickmammoth.bandcamp.com/
Misfit Mod - minimalist electronica & perfect crystalline pop goodness http://misfitmod.bandcamp.com/
Death & the Maiden - Dunedin post-punk dance pop; imagine Grimes with a hangover & bass guitar http://deathandthemaiden1.bandcamp.com/
Otoitu in Flood - Archival 4 CD compilation of a fabulous defunct Dunedin recording studio and music art space http://otoitu.implectic.org/
You can also find Fishrider records information at our wordpress blog site http://fishriderrecords.wordpress.com/
Li'l Chief Records - consistently released great indiepop for 10 years: http://www.lilchiefrecords.com/
Arch Hill Records - took over from Flying Nun Records in the past decade as the great NZ alternative music label. http://www.archhill.co.nz/
Flying Nun Records - no introduction required. Currently re-inventing itself for the new millenium http://www.flyingnun.co.nz/
Muzai Records - home of noisier guitar pop: http://muzairecords.com/
The Attic - Dunedin recording & performance space & fledgling cassette/CDR label of young Dunedin talent http://www.theattic.co.nz/
Powertool Records - an extensive eclectic roster of underground artists http://www.powertoolrecords.co.nz/
Epic Sweep Records - leftfield experimental pop and noise, limited releases on cassettes, lathe-cuts, vinyl etc. http://epicsweeprecords.com/
Links to New Zealand independent self-released artists we recommend:
Dear Time's Waste - haunting, epic, beautiful, fragile, literate cinematic dream-pop http://deartimeswaste.bandcamp.com/
Strange Harvest - Icy electronic pop with desert-twang guitar, an angel voice & beating hearts. http://strangeharvest.bandcamp.com/
Astro Children - Space-gaze two-piece featuring Millie from Trick Mammoth http://astrochildrenmusic.bandcamp.com/
Kilmog - Spooky-themed jangling Dunedin powerpop involving ghosts, serial killers, spiders and a bit of madness http://kilmogs.bandcamp.com/album/i-dont-know
Trick Mammoth - Floral-pop Dunedin three-piece with exquisite pop poetry http://trickmammoth.bandcamp.com/
Misfit Mod - minimalist electronica & perfect crystalline pop goodness http://misfitmod.bandcamp.com/
Death & the Maiden - Dunedin post-punk dance pop; imagine Grimes with a hangover & bass guitar http://deathandthemaiden1.bandcamp.com/
Otoitu in Flood - Archival 4 CD compilation of a fabulous defunct Dunedin recording studio and music art space http://otoitu.implectic.org/
You can also find Fishrider records information at our wordpress blog site http://fishriderrecords.wordpress.com/
