IMNZ Charts to April 8: Taite Music Prize

IMNZ Charts to April 8: Taite Music Prize winner to be unveiled this Friday

Week to 8 April 2012 www.indies.co.nz

We'd like to welcome some new members to the IMNZ whanau. A big hello goes out to Kingsford Road Records (Lightning Bells), Quabax Wax (King Kapisi), Nature's Worst Records, Gin She Yee Productions (Aio), The Hypnotics, Debra Wattes and Moment Studio (Bill Borman). Visit their links to find out more about them.
We also talk with the remaining two Taite Music Prize nominees, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Tiny Ruins. And all will be revealed this Friday April 20!
Then, on Saturday April 21, make sure you head to your local bricks and mortar music provider for Record Store Day 2012 - an international celebration which sees a number of New Zealand stores right in there.

TOP 20 ALBUMS

Here, Tiny Ruins talks about her album 'Some Were Meant For Sea' - she's one of the seven finalists in the Taite Music Prize 2012.

Tiny Ruins is the project of Bristol-born, New Zealand-raised musician and songwriter Hollie Fullbrook. It grew out of writing the music for fringe theatre productions whilst a student in Wellington, recording by four-track and playing at live music and poetry nights in 2007-2009. Samuel Prutton committed the first Tiny Ruins songs to record, in the form of rough demos.
Tiny Ruins' live shows began to attract attention and praise for soul-stirring, intimate performances and strange, hypnotic songs. Asked to support Alasdair Roberts in Sydney, May 2010, Tiny Ruins was then signed to Australia's Spunk Records.
Fullbrook went a-roaming in May of 2010, embarking on a small yet noble tour of Northern Spain with Barcelona-based musician Lieven Scheerlinck ("a Singer of Songs"). A collaborative EP, Little Notes, was recorded in Scheerlinck's apartment during the week following the tour. Fullbrook hastily finished two songs for the EP -'Little Notes' and 'Down South', and also recorded a version of 'Running Through the Night'. Little Notes was released independently in December 2010.
Returning to the antipodes, the first Tiny Ruins album, Some Were Meant For Sea, was recorded in the characterful Moyarra School Hall, South Gippsland, Australia by J Walker (CW Stoneking, Holly Throsby, Machine Translations). Fullbrook and Walker added piano, cello, violin, accordion, bells and percussion to the live guitar and vocal takes. Some Were Meant For Sea was released in New Zealand and Australia in May and July of 2011 respectively. Said the New Zeland Herald, "From time to time an album comes along that stops you in your tracks and demands you to listen. Tiny Ruins' Some Were Meant For Sea is one such record".

Australian press were also smitten with triple j magazine writing, "Kiwi captures attention and hearts", and Mess & Noise noting, "the songs sway and heave with warmth and approachability".
The album saw a UK release in December of 2011, after being championed by BBC 6 and BBC 2. It was hailed by BBC World Service programme The Strand as one of the top five albums of 2011. Tiny Ruins has toured the album through New Zealand and Australia, as well as supporting Beach House, Joanna Newsom, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Holly Throsby, The Middle East, Sonny & The Sunsets, Olof Arnalds, Seeker Lover Keeper and Grand Salvo. She is set to tour the UK and some of Europe in January and February of 2012.
Hollie Fullbrook is usually based in Auckland, New Zealand. Tiny Ruins performs both as a solo act and band, most recently calling upon the talents of double bassist Cass Mitchell and drummer Alex Freer.
http://www.tinyruins.com/

SINGLES

Unknown Mortal Orchestra first dropped into the world in late 2010 as a bandcamp account carrying a single, sweet little dose of ear candy called 'Ffunny Ffrends'.
'Ffunny Ffrend' was everything you imagined it might be - alien beatnik pop music that echoed 60s psychedelia and krautrock minimalism with just a hint of gentle weirdness that suggested its roots might equally lie in the verdant indie of the equally distant New Zealand scene.
'Ffunny Ffrends' was immediately feted on hundreds of blogs worldwide. By the time a self-titled UMO 7" EP was then released from behind a veil of secrecy on the UK label, Sounds of Sweet Nothing, 'who is Unknown Mortal Orchestra?' was more than just a question on people's lips, it was a full scale clamor for the unveiling of one of the most exciting new bands of the moment.
Ruban Nielson is a New Zealand native who had transplanted to Portland with his band Mint Chicks. UMO was a project conceived as Ruban's escape hatch to a new musical dimension where his vision of junkshop record collector pop could be realized in a sound that recalled Captain Beefheart, Sly Stone and RZA jamming on some kids tv theme too dark to ever be broadcast.
Out of the home studio, Ruban was joined by local Portland producer Jake Portrait on bass and teenage prodigy Julien Ehrich on drums. They have been on the road all year, sleeping in ditches and running drunkenly from venues when needs be, curling ears and turning heads with their intoxicating sound all the way.
http://unknownmortalorchestra..com/

AIRPLAY

Record Store Day is drawing closer, so thanks to Groove Guide, here’s a quick look at what you need to know about the international day of vinyl on Saturday 21 April.
Local outlets participating in the record brilliance are:
• Beat Merchants, Conch Records, Real Groovy, Southbound Records and The High Seas in Auckland
• Music Oasis in Waihi
• Vinyl Countdown in New Plymouth
• Moonhop Records in Lower Hutt
• Rough Peel Music and Slow Boat Records in Wellington
• Real Groovy in Christchurch
There’s a crazy amount of releases that have been announced, along with many more surprises to come. Keep in mind that a lot of the releases that have been announced will not be available at all stores, but it’s not like there won’t be a very special collection to peruse through. Some of our highlights from the exclusive Record Store Day release list include Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Beach House, Bonnie Prince Billy, Childish Gambino, Cursive, Danny Brown, a Deerhoof and of Montreal split, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Florence + the Machine, Foster The People, Garbage, Iggy And The Stooges, Joey Ramone, Justin Townes Earle, M. Ward, M83, a Mastodon and Feist split, a Michael Buble and Ray Charles split, Nobunny, Regina Spektor, St. Vincent, The Grateful Dead, a Xiu Xiu and Dirty Beaches and a ridiculous amount more.
Check out this list to see what’s on offer, and it will pay to hit up your local record store(s) to see what they’re getting in.
Groove Guide will be covering plenty more about Record Store Day in the lead up to Saturday 21 April, so stay tuned.

International and Industry Action

MMF and APRA present an open discussion with APRA award winner, NZ Post childrens' book award winner, self managed, self produced singer songwriter and book publisher, Craig Smith at CPIT Jazz School in Christchurch on Thursday 26 April. From getting gigs, promotion, Sales and Marketing - guerilla as well as traditional (Craig ran his own sales and marketing company nationally and internationally for 10 years before deciding to follow music full time), tax and the IRD, how he's produced 4 albums and 4 music videos without funding, taking opportunities and thinking outside the box ie: how he managed to record his latest album with Stevie Wonder's back up band in LA and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in Chch. How he became a huge success in the children's genre will also be touched on. (Craig's two stories written in song, now turned into books that have sold over 400,000 copies inside 24 months since being published). Craig also managed to get his kids album "Not Just for Kids" into Whitcoulls/ Borders , Paper Plus, Dymocks and independent book stores throughout NZ and Australia selling along side his books. This album has now gone gold. In addition, his CD/book The Wonky Donkey was voted the #4 best Children's Book of all time by readers of the popular OHBaby! parenting website. It won't matter if you're an old hand or new, in the same genre or different. The information Craig will be sharing can be applied to your situation. Craig's main focus will be on the business acumen needed once you have a sound product to promote. Read more...
The recipients of the APRA Song Summit travel grant have been announced. Heading over to Sydney to attend the songwriting workshops and seminars in late May are: Patu Colbert , Bryan Bell, Pieter T, Matt Barus, Lydia Cole and Mel Parsons. Speakers at the Summit include P-Money, Don McGlashan, Paul Kelly, Guy Sebastian, Pat Pattison, Kate Miller-Heidke, Imogen Heap and many more, with exclusive masterclasses being held by Gotye and Adalita.

New release fanfare

Lightning Bells began life in a dusty basement armed with only the old family piano, Emily's cello, Christy's rough song ideas and a crap guitar. While the basement is still home, the addition of a driving rhythm section, some sweet electrics and an eclectic group of friends has seen the Bells emerge as a swaggering six-piece rock and roll band with their own exciting brand of "gravel pop". After spending most of 2011 slowly writing, rehearsing and building a reputation for their incendiary (yet far too infrequent) live shows, the band has now released their debut EP. Read more...

On the live front
Despite what these people might tell you about them being burdens on society, or advocates for drug dependency, you gotta respect the integrity of Home Brew's independence and the diligence of their work ethic. In the last year they've been involved in three 5 star releases (At Peace, Max Marx, Last Week), nominated for the Vodafone Critics' Choice Award and shaped the rules of the NZ Music Industry without a marketing director or legally recognised source of income. Now, after three years of dedication and benefit fraud, they've finally completed a piece of work good enough to move them out of their Mum's place; a debut double album conceptualised by the balance of life's extremities. One side, light. The other, dark. A dichotomy of methadone and melancholy. Infinity and finality. It's a record that looks back at Saturday's moment of madness through Sunday's moment of clarity. Featuring the talents of such people as Chip Mathews (Opensouls), Christoph El Truento (Wonderful Noise) and Hollie Smith, it's their most mature, self reflective, existential piece of work to date. So to celebrate it, they're throwing a party in an old brothel. The Home Brew Speakeasy - 48-Hour Album Release Party will be happening 330 New North Road, Kingsland, Auckland from 10am Saturday 5 May - 10am Monday 7 May, and the album is released May 4. Head to www.undertheradar.co.nz for more info. (And check out their EPK here).

Ginnen Group and Juice TV are excited to announce the very special guests joining KRS-One for his two New Zealand shows in April. Hand-picked as some of the finest New Zealand has to offer, and in keeping with the philosophy of the Temple Of Hip Hop, these guests are the perfect fit for an education in the spiritual side of Hip Hop culture. On April 20 in Wellington he'll be supported by local favourites Foot Souljahs, Villians, DJ Raw, DJ Spell, DJ Kerb, Kurst One, Juse 1 and Tommy Graffiti, plus grafitti art from the Triple S Crew. And in Auckland on April 21 will be a very special performance by HEDLOK - featuring Che Fu, King Kapisi and Teremoana Rapley (from one of our new labels, Quabax Wax) with special guests Manuel Bundy, DLT and Slave. There will also be sets from DJ Sirvere, DJ CXL, and K-One with Debt Collectors featuring Tyson Tyler, Genocide, Sammy Gallows and Godmode. Plus there's Bboys and live grafitti art from the TMD Crew.

Around the world
The Webby Awards is almost like a yearbook for everyone involved in digital media. Now in its 16th year, the annual event distills the online zeitgeist into one place. That place will be the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Monday, May 21, in a fun-filled shindig hosted by actor and comedian Patton Oswald.
Among this year's fraternity pledges are Google , Funny or Die, HBO Go, Spotify, Tim Tebow, Pinterest, Mashable, Michael J. Fox, Twitter, YouTube, AOL and Facebook.
The event itself has grown far from its roots as a night where almost everyone in the room knew each other personally. The Webby Awards nominees this year include famous actors, renowned musicians, advertisers, corporate communications departments, insurance, financial services, ecological concerns, philanthropists and more. The entire list is available here .

All data is compiled by www.radioscope.co.nz To be eligible for the charts the release has to be by a NZ artist or Artist residing in NZ; and the master recording needs to be owned by a NZ Record Label or company that is an IMNZ member.
IMNZ is the trade association for Independent New Zealand record labels and distributors. Our core objectives are to advocate the values and interests of our members, aid their development and knowledge and provide collective group benefits to the NZ independent music sector. Our 70 plus members release the majority of all kiwi music and we want to tell you about them. GO BUY NZ MUSIC!

ENDS

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