Speaker by Various Artists

And meanwhile, Simon Grigg has procured -- with some difficulty -- a copy of We Are the L.E.D.s on his trip back to NZ last week, and says

I’m in love. I love this album more than I can possibly say, or at least, put into words. This is legacy stuff. I understand this. Any album which references so well early NZ electronica (Car Crash Set and Body Electric), jangly almost early Flying Nun-ish, (although slightly more McGuinn-ish than that) guitar sheen, and yet sounds so absolutely, but simply, contemporary, works well for me. Soft, resigned, melodic and yet, at times, it’s gets resolutely noisy as well. It’s the first perfectly formed pop album I’ve heard from New Zealand this decade. Another album, I understand, is due soon and I’m craving it already.

The L.E.D.S are a garage band, they do it all themselves and almost nobody notices them in the establishment. And then I note that most of those awful records on that Kiwi Hit Disc are getting full signed releases by someone and I understand exactly why, at its most obvious level, NZ’s recording industry is in such dire trouble, and yet if you dig deeper, it most assuredly is not.

We're bringin' the L.E.D.s to the people. Great Blend events, Thursday August 30 in Wellington and Saturday Sept 1 Auckland. Details soon. Stay tuned.

We're bringin' the L.E.D.s to the people. Great Blend events, Thursday August 30 in Wellington and Saturday Sept 1 Auckland.

I downloaded the mp3 last night. I love it so much. So I'm super extra excited to hear they've playing at the next Great Blend (and, of course, that there's another GB coming up)!

Blair Parkes's contradictory greeting: "Hi, we're The Fall."

That was a bit of an in-joke. Blair, Marcus and I are all huge fans of The Fall (esp. the Marc Riley era) and before they went on-stage the previous evening at the Lyttelton Festival Of Light I told Blair I'd buy him a beer if he said "Good evening, we are The L.E.D.s."
This, of course, is a reference to Mark E Smith's "Good evening, we are The Fall" at the start of the legendary Fall In A Hole live album on Flying Nun, recorded in Auckland during their landmark 1982 tour here.

I happily sprung a pint of Black Shag his way the next night at the Dux.

Also, the kids at the Dux were robot-dancing, non-ironically, to them, which was pretty entertaining to old codgers like me that remember the first wave of robot-dancing back in the early '80s.

the kids at the Dux were robot-dancing

are you sure they weren't taking the piss?

are you sure they weren't taking the piss?

Sometimes, when the urge to robot dance hits, you can't fight it. Our robot overlords take over our groove circuits and you just gotta go with it.

legendary Fall In A Hole live album on Flying Nun, recorded in Auckland during their landmark 1982 tour here.

ahemmmm.....nobody is supposed to mention that album....
worth big money now, no?

But The L.E.D.s...damn it was hard to find in Ak. Real Groovy / Marbecks / Rhythm...nobody had heard of it

The power of word of mouth though...more buzz than a front cover on Rip It Up and a TV 1 campaign combined. I guess Smoke will have the privilege of selling a few more...the album is hard to find even on there (search seems not to pick it up)...so:

http://www.smokecds.com/cd/41139

No only that, but SmokeCDs really does deserve support, as does Amplifier. Both really go the extra mile in sourcing stuff, local obscurities.

SmokeCDs had no stock, I told them I was leaving the country. They rushed a copy from Christchurch and couriered it to me, keeping me in touch with the progress by phone and email. All at a much reduced price from the bigger guys.

Brilliant...

Very nice article, Dr Creon. Loved the phrase "the essential Reuben-Thorne-icity of all things Christchurch". You should trademark that.

Any word on when the L.e.d.s forthcoming album will actually be available?

<smugness STATUS="ON">
Of course, I already have a copy of the album courtesy of the L.e.d.s scheme to give a free album to any blogger whose partner spends more than a month in a maternity hospital. Heh heh heh heh heh...

And if Mr Grigg thinks that We are the L.e.d.s is "the first perfectly formed pop album I’ve heard from New Zealand this decade" then he's in for a real treat with We are Still the L.e.d.s...
</smugness>

P.S. And, by the way, I'll have you know that my young nieces & nephew think my musical taste is very cool.

ahemmmm.....nobody is supposed to mention that album....

Why?

Its not the Macbeth of the NZ Music scene is it?

But The L.E.D.s...damn it was hard to find in Ak. Real Groovy / Marbecks / Rhythm...nobody had heard of it

Same here in Wellington, but I eventually found a copy in a T-shirt shop in Newtown, of all places: "Duncan & Prudence".

ahemmmm.....nobody is supposed to mention that album....

Why?

Basically, it's due to what is known as "The Fall fiasco".
Mark E Smith gave Flying Nun permission to record and release it on the proviso that it only be released in NZ.
However, a small amount were sent to indie shops in in Britain. Smith found out and went mental on the phone to Chris Knox for 20 minutes.

It became pretty pricey on second-hand vinyl; I once saw it Real Groovy for NZ$70 and read that it went for 50 pounds in Britain.

It was re-issued on cd on Smith's own Cog Sinister label about seven or eight years' back, but the sound quality was crap, as it was taken from a vinyl version. Apparently it's since been re-issued on cd again with better sound quality.

Apparently it's since been re-issued on cd again with better sound quality.

Twice. Some info here and here.

If you're familiar with the Dux, and with the essential Reuben-Thorne-icity of all things Christchurch, you'll know that the mandatory stance at this venue is old-school leather-jacket posing -- statue-like, preferably against the bar, holding grimly to that protective pairing for the critically uncertain: a beer and a look of studied seriousness.

So it was a real revelation to see, firstly, the undergraduate contingent dancing through the entire set; and then, even more astonishing, the hard-core punters at least twitching a shoulder or two. This band is so undeniably cool, and they are so clearly having such a good time, that it's impossible for even the most hardened dickhead to sneer.

As a regular gig goer / gig player at the Dux, I'd just like to qualify this statement. I regularly attend gigs at the Dux where most of the crowd are dancing, and generally dancing wildly. Christchurch might have a reputation for unenthusiastic crowds, but if you were to go to a show with Frase+Bri, Tiger Tones, Not So Experimental, Get Set Play, Bang! Bang! Eche! or Ed Muzik (myself) you will see an entirely different audience. I know that I've worked hard to create a show that really involves the audience, and I'm really grateful for the way that it is recieved most of the time.

The Christchurch indie / electro scene is a really vibrant, exciting place to be at the moment, but it couldn't succeed if we didn't have the enthusiastic, supportive crowds that we do have. To describe Christchurch crowds in such broad strokes is unfortunate.

The Christchurch indie / electro scene is a really vibrant, exciting place to be at the moment, but it couldn't succeed if we didn't have the enthusiastic, supportive crowds that we do have. To describe Christchurch crowds in such broad strokes is unfortunate.

I'm sure no offence was meant. But it's clear that this is a scene that's somewhat invisible to the rest of the country. Got some interweb sites for us to look at?

The Christchurch indie / electro scene is a really vibrant, exciting place to be at the moment, but it couldn't succeed if we didn't have the enthusiastic, supportive crowds that we do have.

I think it sounds incredible, and to be honest, I've been waiting for something like this to happen in Chch, where historically the leftfield always seems to blow up in an interesting way that simply takes NZ by surprise. If any town is NZ's Manchester....

Just about anything that's ever excited me musically in NZ has come out of quirky little local scenes that creep up under the radar.

Like RB says...got any web sites or audio? Somebody should do a compilation now before it gets too polished or picked apart...

Certainly no offense was meant. Regrets if any was taken.

I'm delighted that my rather cheap generalisations (made in the spirit of light humour) are inconsistent with reality.

No no, offense certainly wasn't taken. Also, my post wasn't meant to detract from what the L.e.d.s do. They are a really good band, and really nice people too. They just don't play enough, for reasons outlined above.

Now. There isn't really a one stop shop for Chch music. If there was, it would be the thebigcity, which is more like a fan resource, run by 'little Blink' Chris Andrews. He is probably the most enthusiastic person in town, going to most of the cool gigs and usually taking some pretty fantastic photos too. Check his site out to see what's coming up in town, and photos / reviews from what's been. Here and here are two photo sets from particularly good parties.

It's hard for me to be unbiased about local bands, as I'm part of that crowd, organising and playing gigs with the etc. But I'll try.

The Tiger Tones are the most exciting band in the country right now. If i was being lazy, I would say that they are the Cure dreaming of being Blondie. They are working on an album for Pinacolada Records for release later in the year, and you can also find their tracks on the last Radio One CD, the last RDU CD, and the Real Groove "Awesome Feeling" compilation.

I hate to use labels, but it's the easist way to do this! Bang! Bang! Eche! are the cutest band in the country. They just competed in Rockquest, which gives you an indication of their ages; only one of them can legally be in the bar when they aren't on stage. The only have a 20 minute set, and they only have one recorded track to listen to, but they are definitely all types of awesome if you like your punk with a dash of synths and MIDI drums.

Frase+Bri have been on three or four Low hum tours already, and are booked for the next. And they've only been playing for a year or so, which is pretty good. Nerdcore keyboards with sweet and endearing narratives.

Not So Experimental are an acquired taste, but a taste that both the Mint Chicks and Die Die Die must have acquired, as they were asked to open for both bands last year. Haven't broken up, but also haven't played for a while, as their drummer is exploring more Emo sound scapes.

And then there's me, but I won't describe myself, cos that would make me a ponce.

There are certainly more bands to look out for, more than I will go into detail about here. They aren't only electro / indie acts, there are plenty of indie / indie acts too!

There isn't any one compilation that takes all this into account at the moment. The best would be RDU's This is not the Christchurch Sound compilation, which came out a few months ago. It was mixed together by Dr Hitchcock, and isn't available for purchase. But if you send an email to the station, they might send one to you.

I really shouldn't write posts this long, as it means that when I finish, I can't be bothered updating my own site! But I'm happy to answer any other questions or point you all off in other directions.

Talking of Christchurchers, big ups to Tom COSM who played last week in Auckland and is supporting Pitch Black on their tour this month.

Yes, Tom COSM's remix of Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's "Boom Shake Shake The Room" is amazing.

Oh. If I had known the big man was going to link to this on his blog then I might have made more of an effort! Oh well, I'll just tack on an amendment here.

Get Set Play is the solo project of Mark Holland, lead singer dude from the Tiger Tones. He plays a couple of synths, and with drums provided by a 707 or occasionally Nick Harte (Shocking Pinks). Opened for the L.e.d.s at the Dux gig that started this thread. Plays long, hypnotic prog-pop songs like a love-sick Gary Numan.

Pig Out are possibly the most well known of these bands outside of chch. They've gone off to Europe to follow their dreams now, but in the year before that, they played about a billion gigs of their pseudo-rave material up and down the country.

The big daddy of this movement is really The Shocking Pinks. Though his recorded work never really gets as electronic as it occassionally does live, Nick Harte's DIY work ethic, songwriting and international success have really shown people that you can do things in the music biz, even from little old Christchurch. He was bought out of his Flying Nun contract by hyper-hipster NY label DFA, and he's about to head over there to release his next album. Probably the most important artist to sign to Flying Nun since their glory days, IMO. He's a 'difficult artist', but still, it's a shame that his work is still largely ignored.

In terms of catchy genre names, I like "Ironica" - as in ironic electronica - but that only really covers my music, not the rest.

Shocking Pinks sign to DFA? I didn't know that, that's a hell of a coup. Half a dozen of my favourite albums this decade are on DFA

Probably the most important artist to sign to Flying Nun since their glory days, IMO.

In 2007 I'd rather be aligned with James Murphy than Edgar Bronfman