Fishrider Records is a tiny label based in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is a labour of love for Fishrider's earthly representative, Ian Henderson. Fishrider, like its inspiration, the original Mk1 Flying Nun Records, is dedicated to releasing occasional albums by local artists who play unfashionable melodic jangling pop songs with little commercial potential and don't care that Fishrider Records doesn't have a business plan.
Fishrider Records releases the debut album from pop-subversives Opposite Sex on 7 November 2011. It’s “an absurdist-logico mix of Euro pop, Beat poetry, and subterranean lo-fi adventuring” from this exciting young Dunedin trio. The album is available on CD and a limited run of only 150 LPs and can be downloaded and the CD/ LP ordered from their Bandcamp page.
After 25 Years largely lost in the mist, and with their 1986 – 93 Flying Nun Records catalogue long out of print, The Puddle have finally emerged with their first proper studio album after two acclaimed home-recorded albums in recent years. Rest assured, The Puddle idiosyncrasies still shine through, just with greater clarity now.
How the Puddle ended up in one of NZs best recording studios is a story in itself – producer Richard Steele fulfilling a long-held desire to see justice finally done to the band he once played saxophone in briefly in the early 90’s while a student in Dunedin.
The songs cover most bases of The Puddle’s art. The epic “Valhalla” - a mini rock-opera at just over 9 minutes - may well be New Zealand’s first non heavy metal tribute to dragon-slaying mythology, while “In Dreams” and “Purple Horse” draw inspiration respectively from the works of poets Delmore Schwartz and Arthur Rimbaud filtered through the hallucinations of dreaming sleep.
Richard Steele and Nils Olsen provide saxophone embellishments, giving George’s songs the arrangements they deserve and infusing the album’s psych-pop with a touch of glam-rock.
For those of us who have had faith in George’s talent and his vision for The Puddle for a quarter of a century now, patiently enjoying the occasional bruised fruits along his unconventional but persistent journey, “Playboys in the Bush” is the sweet vindication.
Fishrider Records are also excited to release a split 7” single which features Robert Scott (The Clean, The Bats, Magick Heads) and Adalita Srsen (Magic Dirt) (“That’s What I Heard”) on one side and The Puddle (“The Average Sensual Man”) on the other side. Neither of these song is available anywhere else.
The 7” is NZ $12.50 including postage in NZ/ NZ $20 including postage worldwide. It ships free with the first 50 mail-order copies of the Puddle “Playboys in the Bush” LP so get in quick with your order!
“Playboys in the Bush” is available direct from Fishrider Records – e-mail us let me know your address and order details (quantity of CD and/or LP = prices are below) and I’ll send you a payment request via PayPal or, if you would prefer, by direct credit to the Fishrider bank account (NZ only).
CD: NZ $20 incl. postage within NZ / NZ $20 incl. postage worldwide (when shipped with cover artwork but no jewel case) or NZ $25 incl. postage when shipped worldwide with jewel case.
Vinyl: NZ - $35 incl. postage within NZ
Europe - 25 Euro
UK - 20 pounds
USA - $30 USD
Australia - $30 AUD
Alternatively you can purchase the CD via mail-order from these places:
NZ – Amplifier
UK – Pebble Records
Germany/Europe – Powertool Records
USA/ Canada – CDBaby
The album is also available as a digital download from The Puddle’s Bandcamp site. This is the best site for digital download as it is costs the least, provides the best return direct to the band and lets you select from a variety of high-quality download formats. It is the best place to have a free listen to it too.