New Zealand’s Flying Nun Records is one of the great DIY labels that rose in the Post-Punk storm of the early 80s. Still operating today, the label is responsible for bringing some of country’s finest indie artists to the rest of the world. When Australia’s Triple J radio station compiled its list of the 30 greatest New Zealand acts of all time, 20 of them were on Flying Nun.
Some of the label’s most notable releases came from one of the first groups the label signed, The Clean. “Tally Ho,” the band’s debut single, hit #19 on the New Zealand charts in 1981. Another of the label’s seminal early releases was the Dunedin Double EP. An unusual compilation, it featured one side from four different Dunedin, NZ bands: The Chills, Sneaky Feelings, The Stones and The Verlaines.
With an ear for guitar driven bands with a jangly, loose, minimal sound, the label helped bring a wider audience to what came to be called the Dunedin Sound. Some of the great bands that are usually considered part of this movement are The Bats, Bailterspace, The Dead C and, well, all the other bands already mentioned.
Aside from exporting New Zealand’s finest, the label has also distributed Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Ween, Deerhoof and many others in it’s home country. In 2006, the label was sold and became part of Warner Music Group. However, owner Roger Shepherd, became dissatisfied with what the label was becoming and bought it back in 2009. Today, Flying Nun is home to Grayson Gilmour, Surf Friends, and The Bats among others.
– Submitted by Justin Main, Music Design