IMNZ Chart and September News

IMNZ Independent Album Chart
1 Shapeshifter Shapeshifter Live Truetone/Rhythmethod

2 Pitch Black Rude Mechanicals Rhythmethod

3 Hollie Smith Long Player Soundsmith

4 SJD Songs from a Dictaphone Round Trip Mars

5 The Brunettes Structure and Cosmetics Lil’ Chief/Rhythmethod

6 Shapeshifter Soulstice Truetone/Rhythmethod

7 Cornerstone Roots Free Yourself Rhythmethod

8 Fat Freddy's Drop Based On A True Story Rhythmethod

9 Kora EP Volume Border

10 Unity Pacific Into the Dread Moving Production

11 Cut Off Your Hands Blue on Blue EP Rhythmethod

12 Te Vaka Olatia Warm Earth/Ode

13 Surf City Surf City EP Arch Hill/Rhythmethod

14 Opensouls Kaleidoscope Rhythmethod

15 Various LOOP Select 008: Rare Vision LOOP/Border

16 Little Bushman The Onus of Sand Rhythmethod

17 Shapeshifter The Riddim Wise LP Truetone/Rhythmethod

18 So So Modern Friendly Fires Rhythmethod

19 Various Conscious Roots III Moving Production

20 TrinityRoots Home, Land and Sea Border

(Shows sales from 1 – 31 August 2007. Compiled from outbound sales registered at selected music retailers by Media Sauce Ltd. for IMNZ. Eligibility requires IMNZ membership or by registration fee.

­IMNZ September News

IMNZ Chair Mark Kneebone was invited to speak at the POPKOMM music conference which ran in Berlin September 19 – 21; he was on a panel of MERLIN board members speaking about how independent labels can make the most of emerging technologies. On the home front we’d like to welcome new IMNZ members Parachute Records.

Awards season is upon us, and we’d like to congratulate Hollie Smith and Jeremy Toy, who picked up the Best Producer trophy for ‘Long Player’ at the Vodafone NZ Music Awards 2007 Technical Awards. Hollie Smith was nominated in a further 4 categories, and also nominated from the IMNZ whanau are The Tutts, Shapeshifter (the only indie act in the People’s Choice category), Paul McLaney, 4 Corners, Deceptikonz, PNC, Age Pryor, Bulletproof, State of Mind, Adam Whauwhau, Richard Nunns & Hirini Melbourne and John Psathas. The Telecom Mobile Music Awards were held on August 29, and the award for Highest Selling NZ Single went to the Don McGlashan-penned hit Bathe in the River (performed by the Mt Raskill Preservation Society featuring Hollie Smith: while the song’s not on an IMNZ label, the writer and the vocalist both are!); and P-Money was presented with a Digital Achievement award.

Artists from the Rugby World Cup nations have been invited to perform at Festival Ovale in France, and Te Vaka were asked to represent both the All Blacks and Manu Samoa. In addition, their fifth album ‘Olatia’ entered the European World Music Chart at no. 4 (once a month radio specialists from 23 European countries select their top ten from current World Music releases from their playlists). The ‘All Blacks - the Music’ compilation went Gold in New Zealand, sales in France were over 8000 after 3 weeks, and ringtone sales of the Haka in France have exceeded 15,000 downloads. DJs from the CD’s label LOOP also played in Marseilles on World Cup opening day.

The Brunettes, Connan and the Mockasins and Cut Off Your Hands are amongst the artists descending upon New Your clubs to play at this year’s CMJ festival. The Brunettes have already arrived in the U.S. with a bang - YouTube.com posted their Her Hairagami Set video on the front page as a "featured" selection and in two days the link had over 80,000 hits. The band also played live to air on KEXP, the biggest college radio station in the US. And in only their second week at American radio, Steriogram charted in the Top 10 on the US specialty radio show charts, picking up test play at WXDX Pittsburgh, WEDG Buffalo, WAVF Charleston SC, WQXA York PA, WTFX Louisville and WLZX Springfield MA among many others. They’ve also had their single Just Like You licensed for EA game FIFA 2008. Recliner’s track Ugly was ‘Track of the Week’ on the independent music site garageband.com the week of September 1, and they were invited to play at Air NZ Fashion Week.

2 songs from the Dawn Raid catalogue, My Lady by Mareko and Capitial S.A by Alphrisk featuring Savage have been placed in the US box office hit Superbad, which debuted at # 1 on the US movie chart, earning $33m in its opening weekend. This is the second time Dawn Raid music has been licensed to a film produced by Judd Apatow, with Savage's hit Swing appearing in Knocked Up earlier in the year. Smashproof member Young Sid’s debut solo album ‘The Truth’ was released in New Zealand on September 3, and will be released in Australia on September 15 through Move the Crowd/Universal. The album was recorded last year in New York City with Cochise (Remy Ma, Beatnuts) producing; Sid is joined on the album by label/bandmate Tyree and US rapper Chamillionaire.

New digital distributors Digital Rights Management NZ have had their first top 40 single, staying in the Official NZ Music charts for the past 3 weeks with The Exiles’ The One; possibly the first digital-only independent single and the first independently aggregated single to hit the top 40. Auckland band Tourist have lined up performances in overseas territories included Los Angeles, London and Stockholm. It’s been two years since the band recorded their album ‘Minutes Last For Years’ in the UK and they are looking forward to getting back to Europe.

Scribe’s first single F.R.E.S.H. was Australian radio’s most-added song at nights in one week of August, and it entered that chart at 14. The video was Channel V’s Ripe Clip of the Week, and is picking up plays on Rage and MTV, and Scribe is the co-headliner on US MC Talib Kweli's tour in October. Other IMNZ video adds in August were Batrider - Legs (Rage), dDub – Give it Some (Rage) and PNC - PN Whoa (Rage). The Urban Music Awards took place recently in Sydney with another strong showing by Kiwi acts: Tyree made off with the Best Male Artist prize, while P-Money was named Best Producer, and DJ Sir-Vere Best NZ DJ. The Breaking Wreckwordz crew are soon to play in Sydney and Melbourne following the Red Eye Society’s invitation to play at the hugely popular Homebake festival.

Cut Off Your Hands played their first run of headlining shows in Australia commencing at the end of August and continuing on into September, with sold out gigs in Brisbane, Sydney, and Adelaide. Pitch Black follow up gigs in Europe and the US with Australian dates in late September, exposing Aussies to their ‘Rude Mechanicals’. dDub are just back from playing shows in Australia, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney, playing to over 1,300 people across the 5 gigs; and on their travels they received a half page article in the Sydney Morning Herald, plus learned that the single they've released in Australia, Give it Some, is being played on Channel 10's Video Hits (which has 1 million viewers per play).

Frighteningly enough New Year’s Eve parties are being announced already; and IMNZ artists playing so far at the popular Phat08 party on the South Island’s West Coast include Shapeshifter, Salmonella Dub, Concord Dawn, The Little Bushman, Open Souls, Pitch Black, P-Money, State Of Mind, Bulletproof, Departure Lounge and Oakley Grenell. Tama Waipara’s US/ UK tour went well, and you may have caught him performing on September 22 as part of saxophonist Lewis McCallum's album release show, as he guests on a track on Lewis’ album ‘Wake’, out this month via Rhythmethod and featuring an impressive array of other guests alongside Waipara, such as Tyra Hammond, Godfrey de Grut and Cherie Mathieson.

Ten years after the birth of The Parachute Band the mantle has been passed to a new generation, with a new young lineup, a fresh sound and a new album, ‘Roadmaps and Revelations’. The Parachute Band has sold over 200,000 albums worldwide since it began, and this album is being released via Integrity Music (one of the world’s biggest record companies in the Christian/Worship genre) into 160 countries. The boys have already toured twice throughout the US and are headed to South Africa, the UK and Asia before the end of the year. Urban Pacifika have produced 6 posters that deal with Child Abuse and Domestic Violence; they will send out a new poster each week for six weeks. Their Urban Ministry Roadshow is touring throughout September/October, covering 19 venues; and the label is also releasing ‘Gifted and Maori 3’ as a digital-only release, and ‘Urban Gospel Vol. 2’.

Liam Ryan is presenting his M2M ‘Mississippi to Mauao’ project as part of the Tauranga Arts Festival on Friday October 26 at 11pm in the Pacific Palace. She'll Be Right Records is gearing up for their first Showcase Tour in November, which will take Trillion & The Incredible Braking Wheel, the Ragamuffin Children, Andy Gibson, The Eastern, Mustard and John White on the road. New Zealand artists are joining US DJs King Britt and Nickodemus on the Bacardi B-Live tour, including Module, Recloose, MC Kyla, and Lisa Tomlins, plus special guests. This flows on from the success of last year’s ‘Bacardi B-Live OE: Brazil’.

Chuganaut’s first album ‘11:11 One’ was released on August 23 at a wild party at Axces bar in Hamilton. The band will do two separate tours of the North and South Islands, followed by an Australian tour next year, and a UK run is in an early stage of planning. Die!Die!Die!’s new album ‘Promises, Promises’, produced in New York by Shayne Carter, is coming out on October 8th and they have an extensive NZ tour running throughout November. Shapeshifter’s first show at the Electric Ballroom in London has sold out, and a second show has been announced for October 14.

Hollie Smith is about to treat New Zealanders to her first ever theatre tour; and opening each show will be the acclaimed SJD. In May this year Smith started working with New York-based Manhattan Records, a subdivision of the famous Blue Note label, and she is recording two new songs in Philadelphia for Manhattan with renowned producer James Poyser (Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, The Roots, Common) and will then be touring Australia, America, UK, France and Canada.

Surf’s up for Surf City, who won the $17,000 which was up for grabs in the Burgerfuel BARF music fund – the money was contributed from burgers sold in NZ Music Month, and Burgerfuel customers voted for their favourite bands once a shortlist was compiled. Good timing as Surf City are back from a well received sojourn to Australia where they played with various Australian and New Zealand bands (Batrider, Cut Off Your Hands) and they’re touring New Zealand in October. ‘The Hills Have Ears’ is Arch Hill’s 30th release and 4th compilation; artists featured include David Kilgour, Luke Buda, Grand Prix, Surf City, Pine, The Haints of Dean Hall, White Swan Black Swan, Don McGlashan, Mestar and Jay Clarkson. The album is available from selected gigs and on the Arch Hill website from October 1. You can catch David Kilgour and White Swan Black Swan’s ‘Far Now’ tour before David heads off on an extensive US tour; and White Swan Black Swan have completed a ‘double mini album’ (one side White Swan, the other Black Swan) which is being mixed in the US by Mark Nevers (David Kilgour, Calexico, Lambchop, Will Oldham and others). The Haints of Dean Hall play in Melbourne this month, and they’ve been on “heavy rotate” on New York’s main College Radio station WFMU. Antagonist return from a 3 week tour of Australia to release a 5-track single ‘Distance’ on October 8th which includes new versions of previously released material and new tracks from their forthcoming album. Missing Teeth are releasing their long awaited 2nd album ‘Ill Gotten Gains’ on October 26, 7 years after their debut came out; you can join them and a bunch of hooligans at the Kings Arms to celebrate, and the album will be in stores on the following Monday. Missing Teeth also play the annual Punkfest at Labour Weekend in Wellington, and support The Exploited at Studio on September 28th.

Tim Guy is releasing his new album 'Hummabyes' at the Dogs Bollix in Auckland on the 26th October, but if that’s too long to wait, in the meantime you can catch him play 4 shows up north with Anika Moa, Ryan McPhun and Paul McLaney from 11-14th October, and also at the Gisborne Wine and Food Festival on October 21 with Anika Moa and Anna Coddington. OdESSA’s third album ‘The Prize’ is out September 24. OdESSA have toured tirelessly, playing more than 200 shows between 2005 and early 2007. ‘The Prize’ features new guitarist Daniel Ryland, and was produced by David Long (The Muttonbirds) and engineered/mixed by Mike Gibson, who's worked with Hollie Smith and Steriogram. International touring phenomenon The JD Set are taking the Tutts and Motocade on a 5-centre New Zealand tour in October; the brand has toured artists such as Patti Smith, the Howling Bells and CSS overseas.

Jakob, James Duncan and the Fanatics are among the artists appearing on two slabs of Czech vinyl housed in a full colour gatefold sleeve which has been released by The Kingsland Vinyl Appreciation Society. The album collects 13 tracks, many of which haven’t been released before. The other artists featured are HDU, The Subliminals, Meterman, Yokel Ono, The Mint Chicks, The Never Ends, Straitjacket Fits, Shihad and Body Corporate.

New and Forthcoming Releases Antagonist 'Distance', Whirimako Black ‘Whirimako Black Sings’, Ted Brown ‘Shaky’s Blessing’, The Brunettes ‘Structure and Cosmetics’, Chuganaut ’11:11 One’, Cyphanetik ‘The Bitter Taste of Life’ EP (October), Die! Die! Die! ‘Promises, Promises’, Bill Direen ‘Human Kindness’, Ethical ‘Ages Turn’, Charmaine Ford, Nick Tipping and Richard Wise ‘Live at Sandwiches’, George and Queen ‘City’, Andy Gibson ‘Behind the I’, Goon ‘Boy Girl Boy’, Grand Prix ‘Terraplane Twilight’, Flip Grater ‘The Cookbook Tour’ book, Matthew Holleman EP, Phil Johns ‘Illusion Fades Away’, Kitsch Stay Right Here single, Lanu ‘This Is My Home’, Lewis McCallum ‘Wake’, Missing Teeth ‘Ill Gotten Gains’, Mr Sicc ‘Home Invasion’, OdESSA ‘The Prize’, One Man Bannister ‘Moth’, one million dollars ‘Stand Up to the Shakedown’, Pine ’12 Hour Collision’ vinyl, Ragamuffin Children ‘Werecat Lullabies’, Scribe ‘Rhyme Book’, Manuel Bundy presents Solephonic 12”, Carol Storey ‘Mokomoko’, Surf City ‘Surf City’ EP, Tiki Taane ‘Past, Present, Future’, Te Vaka ‘Olatia’, Tourettes ‘Gimmie Five Dollars’, Trillion Lonely Road (video/single), Unity Pacific ‘Into the Dread’, Urbantramper ‘Tokon and the Colours’, Various ‘All Blacks – The Music’, Various ‘Breakin Wreckwordz – It's a Monster’, Various ‘Gifted and Maori 3’, Various ‘Old School Machete Funk’, Various ‘The Hills Have Ears’, Various ‘Urban Gospel 2’, Ward 4 ‘Overflow’, Whipping Cats ‘Last Ditch Dance’, John White ‘Mogwash’, Young Sid ‘The Truth