Monkey Killer Records Celebrate Third Birthday

Dunedin label Monkey Killer Records are celebrating their third birthday this year, a mean feat for any local label and even more so considering they release exclusively on vinyl. To mark the occasion they are throwing a party next month featuring acts on the label plus a rare performance from Conray aka music engineer Dale Cotton.

Moutaineater, Operation Rolling Thunder, Idiot Prayer, Conray and Kilmog (ex Onanon)

Presales available from 2nd October with exclusive download sampler from here at Undertheradar.

Press Release:

Monkey Killer Records Throws a Third Birthday

Monkey Killer Records, Dunedin’s only strictly vinyl record label, has released a bevy of sonically mind-bending records since its inception in October 2008. Now, three years on, it is time to throw a celebration for their third birthday with a unique afternoon/early evening show utilising a two stage set-up in the beautiful surrounds of Bennu and XII Below on Sunday October 16th 2011.

All the current bands with a release on Monkey Killer will be performing – including the unassailable Mountaineater, the visceral Operation Rolling Thunder, and the blunt soundscapes of Idiot Prayer – along with the more contemplative Dale Cotton project Conray and the closest thing you’ll ever get to the remnants of Onanon with the catchy death-obsessed gnarly rock of Kilmog. Tickets will be $15 on the door, $10 with a Radio One 91Card, or $10 from undertheradar.co.nz will get you in along with a free download sampler of exclusive tracks from each performer. To help round out the party the entire Monkey Killer Records catalogue will also be available at discounted rates, along with exclusive t-shirts and other rare pieces of the Monkey Killer pie.

Best of all, it starts nice and early at four pm, and finishes by half seven so you can get some dinner after and still tuck yourself into bed earlier than the most coddled of kids.

To wet your whistle in the meanwhile, here's a little bit more about the bands:

Mountaineater
Mountaineater’s reputation is beginning to surpass the initial interest based on guitarist/singer Tristan Dingemans and his previous sonic explorers High Dependency Unit. Their Flying Nun trail blazed a path many a sonic band has followed, and with Anaru Ngata on bass and Chris Livingston on drums Mountaineater explore the darker and heavier side of the human psyche. Having just completed a national tour with Left or Right, Mountaineater will be ready to bring the heavens down on Dunedin.

Operation Rolling Thunder
The two brothers that comprise the uncompromising instrumental duo Operation Rolling Thunder bring a keen sense of visceral power and sudden dynamics to the realm of post-rock. Their sound features heavy rock roots from their Invercargill breeding filtered through a keen integrity borne of exposure to the likes of Fugazi and Bailterspace, as well as the obvious High Dependency Unit influences. Their rare shows are never short of anticipation and sonic wonder.

Idiot Prayer
What is there to say about the aural assault that is Idiot Prayer? Would it be enough to say that the drums sound like they are crashing in from another planet hurtling straight for Earth? Never had two notes had so much power. Operation Rolling Thunder’s Rob Falconer graced the band’s first release with his name, and not only as producer – the band also chose his last name for the title of the debut EP. Which is fitting, as the melodies are thunder glory.

Conray
Dale Cotton has long been gathering a strong reputation as New Zealand’s finest recording engineer – his most recent work with Beastwars being a prime example of his ability to capture the strength (and subtlety) of a band. His excellent work on Mountaineater’s debut 7” and Operation Rolling Thunder’s first album are both testament to the sound-capturing skills honed over his years as High Dependency Unit’s ‘fourth member’. Conray sees himself and Aiden Fraser (The Retrophonic Funk Machine) explore an altogether different landscape based on loops and keyboards, with innovation and improvisation pushed readily to the fore.

Kilmog
Monkey Killer’s first release was the wildly untameable second album from Dunedin underground rock band Onanon, and in their wake main songwriter Glen Ross has assembled a new team of enthusiastic urchins to give flight to his demented guitar freak outs. Kilmog previously performed as Bad Horsey, and has featured ex-members of Onanon alongside Lesley Paris and Males guitarist/singer Richard Ley-Hamilton.

To Recap:
Monkey Killer Records Throws a Third Birthday
Sunday October 16th 2011, 3.30pm to 7.30pm
Bennu and XII Below, Moray Place, Dunedin
Pre-sales: $10 from undertheradar.co.nz with free download sampler
On the Door: $15 / $10 with 2011 Radio One 91 Card

Doors: 3:30pm
Music: 4pm
Finish: 7:30pm