Welcome to the new Flying Nun website. It’s something we are quite proud of. I hope it signals a small step in a new direction.
It was long overdue for Flying Nun up our game on the interwebs. So, here we are.
This new creation is not just for the Flying Nun the ‘record label’, but also, something broader. I hope it will be a place for anyone interested in our music community. Another online home for independent music from Aotearoa/New Zealand.
This platform signals a gentle rejig for Flying Nun. A friendly kick in our own pants of the ‘indie label’ concept. Next year is the 40th Anniversary of Flying Nun. Time to give a thing a nudge.
For starters, we’re making this platform much more inclusive. It will be about the wider local indie music community - not just Flying Nun the ‘record label’. There is a lot more great music out there, so much more than just what is released on the label imprint. In essence, Flying Nun has always been about championing great local independent music, so there is no change there. But there is a lot more music out there than we have the capacity to actually ‘sign’ or release. So there is no real reason to be too exclusive. We are opening things up a little bit.
To that end, this platform will also include news and videos about all kinds of great music, artists and people who aren’t officially on the label. Coming up, we have some great stories, videos and other content, all created by experienced contributors. If you want to chip in, please let us know.
In addition to championing new music, we have also dug into the Nun archives. Above is just a small random selection. There are a boxes more great photos, articles and stories still to be unearthed. It is a work in progress, so we will continue to add a lot of new (old) materials. Keep in touch as we work our way through it all.
The other change is Flying Nun is taking a more realistic and honest view of the modern music industry. It is no secret that music isn’t the most financially lucrative endeavour - especially in this new mid-Covid world we live in. Aside from the big tech firms and blockbuster artists, nobody is making any money from music. Speaking personally, most of my own work at Flying Nun has been unpaid (luckily, I have a great job at the College of Creative Arts Wellington, Massey University). That spirit of chipping in is the same for most other contributors. We do it because we’re music fans. It is important to remember that that is what lies at the core of our operations.
All that nice stuff said, everyone does still has to pay the rent. Including Flying Nun. And that is simply to keep on going on. So, to help with this, we have now created a community membership programme. If you can afford it, we’d appreciate the financial contribution. If you can’t, no problem. We understand. Please do join up anyway. Membership can be found here.
But we’re not going totally overboard with the changes. On this new platform you will still find many of the usual things featured on a record label website.
The Flying Nun artist profiles have been added by year going backwards. Some of the photos included on the artist pages have been recently unearthed, so there is lots to discover there. Many artists still require some more in depth profiles - so check back later for these. Each page also includes relevant releases (including compilations) by the artists. Check artist profiles here.
We have included the entire Flying Nun catalog on the website - over 600 releases. Including some wonky catalog numbers. As some releases weren’t technically on the label, or others no longer are, we took an inclusive policy. If in doubt, we included it. Hopefully everyone is OK with this. Some of these titles have been reissued and are available to buy in the shop, but many (or most) are not! You can use the search function to find releases by year, artist and many other variables.
To celebrate the launch of this new platform we have printed up a new range of different coloured ‘fuzzy’ t-shirts - check them here. Speaking of the shop, you can still check recent releases and reissues here.
The team at Flying Nun is also really pleased to announce Hariet Ellis (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga) as the new Label Manager and A&R person. She’s been learning the ropes at Flying Nun for a while, but has now taken the lead and is doing a fantastic job. She brings with her an undying passion for local music and a determination to create a level playing field for the lesser represented minorities in New Zealand music.
Hariet is also an extremely active musician. She’s in many local indie bands (including Na Noise and Dick Move - both awesome!) and has managed venues such as The Kings Arms Tavern and Whammy Bar and interned as a publicist for The Label. Hariet is 28 years young.
Another change is that while Hariet heads up the Auckland office, Flying Nun’s distribution and the online store will now be managed out of Wellington - where both Roger Shepherd and myself live. More news on this soon.
A big thanks to Callum Campbell, who has slaved away refining the finer points and new items on this new website. Thanks also to Matthew Davis for captaining the ship for the last couple of years.
Finally, a short qualifying comment. As this website is quite new, and took some time to compile, I am aware there are likely to be mistakes, people who deserve be credited who haven’t been, or things that just aren’t right. Please do bear with us! Drop us a line and we will do our best to fix it up asap. enquiries (at) flying nun.co.nz
Ben Howe - November 2020
Artwork above by Valentin Coquillat