Upcoming Releases + a Freebie

At Lil Chief Records, it never rains but it pours. Over the next few months we will be putting out four new releases - three of them by new artists!

First up, we have The Eversons - a new group from Wellington, who produce witty, punchy guitar-based pop tunes. This is the new project of Mark Turner (Little Pictures), though now he's traded in his roland sample pad for a guitar and taken his music more into the territory of The Modern Lovers and Pavement. You can get an idea of their sound today with their free-to-download cover of the Disasteradio song, “Gravy Rainbow.”
This will be followed up by The Eversons EP, released on CD and through our website as a free download on April 11th.



Only two weeks later, we have the new full-length release from The Gladeyes. Sadly the band will go on hiatus soon after this with singer/guitarist Jade Farley leaving for Stockholm, so this album and the accompanying shows will be local audience’s last chance to check them out.

On May 9th we have the release of Princess Chelsea’s debut album, Lil’ Golden Book. This is the solo project of Chelsea Nikkel (TeenWolf) and showcases her layered, multi-instrumental sound. Her music embraces both orchestral and electro elements, while remaining firmly footed in well-crafted pop melodies.

We are also overjoyed to announce the signing of Cool Rainbows, the new project by Djeisan Suskov (Trees Climbing Trees). Cool Rainbows debut album is nearly complete and due for release in June/July.

love

the Chief x

SPRING BREAK + DISCIPLES OF MACCA + PIKACHUNES LIVE IN WELLINGTON!

Spring Break is a new project featuring the sensual Ryan McPhun of the Ruby Suns and the utterly ravishing James Dansey of the Sneaks.

They look and sound like this:




Disciples of Macca are the ultimate Paul McCartney tribute act, playing classic solo Paul McCartney and Wings hits such as "Coming Up", "Band on the Run", "Jet" and many more. Featuring members Paul, Paul, Paul, and Linda (possibly all established artists on Lil' Chiefs roster) their very rare live performances are always, engaging.

And if you're completely mental and haven't seen Pikachunes live yet:

Pikachunes Debuts New Song on 95bfm

Andrew Tidball from Cheese on Toast is will be taking the one and only Pikachunes up to Charlotte Ryan's most excellent slice of radio heaven this week - on Thursday 10 March to debut a brand new song - that's not on the album - and at the time of writing this hasnt even been titled yet - and is presently being mastered by the one and only Timmy Schumacher.


Thursday, March 10 · 10:00am - 12:00pm (NZ PACIFIC)

Morning Glory, 95bfm

Overseas listeners may stream at www.95bfm.com

For those of you not already familiar with this boy wonder, you should probably check out this.

the Gladeyes on Balcony TV

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Nu-Zealand Indie Pop, The Modernization of Lil Chief in the Second Decade of The 21st Century

Since it's first release in 2002, Lil' Chief Records has developed a reputation in New Zealand and to a certain extent across the globe for consistently releasing great pop albums.

Much like the Beach Boys best material, a lot of the Lil' Chief releases seem to have some kind of "Pop Mastermind" behind them, acting as a songwriter, arranger and producer all in one.

I think it would be safe to say that perhaps more than any other band, The Beach Boys recordings from the early 60s right through to the early 70s are of great influence to many of the artists on the label, as they are to pop songwriters and producers around the world.

However, somewhat overlooked I believe - are some of their later recordings.

During the 80s and early 90s the Beach Boys underwent a Bowie-esque transformation, ditching their tired old arrangements for a sleek and more modern sound. Their once dry and dare I say pathetic drum sound was replaced by a brighter, more bombastic and danceable sounding kit. Rather female sounding instruments like the celeste, harpsichord, and real strings (which should really only ever be used when making childrens music or homosexual music) were replaced with professional and digital sounding synthesizers, producing a more masculine and mature sound.

One of the first albums to be recorded, edited and mixed entirely on Pro Tools was the much underrated masterpiece 'Summer in Paradise' by The Beach Boys. Although it bankrupted their record label, their 27th studio album - the criminally out-of-print 'Summer in Paradise' established The Beach Boys as pioneers of digital recording, and takes it's place alongside Brian Eno's 'Another Green World', or Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express' as a historical moment in the modernisation of pop music in the 20th century.

Although short-lived, Brian Wilson's foray into Hip Hop Music in the early 90s epitomises for me, the Beach Boys versatility and pioneering spirit. While rap music by nature should only be created / listened to by Black People, Brian Wilson, a middle aged white male, paved the way for future white hip hop artists, (notably Marshall Mathers) when he released 'Smart Girls', arguably one of his greatest lyrical achievements and what has been described by critics as 'the pinnacle of both hip hop and feminism'.




In keeping with the Beach Boys spirit of development and change, many of the later Lil' Chief releases are incorporating more electronic elements, capitalising on the benefits of the digital age (The Ruby Suns - Fight Softly, Little Pictures - Owl & Owl, Pikachunes - S/T). Inspired by the transformation of the Beach Boys from Melodically-Safe Surfer Dudes to Utterly Dangerous Synthesizer Bad-Boys - Lil' Chief Records and the artists on our roster hope to continue releasing forward thinking Nu-Pop and maintain our reputation as one of the best and most original pop labels in the world.

Pikachunes + Princess Chelsea + a cover

Chelsea and Miles have been hard at work together making a cover, and it's available for download now over at Einstein Music Journal.

Sexual Princess

Here's a much simpler way to listen to Sexual Angel by Golden Axe ft. Princess Chelsea. Phew.

Sexual Angel by GoldenAxe