Lil' Chief Records is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

–based

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

formed in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. Operating from the

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

suburb of Mt. Eden, it was founded on releases by The Tokey Tones and

The Brunettes The Brunettes were an indie pop group from New Zealand formed in 1998 and lasting until 2009. The group consisted of core members Jonathan Bree and Heather Mansfield, with additional contributions from part-time members such as Ryan McPhun and ...

. The label's roster now includes a collective of pop artists such as Jonathan Bree, Princess Chelsea, The Ruby Suns, and Edmund Cake.

History

Founding

Lil' Chief Records was founded in New Zealand by indie pop musicians Scott Mannion and Jonathan Bree in 2002. The two men had met that year in Marbecks Record Store in

, where Bree was working at the time. They discovered they were both bedroom recording artists who shared a number of influences. Likewise, both were having difficulty finishing their respective albums and finding a label, particularly since the trend in New Zealand at the time was towards guitar-based

rock bands A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

. They decided to form their own label to focus on a niche of "100% orchestrated pop music from the New Zealand music scene," citing

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...

, Flying Nun, and

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

as inspiration. Lawrence Mikkelsen, a friend of Mannion's and an early supporter of the label, volunteered as the label's "post master general" and archivist.

Initial releases

The label's first release was the debut LP of Bree's band

. Released October 2002, '' Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks'' was a joint release with

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

New Zealand. The album received a glowing review from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, as did the label's second release, The Brunette's 2003 '' The Boyracer EP''. Bree produced both albums. The label soon set up its headquarters in the Auckland flat of Gareth Shute, a local writer and musician who had befriended Scott Mannion. Dubbed 'The Ghetto,' the large flat's rooms and graffiti-lined garage became a regular rehearsal space, as well as a recording studio for many of the label's future releases. As of 2013, it continues to be the location of operations. The next two albums on the label were released simultaneously in 2003. ''

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

'' and ''

Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

'' by The Tokey Tones both featured and were produced by label founder Scott Mannion. Members of The Brunettes guested on some of the tracks, and when playing live The Tokey Tones have since relied on a revolving cast of musicians from other Lil' Chief Records bands, such as The Brunettes and The Ruby Suns.Sendra, Tim. ''

'' ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

'' stated "There has been nothing quite so tasteful, fully realized or confident in Kiwi pop," about the releases. Later that year indie pop band The Nudie Suits released their album ''

Songbook A song book is a book containing lyrics for songs. Song books may be simple composition books or spiral-bound notebooks. Music publishers also produced printed editions for group singing. Such volumes were used in the United States by piano man ...

'' on the label. Frontman Mark Lyons was both Bree's cousin and had been a mentor in Bree's formative years.

Development

In 2004, the band The Ruby Suns was formed when Ryan McPhun moved to Auckland from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and started playing in The Brunettes and The Tokey Tones. In 2005 Edmund Cake released his solo album '' Downtown Puff'' on the label, which was followed by

Shaft Shaft may refer to: Rotating machine elements * Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power * Line shaft, a power transmission system * Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque * Axle, a shaft around whi ...

's debut LP '' Open Sesame '' and releases by

Alec Bathgate Alec Bathgate is a New Zealand musician who was a key member of The Enemy and Toy Love, as well as being one half of the Flying Nun Records act Tall Dwarfs, alongside Chris Knox. In addition to playing guitar in these bands, he also released t ...

and The Ruby Suns. The label's community of musicians also formed a cover band called Disciples of Macca, which focused on solo

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

material.

Also in 2005 the label released '' Now We Are Three!!!'', its first compilation, which featured tracks pulled from its previous catalogue. The compilation was positively received with a review stating "Lil Chief Records is a label to keep on eye on." A second compilation, ''Greetings From New Zealand,'' followed in 2007. By 2006 the roster had expanded to include artists such as

Lawrence Arabia Lawrence Arabia is the musical guise of New Zealand artist and composer James Milne. In 2006, Lawrence Arabia released his self-titled debut album and the debut album from his band The Reduction Agents, '' The Dance Reduction Agents''. Both ...

and his band The Reduction Agents,

Shugo Tokumaru is a Japanese singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who debuted in May 2004 in America with his album ''Night Piece''. He creates every aspect of his music, including the lyrics, music, arrangements, recording and mixing. He is known for ...

, and the band

Voom Voom HD Networks was a suite of 25 original high-definition television channels owned by AMC Networks. The channels were produced in Crystal Clear Hi-Definition with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and were the largest suite of HD channels in ...

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand (), commonly known as RNZ or Radio NZ, is a New Zealand public service broadcaster and Crown entity. Established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995, it operates news and current affairs station, RNZ National, and a classi ...

did a feature on the label in August 2006, when Andrew Clifford visited their Auckland headquarters. In 2008 the label was written up in the UK's ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' in the article ”New Zealand, pop Mecca? A new wave of bands is set to expand your horizons”. Also that year The Ruby Suns were named among the "best new music" in ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

,'' while Lawrence Arabia toured with Feist. In May 2012 the label released the compilation ''These Shaky Isles'', with tracks going back ten years in its catalogue. As of 2013 label continues to release indie pop bands, such as the all-girl project The Gladeyes and Princess Chelsea.

Artists

The following artists have released albums through Lil' Chief Records as of March 2019. *

* Jonathan Bree *

* Cool Rainbows * Edmund Cake *The Gladeyes *

*Little Pictures * The Nudie Suits *Pie Warmer * Pikachunes * Princess Chelsea * The Reduction Agents * The Ruby Suns * Scott Mannion *

Sheep, Dog & Wolf Daniel McBride, better known under the moniker Sheep, Dog & Wolf, is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer based in Auckland, New Zealand. McBride released his first EP under this name (created in his bedroom) independently in May 20 ...

* The Tokey Tones *

*Wet Wings

Discography

The following list is organized by catalog number, which is a roughly chronological number system established by the label.

References

External links

*
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(August 25, 2006) - 25'12" {{Authority control New Zealand independent record labels Record labels established in 2002 Pop record labels 2002 establishments in New Zealand