South Indies was established in 1984 in Christchurch, New Zealand, as a launching pad for new musical and literary ideas. In the 1980s it released vinyl, cassettes and video-cassettes recorded or owned by other artists, before moving into the control of music group The Bilders material and the leasing of this to other labels.

Releases

South Indies released local (New Zealand) groups on 12" vinyl, cassettes or compilations *Bread and Board. Artists included Sparky's Magic Baton (Barry Stockley (bass) & Jessica Walker (voice & 12-string)), The Trephines (Wall of Waiararapa, 12" cover & cassette), Neil Jones (Dobro guitar & voice)), Paul Sutherland (compilation), Free Radicals (Jonathan Besser and Ross Harris 12" EP) The Haemogoblins Psychodelicatessen (LP), Bill Direen & Barry Stockley (12" EP), Soluble Fish (LP & 12" & 7"), Material by early Bilders, Urbs & Vacuum was issued or reissued ... and a 12" EP of theatre songs by the Soluble Fish troupe & Blue Ladder Theatre...

Some books of poetry & translations appeared between 1985-1997.

1984: South Indies released Bilders album Split Seconds (1984) followed by a reissue of Beati/en Hearts (Bilders album (repurchased from Flying Nun

Flying Nun

Flying Nun may refer to:* The Flying Nun, television series* Flying Nun Records...

, 1985)). Further Bilders *http://south.indies.free.fr/html/BildersStory.html albums followed until the departure of Bilders frontman Bill Direen for Europe.

Later, South Indies & associates worked on projects such as Above Ground (cassette) (Stuart Page

Stuart Page

Stuart Page is a New Zealand photographer, designer, documentarist and drummer.He graduated from Ilam School of Fine Arts with a Diploma Fine Arts in Photography in 1980. He has worked with artists on the Flying Nun label and many lesser known counterculture groups of his country.After travel to...

, M.R.Crook, C. Woodward, B. Direen), Alien/Skulls for Hecuba (San Francisco), Twenty Minutes (for Hayfever, Germany), No Name (Germany), Human Kindness (for Corazoo, Switzerland) LP & CD. The move from New Zealand to Europe was aided by exposure in magazines such as Germany's Spex (magazine)

Spex (magazine)

Spex is a prominent German rock and pop culture magazine located in Berlin, Germany. Besides music news, Spex also covers literature, cinema, fashion and contemporary social trends...

, many small distribution magazines, local (especially Berlin) bars and promoters who ran clubs, toured or organized festivals.http://www.beepworld.de/members96/powertool-records/billdireen.htm

Leases

• 1993-2003 : Flying Nun (Mushroom/Festival/Warner Bros) leases and releases Bilders material from the eighties in four retrospective CDs.
• 2004-2007 : Flying Nun DVD II. Second Season, features 'The Alligator Song' video clip (Festival).
• 2007 : Flying Nun retrospective box set features 'Alien' (Warner Bros).
• 2006 - 2009 : NZ's Powertool Records leases and releases recent recorded material. Chrysanthemum Storm (L.P.), October 2008, was supported by a national tour organised by Powertool Records.

Sources

• SPEX Music magazine. Cologne Germany. Michael Ruff. 'Und waehrend ich noch ueberlege...' p. 67.
• 'The Thinking Popster', David Belcher. Glasgow Herald. 20 September 1989.
• Mysterex. Music subscription journal. NZ. Issue of September 2007. 'Kiwi Punk and Beyond'.
• Martyrs in the Vinyl Den. Ken Double. NZ Listener. 29 November 1986.
• Otago Daily Times, Stephen Hall-Jones, 30 July 1988.