Have you seen the Benka Boradovsky Bordello Band play live? Heard the debut album from The Hot Grits, out this month? What about the melancholy sounds of Tim Guy? If these Kiwi acts don't sound familiar, you're not alone. But if you're keen to learn more about independent local acts, there's no better time to do it than during New Zealand Music Month this May.

New Zealand has a growing number of small, indie record labels which support music that is under the mainstream radar. One emerging label is Monkey Records. Created eight years ago by Nigel Braddock, it releases about three albums each year. Braddock, who trained as a classical pianist and has a degree in music, found a niche market for small-name local artists.

"One summer, I hopped in my car with a few boxes of records and an invoice book. I travelled around the country meeting retailers and radio stations and selling records. I think people appreciated I was putting in the effort. After six months, some sales were trickling through. It seemed promising, but I had no illusions about whether I could make a living from it."

Keeping the cogs moving

For many years, Braddock supported himself financially by teaching piano students, hiring out his mobile recording studio and sound system, and playing in a jazz band at weddings. It's a reminder that independent music is a rough trade. Even though Monkey Records is now well established, Braddock's bread and butter is his work as a tour booking agent and promoter.

In fact, Braddock discovers most of his artists at live gigs. Even though he is sent demos in the mail each week, he has never signed an artist who has sent music to him out of the blue. Braddock recommends that young artists should "develop their craft and build an audience" before trying to get signed to a label. That doesn't mean age is a barrier; emerging bands like The Checks and The Electric Confectionaires have made it big, straight out of high school.

"From the beginning, I wanted worthwhile artists, not big sales. I realised that I needed strong live acts. I signed more artists; usually bands I had seen live, or friends of mine who were creating good music. My recent signings have been hard-working live acts that are willing to travel and connect with the public. But these days, it's getting harder to sell physical records."

Home-grown business beginnings

Braddock began his business at home, and burned records using his computer. He designed the cover art, wrote the press releases, and distributed and promoted each album. It shows how small labels like Monkey Records can be flexible in the way they do business. Independent sales have held steady over recent years; something that'll be celebrated this Music Month.

"Music Month targets occasional music fans; people who go to the odd gig and buy one or two albums each year," says Mark Kneebone of Independent Music New Zealand. "It's also great for artists like Shihad and Goodnight Nurse who have chosen to release albums in May. Fat Freddy's Drop did the same three years ago, and that album was a huge success."

One of Monkey Records' most promising acts is An Emerald City, which released a self-titled, EP in April. After Music Month, the experimental and psychedelic band will take a "creative break" until summer, to prepare its debut album. An Emerald City is one of three Monkey Records bands hoping to crack the European market next year, using Berlin as a base.

"Being an instrumental band, it's hard to have huge hopes," says frontman Reuben Bonner. "But people like our music because it's different; it's not stock-standard. It's interesting music, but it's not interesting for the sake of being interesting. Music Month is quite commercially focussed, but it does shed more light on indie artists. And that can only be a good thing".

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Article by Wellington-based freelance journalist Jehan Casinader.