autumn A frames, small summer circles
as seen on under the radar, non stop pop, white light white heat and shoegazer alive !
I talk to 95bFM’s Hunter Keane about old plastic on the long player programe
time will stop all of its meaning / draw the line
#1 Alt Airplay, Radio Scope, 160224
#5 te ahi top 10, RDU 98.5 fm, 300124
‘lush two pack of tunes‘ – under the radar, 090124
RadioActive FM ‘Hatched track ‘ 10 01 24
summer circles – new paintings
big spring paintings 
new single : go baby go
“Great song – I love what he does so much”
– Grant Smithies, RNZ nine to noon, 151223
towards the pier 11(16) 170123 – 120723 summer to winter
Whakarongo Whakaraupo Sound Festival
featuring ‘The Women of Lyttelton Goal’, a work by Helen Greenfield, assisted by me, is on now at Stoddart Cottage, Diamond Harbour.
Read about the piece here, or watch a short video from The Star here.
breezy – album out now on bandcamp, featuring Ryan Fisherman on drums and Miss Mercury on vocals.
“hook -packed “ – under the radar
“Breezy is a top-down, wind-in-your-face adventure set on getting
your senses working overtime “ – Bruce Novak, No Wristbands 160523
big autumn paintings
almost proud, the first single from forthcoming album, ‘breezy’ is out now on bandcamp, featuring Ryan Fisherman on drums and Miss Mercury on vocals.
beach glass, the new album by running club is out now
“…[a] Chrystalline pop delight ..” – Bruce Novak, No Wristbands 160523
“..nine blasts of crunchy power pop…an unmistakably NZ album, a little bit shambolic around the edges, with a love of guitar pop turned up to eleven…the album understays its welcome. “
– Tony Stamp, The Sampler, RNZ 040323
“…a fascinating distillation of many of the elements from their previous lives but modified by their mutual association…..touches of South Island psychedelia which spins off from 1966 British guitar pop….its an intersection of a number of appealing styles which are all promising and warrant Running Club exploring further.”
– Graham Reid, Music from Elsewhere, 100323
“…bathing in warmth… a gripping listen, with surprising angular layers that reside harmoniously with its more ambient moments “
– Beautiful Things, Flying Nun newsletter, 100323
‘easily’ the debut single from running club is out now
” A pure kiwi pop blast ‘
“A solid melody and some noisy little tasty elements”
– Grant Smithies, nine to noon, RNZ, 240223
“I love it “ – Grant Smithies, nine to noon, RNZ, 240223
running memories : run for your life
bigger summer paintings : what’s inside
small summer paintings : cast cast – offs
colour spring : small paintings
towards the pier autumn / spring 150522 – 211022
cast off cuts : circles
winter smalls two : box one, cast off cuts
dawns, sunrise 200322 – 240822
‘over bored ‘ out now on bandcamp
“overflows with fuzzy shoegazey / motorik grooves. A buoyantly and propulsive eight track collection ” – under the radar
“good news for fans of fuzzed-out, melodic guitar pop.Blair Parkes is writing songs as good as any in his 30+ year career. “ – Tony Stamp, The Sampler, RNZ, 180322
” Hits this impressive mix of unshakeable melody and distorted guitar noise that really works “
I talk to RNZ’s Tony Stamp about songwriting on Music101
I had a chat with Karyn Hay on RNZ about over bored, some old music and some new music
I had a chat with Geoff Sloan from Star Media
autumn dawn : towards the pier 110222 – 080522
‘far’ – out now on bandcamp
‘no plans’ – out now on bandcamp
‘that’ll clear your chimney’ – Grant Smithies, Nine to Noon, RNZ 191121
‘a sweet blast of pure beguiling pop craft ‘
-track of the day on white light white heat
‘new building’ out now on bandcamp
“…the hooks never stop coming. They come at you in rapid succession for the full 30 minutes so the real question is, do your ears have the stamina for this much memorable material? ”
– Tracey Wilson, Turntable Report 032
“a collection of buzzing, dense pop-rock songs with the sometimes mesmerisingly melodic-drone vocals riding gritty guitars.” – Graham Reid, Music from Elsewhere
single ‘step out’ – out now on bandcamp
‘so far up my alley it’s blocking traffic’ – Grant Smithies, RNZ 090421
despite everything, towards the pier 240721 – 061021
chimneybook : experimental film
grey mornings
Too Much is More Than Enough cassette :
3 and 4 track solo recordings from 1994/5
edition of 20, out now on Independent Woman Records
“Lo-fi is back and how!!! True bedroomrock from NZ. 4 track twiddlings bringing back the memories of Boyracer, Simon Joyner, Will Simmons or even Casiotone For The Painfully Alone. Quite some gems to be found on these, apparantly lost, recordings from 1994-95. “ – Knotwilg records
early summer mornings – looking towards the pier
two blue : towards the pier 11(5) 301020 – 021220
new single / video ‘maybe you heard’ out now on bandcamp
“the perfect golden ratio of melody to noise” – Grant Smithies, RNZ 061120
towards the pier 021020 – 291020
new bird recordings / free download
when spring comes : towards the pier 130820 – 080920
variant boards two -new paintings
cold mornings on the beach 170620 – 160720
winter mornings 200520 – 190620
always different, always the same
never go is out now on bandcamp and spotify
“Just awesome from beginning to end.”
– Grant Smithies reviewed ‘never go’ on RNZ’s ‘nine to noon’
“ a banger -perfectly distorted guitar- it just sounds so cool.”
– Finn Johansson, music reviewer, on ‘Karyn Hay Presents’, RNZ
“An exciting, swirling collection .”
never go #10 on RDU Te Ahi Top Ten – thanks RDU !
wobbly knees #10 on 95bFM top ten – thanks bfm!
wobbly knees #2 Radioscope Alternative Airplay April 26
single ‘wobbly knees’ is out now :
A seven inch single made by RDU for my song ‘stormy seas‘ is included in ‘A Short Run’, a selection of lathe – cut seven inch records at The Dowse, Lower Hutt, until June 7th.
The show was also presented at Objectspace, Auckland last year.
it’s the physics of the affair
almost summer mornings -towards the pier tp10(12)311019 – 291119
blackbird bluebird – new paintings
more cold winter mornings on the beach
cold winter mornings
warm autumn mornings on the beach
fish on the beach 251017 – 130519
towards the pier 10(6) 030419 – 090519
towards the pier – 2000 photos
Towards the Pier is an ongoing series of photographs begun in 2011. The majority of the photographs are taken between 8-9am & 2-3pm, looking north towards the pier at New Brighton, Christchurch, New Zealand. The shots are taken quickly on a phone and compiled with minimal processing in the order they have been taken.
summer mornings – towards the pier 040219 – 060319
Okuru -getting lighter in the morning, darker at night [film]
Motokutuku – waiting for Weissmuller [film]
towards the pier 051118 – 201218
making albums and having cancer : Little Rapids, Always Running and HPV
I’ve written a little about some of the things that have happened this year.
The Women of Lyttelton Gaol audio work by sound artist Helen Greenfield
opened in the Rose Garden, Lyttelton at 6pm, Friday 14th December.
It plays every half hour between 9am and 7pm over summer.
It’s so worth checking out.
two months on – new paintings
bluebirds and sprite – new paintings
little rapids – new album from Blair Parkes and Cardigan Bay – out now
lost direction – new single from Blair Parkes and Cardigan Bay – out now
always running – new album out now
towards the pier #1952 , winter to spring 220818 – 031118
always running soon to be available from the RDU singles club
Blair Parkes audioculture profile is now up
beautiful mornings – towards the pier
big blues – recent large paintings
blair parkes 
