The Bilders
New Zealand music group / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bilders (or Builders) is a New Zealand music group of varying lineups that produced a string of self-recorded 7-inch vinyl releases between 1980 and 1982 leading to Beatin Hearts, the first studio-album from fledgling New Zealand independent record label 'Flying Nun Records'.
Bilders | |
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Also known as | Builders, Die Bilder (1980s) |
Origin | Christchurch, New Zealand |
Years active | 1980–present |
Labels | Unwucht Zelle South Indies Flying Nun |
Members | Bill Direen |
Known variously from pre-internet times as Die Bilder (German, for "The Pictures"), Bilderbergers, bilderine, Soluble Fish, Feast of Frogs, and High Thirties Piano, their alternative band names reflected a playfulness that challenged priority branding. The band does not maintain a steady profile. Months or years may pass without a performance, however 2018 was a prolific year for remastering and re-releases, with many live performances. New material of the spoken word and improvisation show Expendable Animals, however, was not recorded, unless on iPhones.
Labels such as Grapefruit [1]Sophomore Lounge,[2] Zelle Records (Austria),[3] Unwucht (Germany),[4] Grapefruit (USA),[5] Siltbreeze (USA),[6] Powertool (NZ)[7] and SmartGuy (USA)[8] have issued or reissued vinyl releases since 2010. Latest releases are a vinyl remaster of 1994 CD "Cut", vinyl remaster of 2008 CD Chrysanthemum Storm, vinyl reissue and remaster of the 1982 recorded LP Beatin Hearts, a 7-inch EP of new songs Measly (Grapefruit, USA), 'Cell Songs' (on a vinyl compilation by SmartGuy Records), participation in two compilations of music by Dunedin (New Zealand) bands based on poems by Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) with Zelle Records, a spoken word side project Ferocious on (Rattle Records, and the original soundtrack of the film Bill Direen, A Memory of Others released by Sophomore Lounge.
Early to mid-career Bilders' material was known for 'rough' music making (often live in the studio), and a lo-fi recording style that has produced "many genuine classic compositions".[9] The 1985 song "The Alligator Song" gained a cult following on New Zealand student radio stations.[10] More recent compositions have been attempting to integrate lyrical and musical processes into true collaborative shaping. The last albums (Grapefruit/Sophomore Lounge, 2024) present 32 new songs from two different groups. The new material overruns geographical or national boundaries, having members from Canada, USA and NZ.