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    • FELIZ NAVIDAD!!
      • WELL... Not sure entirely where it went, but we appear to have almost completed another lap of the sun, and it's less than a week til Christmas!! Crikey!! Shop has been MAD busy, for which we thank you profusely - lots of vinyl, tee shirts, posters, CDs, DVDs finding their merry way into the Xmas stockings of the best behaved children, plus a lot of the trusty SBR vouchers, so I would imagine we will be seeing some of you in upcoming weeks to redeem some of these little bundles of joy... We have had some corking in-store knees-ups this year - how's about the fabulous Erny Belle for Record Store Day, back in April, or that amazing Fat Freddys Drop "Slo Mo" launch party, with the whole band in the house signing and DJing their album - was a real thrill. Just want to thank you all for your continued patronage - we really appreciate your continued support in these trying times, and the very real love you all share for physical media, and for these places - may your festive season be filled with peace, and love, and tranquility, friends and family, and, most of all - with MUSIC!!! A huge Slow Boat MWAH!! to you all - we'll be here or hereabouts - Slow Boat will remain open every day, with the exception of Christmas and New Year's Days, but we will operate on reduced hours weekdays, and likely play it a bit by ear (I would aim for between 11-4, just to be on the safe side). Be happy, be safe, be kind, over and out XX THE SLOW BOAT CREW XX

    • How did I get hear? #14 - Jeremy Toy on John Coltrane's "Coltrane Live At Birdland"
      • In the early 2000’s Martin Winch had just released “Espresso Guitar” and I was playing in melodic hardcore bands and freaky free jazz funk bands, so it is safe to say that at my guitar lessons with him we were at either pole. I was struggling with rudimentary Jazz of the stage 2 Auckland University Jazz education programme because what I was being forced to play sounded nothing like the guitarists I was raised on - George Benson, Barney Kessel, Grant Green or Kenny Burrell. Lessons were a struggle because I wanted to go 100km an hour but was forced to wait at road works traffic stop while the boxes were ticked. Martin, being the very empathetic person he was, felt my pain but, also being the guitar Yoda he was, knew I needed to wait at the traffic stop for some much needed mindfulness. There is one lesson in particular that sticks in my mind. I was firing a myriad of questions at Martin about how, when I was forced to use chord tones 1,3,5, b7 over a dominant 7 chord, I never sounded even remotely like John Scofield. Instead of answering me Martin, disappeared upstairs (I’m assuming he let out a tiny frustrated scream into a pullover) and came back with an album on record. It was John Coltrane’s “Coltrane Live at Birdland”. His selling point to me was how important that live recording on side A was as a time capsule of where Coltrane and his band was at in that period. But far greater than side A was side B, as it had a studio recording of Coltrane’s composition Alabama, composed and performed as a response to the 16th street Baptist Church bombing in Alabama. The bombing was by ku-klux klan member. They killed 4 Black girls - Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11) - say their names, send a prayer for them. (photo by http://www.holyangels.com/images/church.bombing.girls.ap.jpg) Martin put side B on while we sat there, listened to "Alabama" then discussed the intense feeling of the song, the ability for Coltrane, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner to express emotion so well that it was impossible not to feel the music. I went home from the lesson and straight to the record store and bought that record - yes, it was there waiting for me in the Coltrane section. I’ve elaborated here for the sake of a good story, our conversation about the record was more like Martin saying “check this out, the whole band is together, what a feeling!” and then myself saying most probably something like “oh wow” but internally we both knew exactly what was going on. Through this record I was once again reminded of the Black American experience, and the drive artists have to convey what is happening socially in their own personal way via their art. From blues to hip hop, this is the essence that keeps the music moving forward. And it goes almost without saying, in parallel with incredible control of the artist's chosen instrument. I never did get the hang of a dominant 7 chord, but I feel every note. More about Jeremy here at his Leonard Charles Records website

    • How did I get hear? #13 Mike Houlahan on Cocteau Twins' "Treasure"
      • It is 1984, and we are in a suburban bedroom in the most suburban of Wellington suburbs, Tawa. Earlier in the year, on the first day of the new school year at Tawa College, I had walked into my new classroom and found a bloke I knew only lightly by sight was in my class. He wasn't hard to spot . . . he was dancing on top of a desk, to the music reverberating in his own head. I suspect most of my peers decided at that point that this was someone to be avoided. I, on the other hand, decided that this guy must be the most interesting person in the room and that I should get to know him. It turned out that he lived just around the corner from me, and that he possessed what seemed at the time to be the best record collection in the world. One of the first things that he played for me was The Cocteau Twins "Treasure" – I'd never heard anything like it before, and not all that much like it since to be honest. Soaring, ethereal vocals, intricate melodies, and churning, effects-laden guitars swirling over a thudding drum machine, this was a special record. I borrowed it, thrashed it, recorded it (home taping is wrecking music, kids) and thrashed it some more. I could even ‘sing' along to the lyrics, although given that most of them seemed to be made up gibberish you could warble any old rope and who would know? I loved it then and love it still. The band, wrongly of course, still regard it as the worst thing that they released, while grudgingly accepting that it's the album most of their fans love the most. What do musicians know eh? It is a record which can be uplifting and mysterious, dark and moody, or growling and snappy, depending on your mood. Thirty years on, it still gets a spin or two most months. I subsequently bought everything the Cocteau Twins ever released, so that much played c90 blank cassette did not rip them off too much. And – joy of joys – I got to see Cocteau Twins live in London in 1994 supported by Stereolab. Now that's a heck of a double bill. The dancing guy with the great taste in music was Peter Jamieson, who would go on to be an important figure in the Wellington music scene. I would go on to write about him, having got my break in journalism – a trade I still pursue today as an associate editor on the ODT – as a music writer for the now long since closed Evening Post. All of which just goes to show where a random encounter and a great record can get you. Mike Houlahan is an associate editor at the Otago Daily Times

    • Fat Freddy’s Drop x Wellington Chocolate Factory x Slow Boat Records!!!
      • Slow Boat is thrilled to announce that we are to host the Wellington launch of Fat Freddy’s Drop’s brand new album “SLO MO” – along with their collaboration with the Wellington Chocolate Company on a special FFD ‘”SLO MO” chocolate bar – which you will receive FREE when you buy the album!! All are welcome from 4.30-6.30pm on the 31st October to hear the album (which won’t be available on streaming services until the 1st of November – LOVE that!), with the band present – they will also be selecting some tunes to play instore, signing copies of the album (remember – Christmas isn’t far off now), and maybe, just maybe, a few more surprises… Tell your pals – and we look forward to seeing everyone here to celebrate the album’s release on physical media (LP and CD), and the coming together of these three fine Wellington institutions…! Xx FFD/ WCF/ SBR xX

    • How did I get hear? #12 - Ron Sexsmith on Warren Zevon’s self-titled (second!) album
      • I’d been aware of Warren’s music for quite some time (mostly things like “Werewolves Of London” or “Carmelita”), but for some reason I never took a deep dive until years later. (Ron Sexsmith pic by Alterna2/Xavi Torrent) I was watching the Letterman show one night where Warren was his only guest. Apparently, Letterman was a long-time supporter of Zevon’s music and had invited him on many times in the past but this would be his final appearance. Warren was dying of mesothelioma but spoke quite candidly and bravely with Dave about his situation. I was just really struck by him and decided to go out and look for his latest record “My Ride’s Here” (which I thought had a great sort of “gallows humour” title). Anyway, I found this album and listened to pretty much nothing else while out on tour. And while I was doing that I was also reading a biography on Warren called “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”, so basically I was going down the Zevon rabbit hole. The book referenced many songs of Warren’s that I was unfamiliar with, so I was on a bit of a mission to find these songs after reading the stories behind them. The next album I picked up was his self-titled one which I mistakenly assumed was his debut - it was actually his second album. But this record would go on to be my all-time favourite album. It’s a bit of a loose concept album that seems to be about LA and all the delusion and heartbreak that go with it. The record begins with a Copeland-esque motif played on the piano that brings to mind the Wild West, and is later repeated on the final song “Desperadoes Under The Eaves”, although this time by a solemn string section. Inbetween are songs that are full of humour and desperation and all sung with an exuberant delivery by Warren that makes me feel heroic whenever I hear it. Some of the songs seem quite personal while others feel observational. Being album about LA it also features are a star studded cast of contributions by the likes of Phil Everly, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and even Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys! But none of these artists take away from what is essentially Warren’s world. As I’m writing this I now own pretty much every Zevon record and love them all for different reasons, but the “Warren Zevon” album remains my personal favourite “go to” record when I need to feel heroic while rocking out. It’s been a life changing album for me. Ron Sexsmith is wildly entertaining on Twitter/ X here, and his website is here (let's all bombard him with requests to play in NZ, shall we?!)

    • How did I get hear? #11 - Paul Johnson on Bob Dylan's "Oh Mercy"
      • I was handed this album as a “$7.99 SALE!” bestickered CD by my therapist in 2002.

 I’d started my dream job as a graduate, got some money in my pocket and a head full of snakes. It should have been the best of times, but I’d snuck into a fragile ebb with no tools to figure it out.

 Tim, my GP-nominated counsellor was a good guy. We talked a lot about music and fathers: John Lennon served as a handy nexus of the two. Tim outed himself as a huge Dylan fan, and I wanted to know more. I’d spent the previous few years away from ‘rock music’ (as many of us did) and I had no meaningful Bob in my life. The closest my Dad’s music collection got was perhaps Willie Nelson’s ‘Stardust’ or ‘Glen Campbell’s Greatest Hits’, and outside of The Beatles or Elvis I only had basic outline of the classics.

 He handed ‘Oh Mercy’ over with a shrug.: “This isn’t one of the big famous ones, but… this is one I’d recommend as a fan. I’m not supposed to give my clients gifts, but this was only 8 bucks so I think it’s OK”. 

 No black and white photo of a folk hero. Instead, some truly lurid 1980’s street art, a man wearing the same style of oversized double breasted suit that Michael Douglas would wear in a ‘Michael Douglas’ film. Bright teal, peach and pastel washes. Crosshatched, period correct typography. Middle aged, millionaire Bob Dylan on the back – wearing a straw hat looking like he’s accidentally eating pretzels in Cabo. Is his hair wet? Why is Bob Dylan’s hair wet? Why is he poolside? Isn’t he supposed to trudge up and down Greenwich Village with a guitar case? 

 Tough sell. Jarring shift of context. Is that a saxophone?

 Inside this ’80’s pastel cover are raw, quiet songs driven by doubt, regret and uncertainty. Clearly being the spokesperson of a generation hadn’t allowed Bob to rest easy. Oh Mercy is a lesson in failure. I’ve always loved the tension between the champagne-crisp 80’s sheen of the production and the collapse in the lyrics: “Everything Is Broken” - but at the same time you can’t help but imagine him working in a rag-rolled ochre studio interior with angular, expensive European lightning. It was an odd introduction to the Zimmerman canon (and also of Daniel Lanois – masterstroker of steel guitar and space reverb), but I’m glad this was the path I took to get inside the pyramid. This is an album that feels like it belongs inside a clattery CD case. Probably one that’s cracked with the hinges broken off and the “$7.99 SALE!” sticker half torn off, still semi-sticky with a coating of lint. It’s a desperate, subtle, broken thing, and it always rewards the time I spend listening to it.


    • How did I get hear? #10 - Reverend Christopher Orczy on Todd Rundgren's "A Wizard, A True Star"
      • In the August school holidays of 1989 I was 17 and working in the upstairs 2nd hand department at Echo Records in Christchurch. My music tastes were very Anglo goth with a bit of 1970’s prog rock in the mix. I was checking newly bought LPs against what was out in the shop; going through the ‘R’ section I was stopped by the cover: colourful, geometrical shapes, cartoony, an eye over an ear. It was so appealing. I had heard of Todd, but never heard him. I asked Al Park (boss) what it was like. “It’s good! Put it on!” I will never forget the opening spiral take off noise that leads to the first song, 'International Feel'. The wall of sound production, the catchy craziness of it all. The segue to a Disney song ('Never Never Land') was joyous and logical, followed by a tension building instrumental which then exploded into 2 songs of heavily distorted power angry rock, then to the oddball effects as music. All of this in 6 or so minutes. I had never heard anything like it. What was it? Prog? Pop? Soul? Hard Rock? Experimental? AOR? None of these and all of these at once. “70’s psychedelia” Al suggested. He was not wrong. From that moment, Todd became my guy. I got ‘A Wizard; A True Star’ engraved on my Zippo. I bought everything I could find and loved it all. I became a Todd evangelist and would make tapes for everyone, choosing the songs and styles that I knew would help them see Todd as the most amazing artist of all time (with little success - NB - I have one of these Todd mix tapes; it is entitled, with typical understatement 'Todd, as in God' - Ed). Todd is still one of my favourite artists, but nothing like that August morning. He changed what I expected and wanted from an artist. Everything didn’t have to be serious and deep. It was ok to be goofy, funny, sentimental, and sad. ‘A Wizard; A True Star’ showed me that music was capable of everything all at once. You can view Father Chris' YouTube channel here

    • How Did I Get Hear? #9 - Steve Braddock on Oasis' (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
      • I blame Mike Flowers. Honestly. 1996 had kicked off a pretty cool year. I was in Year 11 and hadn’t really been interested in music. I liked it, but nothing resonated enough to ingrain itself into my consciousness for any time longer than the song itself. Still, there I was at the start of 1996 and as the school year started people would talk about the usual stuff they’re watching or listening to. I’d heard of the band Oasis, but didn’t know their songs. What the hell’s a wonderwall anyway? Or at least that’s what Travis sung. Anyway, one Sunday morning after a typical Hutt Valley party at Belmont Hall the night before, I’d awoken at a mates house and we had the music chart show on. All the usual 90’s stuff was playing….and then Mike Flower’s Pops came on with their version of Wonderwall. “So that’s Wonderwall?” I thought. And then I heard it later that day on the radio, this time the original version. And again, constantly. And I now knew I’d heard it before and suddenly here was something resonating with me. "Don’t Look Back In Anger" followed. That chorus, guitar and drum solo was just euphoric to my ears. Then the psychedelia of "Champagne Supernova". I’d suddenly found a home. Oasis became my band and I bought my copy of the album at Tower Music on Lambton Quay. Imagine my delight when I discovered that they had a debut album which was better than the one I’d just bought! I was hooked and have been a fan ever since. I just love the optimism, arrogance and belief in the music. Noel Gallagher’s writing between 1993 and 1997 was prolific and I was there for the ride now I’d discovered it. Fans of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will know the writing standard is still high. They’re a gateway band too. I ended up living near Manchester for 20 years and you can’t help but appreciate the quality of bands that came before from the area that shaped and influenced the music. There’s elements of The Buzzcocks, Joy Division, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays etc all within this band. You could even argue The Bee Gees too - Beatles comparisons are lazy. As time has gone on I still play this album - in fact, all their albums. There’s still a quality which I admire. They’re also nostalgic reminders of my youth - good memories of years gone by. I’m still in awe of Noel Gallagher. I can take or leave a band reunion, but I remain bolted to his solo output. So, yeah, I blame Mike Flowers.

    • How did I get hear? #8 - Dennis O’Brien on Mink DeVille’s self-titled debut (“Cabretta”)
      • The romantic, passionate voice, songs and attitude flamed throughout the first album from the five piece Mink DeVille in 1977. Fresh from CBGB’s, the band recorded the album in New York, the sessions helmed by Spector right hand man Jack Nitzsche and featuring Wrecking Crew sax player Steve Douglas. With dedicatory nods to Santo & Johnny, and Philly’s The Tymes, it is a loving synthesis of Cajun, Mariachi and Brill Building craft and style. My group of the time, about to record my first album in New Zealand were seduced by the "Cadillac Walk" and the "Spanish Stroll". Guitarist Kevin Bayley wrote “My Maria” for the album – a perfect homage to The Drifters and Lieber and Stoller (with a little Marty Robbins thrown in!), while “Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl” was a staple of our live performances, and one of our favourite live tracks. “Come A Little Bit Closer” (not on the Mink DeVille album, but a fave of theirs) remains the only song I have ever sung at karaoke (Knotts Berry Farm onwards!)

    • How Did I Get Hear? #7 - Stephen Gallagher on Kronos Quartet's "Black Angels"
      • In 1993, I was immersed in my first year study of composition at what is now known as The New Zealand School of Music. My lecturer, Jack Body, possessed a unique ability to transform the abstract into the palpable. His descriptions of music were so vivid that it felt as though he was holding the composition in his hands, revealing its intricate magic in front of our eyes and ears. When he learned of my fascination with George Crumb, Jack lent me his copy of "Black Angels", a 1990 album by The Kronos Quartet. My introduction to George Crumb's music had occurred a few years earlier, in the mundane setting of a high school classroom in the Hutt Valley. The moment "The Advent" from "Music for a Summer Evening" emerged from the speakers, the ordinary dissolved. The music was dark, ancient, and astonishingly vivid—like an auditory manifestation of nightmares. It immediately reshaped my musical perspective in profound ways. None of this prepared me for "Black Angels". The electric, screaming horror that erupted through my headphones was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The amplified strings of the Kronos Quartet created a visceral intensity, a sonic experience that resonated more with the raw energy of Sonic Youth, Bailter Space, or Nine Inch Nails than with the refined compositions of Schubert or Stravinsky. It was suspenseful, uneasy listening, yet simultaneously beautiful and awe-inspiring—a complex and rare combination. Far more than simply a thrilling exploitation of sound from traditional instruments,"Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Dark Land" is an elegant composition by a 20th-century maverick, a work that intertwines themes of war, hope, and humanity pushed to its earthly and spiritual limits. The impact on my mind was explosive, shattering preconceived notions and expectations of what instrumental music could be at the end of the 20th Century. Following Crumb's Vietnam War-inspired title track, the Kronos Quartet's interpretations span centuries and continents. From the 16th-century English Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis to Hungarian composer István Márta, American modernist Charles Ives, and Soviet-era composer Dmitri Shostakovich, the album's thematic unity of war and "man's inhumanity to man" resonates across time and geography, forming a bold, intense, and visionary 62-minute journey. The Kronos Quartet's adventurous spirit and imaginative approach to these works, their innovative use of the recording studio, and techniques more akin to contemporary guitar and electronic music than classical traditions, make "Black Angels" a touchstone for me. The sublime programming and thoughtful tracklisting create an album that continues to resonate long after the initial shock and awe of the first listen. It remains harrowing, haunting, truthful, dark, beautiful, and profoundly moving. Turn it up and enjoy/endure. Stephen Gallagher's page at Air Edel, with links to his music and bio, can be found here

    • How did I get hear? #6 - Grant Smithies on Pere Ubu's "The Modern Dance"
      • I can remember the exact moment my brain exploded. It was 1981, in Edinburgh, and I was in the basement bedroom of my flatmate Colin, who played drums in a local punk band. A hyperactive stoner with excellent musical taste, Colin seemed to own only one T-shirt (sky blue, with the words “Hi Anxiety” screenprinted on the front) and made me mix tapes jammed with life-changing tunes by The Fall, This Heat, Wire and The Feelies. Then one night he dropped the stylus on The Modern Dance, the 1978 debut album by Cleveland, Ohio rock band, Pere Ubu. Between my ears, I felt a warm, wet thud as my grey matter detonated.was music that sparked a thousand questions, which in the end boiled down to just two: Who would possibly think of recording sounds like this? And what was it about Cleveland that made this sort of thing seem OK? The music was a mix of harsh keyboard noise, surf guitars and obscure pop references, and the main guy yowled out his vocals in a high, sing-song warble many would struggle to accept was even singing. Under a layer of screaming synths, opening song Non-Alignment Pact sounded like Chuck Berry backed by a band of punks on acid. I was smitten. The Modern Dance made most other albums sound hopelessly pedestrian, as if the makers simply lacked courage. And I’m not alone in my love of this record. Rolling Stone’s Dave DiMartino once wrote “Modern day rock’n’roll reached its peak in 1978 with The Modern Dance and has declined ever since.” So you can imagine the mix of delight and terror I felt last week, 35 years after my brain blew up in that Edinburgh bedroom, to finally get hold of lead singer David Thomas on the phone. Delight, because this is a band that still means a great deal to me. Terror, because Thomas- now 62- is a notoriously tetchy interviewee, renowned for treating journalists as if they all came out of the same basket marked “idiot.” “Oh, no,” he protests, that odd high-pitched voice echoing down the line from his home in Brighton on England’s south coast. “You have me all wrong. People always make me out to be this easily irritated guy, but they just don’t get my sense of humour. I hope you let people know that I’m a charming and funny fellow.” This is half true. Thomas is certainly funny, his conversation studded with punchlines as dry as the desert sand, the curmudgeonly persona quite possibly something he just slips on as a comfortable disguise, like an old overcoat. But charming? Perhaps not. He groans. He sighs. If he thinks questions are beneath him, he waits in silence for a more acceptable one to be asked, and answers others with a simple “yep” or “uh-huh”. Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, Thomas is a former music journalist who decided one day that he should stop writing about music and start making it instead. He has since appeared on stage or record alongside everyone from Nick Cave, Pixies and The MC5 to Phillip Glass, the Sun Ra Arkestra and the London Sinfonietta. Thomas has written several books and two operas, scored films, lectured on “The Geography of Sound” at Oxford University. The South Bank Centre in London once hosted a three day festival solely devoted to his music and writing. He’s talking to me today because a vinyl box set called Architecture of Language 1979-1982 has just been released, following an earlier set- Elitism For The People- which rapidly sold out. This new one gathers together early albums New Picnic Time, The Art of Walking and Song of the Bailing Man with a fourth LP compiling alternate takes and live recordings. Inside you’ll find some of the richest, strangest pop music ever made. Give it a spin and I guarantee your mind will explode, just like mine. But Thomas couldn’t care less if you buy it. “I just make this stuff; I don’t try to sell it. That’s the record company’s job. Frankly, I don’t care it people go and get themselves a copy. It’d be nice, I guess, ‘cos I’m still hoping for that billion dollar stadium tour sometime before I die. But if you ask me how much I care about record sales, the answer is- zippo.” And there, perhaps, is one secret of Pere Ubu’s critical if not commercial success: at every stage of their career, their sound has evolved without regard to the musical marketplace. Partially, says Thomas, this is because the band members came from comfortable middle-class families, “so if we couldn’t do exactly what we wanted in our music, we could always do something else.” Consequently, their sound has been guided by whatever new ideas they wanted to explore, whether or not these sonic experiments might be able to sell. “What you really mean to say is that Pere Ubu is the biggest commercial failure to ever exist. And you’re right! We should get some sorta special failure award from somebody. Considering our importance to history, culture and how long we’ve been going at it, we should be bigger than U2!” Thomas claims to be perplexed by his band’s lack of commercial success. After all, it’s everybody else who’s doing the weird stuff. Justin Beiber, Beyonce and Lady Gaga are the anomalies, as far as he’s concerned, while Pere Ubu is the mainstream. “There’s a manifest destiny of rock music which is a straight line from Heartbreak Hotel to Brian Wilson to now, growing more complex as it goes. This music is the real mainstream and Pere Ubu is a part of that. A lot of other music has deviated from that, and it’s gotten increasingly weak-willed and selfish, with everyone just whining about their feelings all the time.” He pauses to allow me to share his revulsion. “Meanwhile, Pere Ubu is totally devoted to pop music, just as much as The Beatles or The Beach Boys ever were. What confuses people is that we love noise as much as we love pop music. These things are supposed to be diametrical opposites, but we love them equally.” And besides, he says, rock music is part of his heritage, because it’s a uniquely American type of electrified folk music. “And that’s why people way down there in New Zealand can’t really play rock music. You don’t know how, because you don’t have the right cultural context." This seems deliberately provocative, but Thomas claims he’s dead serious. “People will get bent out of shape if I say kiwis can’t play rock music. Well, you got your own damn music! Don’t slimeball over our culture! That’s just cultural imperialism, like when English indie bands in the 90s started plundering snippets of ethnic music because they had no fresh ideas. Really, that borrowed stuff was just a bunch of gaudy foreign gee-gaws they’d paste on top of their own stupid pop song.” But American rock’n’roll didn’t arrive fully formed out of a vacuum. At its heart are African rhythms from the blues cross-bred with country music, which was based around British and Irish folk tunes that came to America with the early settlers. “Yeah, of course. But that’s what we do in America, because America is a bunch of retards from all over the place, throwing their own stuff in the pot. But my point is- New Zealanders should work out how to make distinctively New Zealand music. I’m an American, so I’ve spent my whole life exploring American culture, yet I’ve barely scratched the surface. You can’t know anything else unless you know who you are first, and why you are who you are.” Pere Ubu formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1975, arising from the ashes of previous band, Rocket From The Tombs. They were inspired by the questing space jazz of Sun Ra, the grinding punk racket of The Stooges and MC5, the melodic uplift of the Beach Boys, Glen Campbell and The Monkees. Cleveland itself also fed into the mix. Ubu synthesizer player Allen Ravenstine filled the songs with clanking, fizzing explosions of sound that recalled the city’s heavy industry. Thomas channelled the loneliness and paranoia of someone making a life for themselves near some cold corner of Lake Erie, in a city where most of the sound and light came from tire factories, blast furnaces and chemical refineries. This was pop music made on the banks of the Cuyahoga River, a decaying, lifeless waterway clogged with so much industrial pollution, the oily surface regularly caught fire, destroying boats and bridges. Then as now, Thomas cut a compelling figure as frontman- a guy so huge, he once went by the name Crocus Behemoth, using his voice in a tremulous, oddly strangled way, like a tentative trumpet player. Listen to the song 49 Guitars and One Girl from New Picnic Time and you can’t help but picture Captain Beefheart fronted by a distressed chicken. Pere Ubu once coined the term “avant-garage” to descibe their singular mix of ruthlessly experimental music and raw garage rock. It was in part a reaction against earnest singer/ songwriters writing confessional lyrics, a trend Thomas describes as “pure evil”. Why should anyone else care about a stranger’s feelings? Thomas was more interested in capturing a very specific mental state. “We tried to embrace a sort of pure expressionism where if the song concerning jealousy or anger or depression or whatever, we wouldn’t tell that story in a traditional narrative way; the whole song WAS that feeling, right down to the sounds and structure we used.” Consequently, Thomas goes to some very weird places for his art. He shouts. He whispers. He screams like a stabbing victim and coos like a pigeon. One writer memorably described his singing style as “James Stewart trapped inside an oboe.” Esteemed American cultural critic Greil Marcus reckoned his singing was “all hints and warnings and non-sequiters”, suggesting Thomas had taken the radical step of being deliberately inarticulate in a culture where everyone endlessly over-explains. “Yep. Greil got it exactly right. What can I tell ya? I wouldn’t know how to do it any other way. When I sing, I try to condense a story right down to its essence in both the words and the sounds, and that’s often about just honing in on a key moment. Really, there’s only a few stories I’m interested in telling, and I break ‘em down to tiny moments so I can tell those stories for the rest of my life.” Certainly, Thomas’ songs are a short-cut to some very odd emotional states. “Yeah, and that’s exactly what I want them to do, because those emotional states are just as important as most of the crap other people might sing about.” The amount of trivia that clogs up people’s lives has been a recurring theme in Thomas work. Way back in 1978, the band put out an EP called Datapanik In The Year Zero, a collection of early singles exploring the idea that we’d soon be swamped with so much information, it would act as a sedative and nothing would mean anything anymore. “Yep, and now here we are, at precisely that point. Look at all the Bowie death-week hysteria we saw recently. That wasn’t about Bowie; it was a bunch of selfish people transmitting their own feelings via every possible channel. Let’s not forget that 150 000 other people died the very same day. The proper response to Bowie’s death would have been- ‘Oh. That’s too bad. Can we go get lunch now?’. That’s a more appropriate response to the fact that someone you didn’t know has died.” But surely such outpourings of emotion are unavoidable when influential cultural figures die. When Thomas himself finally drops into a very large grave, there’ll be no shortage of Pere Ubu obsessives eulogising him to the heavens in the most purple prose imaginable. “Oh, no! That’s not gonna happen, because I’ve specified in my will that when I die, everything is to keep going. There’ll be people still running our website, and they’ll keep posting messages from me on Facebook and so on. Eventually, someone like you will try to interview me, and our office will say- ‘Oh, no, I’m sorry, David Thomas died two years ago.’” Grant Smithies runs Nelson Record Emporium Family Jewels - you can find them on Facebook here

    • How Did I Get Hear? #5 - Fraser Lewry on Butthole Surfers' "Locust Abortion Technician"
      • Fraser Lewry on Butthole Surfers’ “Locust Abortion Technician” My first love was rock music with a capital R: AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin. They're all bands I adore to this day, but the mid-1980s found hard rock moving in ever-diminishing circles, refining itself to the point of ridicule. Glam Metal. Hair metal. Sunset Strip. As anyone who's watched Penelope Spheeris's brilliant documentary "The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years" can attest, it was in real danger of becoming stupid. At the time, I was working in a second-hand record store in North London, with colleagues whose tastes were much cooler than my own. They liked Krautrock and West African highlife and folk singers from the 1960s whose names I didn't recognise. And one day, one of them played a Butthole Surfers album on the shop stereo. The first track on "Locust Abortion Technician" was the one that did it. Right out of the blocks. "Sweat Loaf" parodied Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf" riff, so I liked it right away, but it spiralled off into craziness. It was demented, and psychedelic, and somewhat frightening, and quite possibly dangerous, and it was unlike anything I'd heard before. The rest of the album was just as grotesque, from the harrowing ("22 Going On 23") to the hallucinatory ("U.S.S.A.") via "The O-Men", with frontman Gibby Haynes jibber-jabbering frantically above a chaotic, acid-addled backing track, and "Kuntz", in which the band lifted an entire song from Thai folk singer Phloen Phromdaen, ran it through a homemade effects unit, and called it their own. Shortly after, I saw the Buttholes live. I met Gibby, and he told me a wild-eyed story about Lydia Lunch. To this day it's the craziest show I've been to, with Haynes repeatedly setting himself on fire and a riot at the entrance to the venue. I still don't know if it was people keen to get in or desperate to get out. "Locust Abortion Technician" boggled my mind, but it also opened it. It's not the greatest album ever made (that's actually "Bat Out Of Hell"), but its complete disregard for notions of genre or order pointed me in the direction – in one way or another – of everything I've subsequently been obsessed by, from Volcano Suns to Fela Kuti, from Fiona Apple to the Mutton Birds, from Rammstein to Ros Serey Sothea. It's wild. Fraser Lewry edits Classic Rock magazine online, and can be found online here

    • How Did I Get Hear? #4 - Riki Gooch on İlhan Mimaroğlu and Freddie Hubbard’s “Sing Me a Song of Songmy”
      • Riki Gooch on İlhan Mimaroğlu and Freddie Hubbard’s “Sing Me a Song of Songmy” During the early 2000s, I frequently found myself in the esteemed company of my dear friend, mentor, and extraordinary drummer, Anthony Donaldson. Many of us are well acquainted with Ant and the profound influence he has had on those who either a) failed in jazz school or b) were eager to explore beyond the conventional boundaries of musical tradition. Our nightly hangs typically took place at the old Plan 9 studio site on Arthur Street. As I plodded up the lengthy staircase to the studio, I would often encounter a carefully curated stack of records that Ant had prepared for our listening session. Attempting to encapsulate the range and depth of the music we listened to is an impossible task within this wrong exercise, but one album stood out to me and had a profound impact on my musical life. This album was “Sing Me a Song of Songmy”. In the pantheon of avant-garde compositions, Sing Me a Song of Songmy stands as an audacious testament to the synergistic convergence of jazz and electronic music, a collaboration between Turkish composer İlhan Mimaroğlu and American trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. Released in 1971 on Atlantic Records, this album is a visceral response to the atrocities of the Vietnam War, weaving a complex tapestry of sound that challenges the listener both intellectually and emotionally. Mimaroğlu's tape manipulations lean into musique concrète, oscillating between dissonant cacophonies and haunting silences. The album's title, referencing the My Lai Massacre, sets the stage for a grim meditation on human cruelty and the absurdity of war. Hubbard’s trumpet becomes a voice of anguished lamentation, intertwining with Mimaroğlu’s electronic distortions to evoke a sense of dystopian dread. For me, Sing Me a Song of Songmy is not merely an album; it is an aural manifesto, a poignant exploration of the human condition through the lenses of innovation that has relevance to the troubles of today. Its intellectual rigour and emotional depth ensure its place as a seminal work in the annals of avant-garde music. I won’t spoil this album for you any further by writing about it, but I encourage you to check it out. Riki plays at The Pyramid Club this Thursday evening, with Dan Beban (Orchestra Of Spheres) - Facebook event here!

    • How did I get hear? #3 - Dianne Swann on Neil Young's "Tonight's The Night"
      • I had just turned 14. Things had gone a little pear-shaped in my family. Things were happening; the house was overcrowded, and my Dad was away a lot, working and playing (up). My Uncle had split with his wife, and he came to live with us for a while, bringing his 3-year-old son with him. One of my sisters returned to live at home with a little baby. It was a frenetic and troubled time, and the things that occupied the minds of most fourteen-year-old girls did not seem important to me at all. For me, though, the real disaster was that my older sister had left home and taken her record collection. My brother had just started working at his building apprenticeship. With his first pay, he bought me a Sony cassette player. What a gift. Neil Young's "Tonight’s The Night" was the album that never left that player. The ragged sadness of that recording reached me in ways that made me truly feel like I was not alone. Every crack of Neil’s voice, every guitar squeak - the imperfection and looseness resonated with me as I learned that the world is not perfect, and music is solace and love. I could sit with that album and feel dark and just leave it there in that room. I guess it was my emo album. It was my friend. Funny fact: it also helped me with my school cert geography exam, as I was able to confidently place Sante Fe slightly less than 90 miles away from Albuquerque. (You can keep up with Dianne's musical activities at her Facebook page here!)

    • How did I get hear? #2 - Nick Bollinger on Gram Parsons' "Grievous Angel"
      • When I was sixteen my father died suddenly. I had just left school and was living in my first flat, partying too hard, working as little as possible, and occasionally going home for meals. Suddenly home wasn’t there anymore. Noticing my shocked and aimless state, my friends Matthew and Katie suggested I accompany them on a trip to Dunedin where they were going to spend a few days with a painter, a family friend of Katie’s. Though the painter and her husband had a new baby and the last thing they really needed was three unwashed teenagers from Wellington crashing on their carpet, they welcomed us into their tiny, tidy Portobello home. At some point over the few days we were there I got talking about music with the painter’s husband, who turned out to be a passionate music fan, and he played me this life-changing record. Up until then I had thought of country music as the voice of right-wing, Christian, conservative, short-haired, pro-war, white Americans; in short, everything that I, an aspiring hippie, stood against. The few country songs I liked had been filtered through the rock’n’roll of the counterculture: Janis Joplin’s ‘Me and Bobby McGee’, the Rolling Stones’ ‘Sweet Virginia’, or Bob Dylan’s eccentric Nashville Skyline album (which had also indicated to me that there might be more to Johnny Cash than the Jesus albums and comedy singles he seemed to be churning out at the time, though I wouldn’t fully explore his music until later.) I didn’t even trust the way country records sounded: slick, facile and factory-finished compared to the raw inspiration of the rock’n’roll I loved. Hearing the two-beat pedal steel guitar lick that opens Grievous Angel, one might expect this album to be as slick and shiny as any country record, only the voice that comes in next isn’t shiny at all. It is shaky, as though struggling to hold its footing under the emotional weight of the song it is carrying. And it was only a second voice, the sure-footed voice of a woman I learned was Emmylou Harris, that seemed to be keeping the main singer from buckling over. It was the combination of these voices and how shockingly believable they were that drew me in. Then I started to sink into the songs, which were mysterious, occasionally humorous but mostly deeply sad. More than half of them dealt with death, or some other loss perhaps equally profound. Most were written by Parsons himself, including some of the most anguished ones - ‘Brass Buttons’, ‘In My Hour Of Darkness’, ‘$1000 Wedding’ - but perhaps the saddest and most piercing performance of all was of an old Everly Brothers’ song, ‘Love Hurts’. Gram Parsons had already died eighteen months or so before I first heard his voice. I don’t remember thinking that my response to this record had anything to do with my own recent loss; only that I sank deeper into the music with each listening. I sought out its antecedents - Sweetheart of the Rodeo from Parsons’ brief time with the Byrds, and the two albums he had made with the Flying Burrito Brothers - but I also now had the courage and curiosity to explore some of the music that had inspired Parsons. People like Merle Haggard, George Jones and Harlan Howard whose music had previously been anathema to me. Now they didn’t seem slick or facile at all, but more like tear-soaked pages torn from someone’s life. Nick Bollinger (Nick's wonderful book on the NZ Counterculture, "Jumping Sundays", is available from our buddies at Unity Books, here!)

    • How did I get hear? #1
      • How did I get here? British singer/ songwriter Kirsty MacColl’s second album “Kite” was released in 1989. I was in my final year of high school in Timaru, and I bought it from Newman’s Music And Pianos on Stafford Street, essentially because it featured guitar playing and a couple of co-writes by probably my favourite musician, Smiths guitar slinger Johnny Marr. It is an interesting path which leads you to particular albums that you feel become ingrained or etched into your musical memory – but here the path is very clear. Kirsty had come to a lot of people’s attention as Shane MacGowan’s duet partner on The Pogues 1987 hit “Fairytale Of New York”, (probably still my favourite Christmas song of all time), and had also performed backing vocals on The Smiths “Ask” (and its’ much maligned B-side cover “Golden Lights”), Happy Mondays “Hallelujah”, Billy Bragg’s “Greetings To The New Brunette” and Talking Heads “Naked” album, amongst a host of others. In short – she was all over a whole host of records I had loved. She was also born into British folk music royalty, being the daughter of Ewan MacColl, who penned the now-standard “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”. Then married to record producer Steve Lillywhite, she also, famously, created the final tracklisting for U2’s massively successful “The Joshua Tree” album, apparently by ordering the songs according to how much she liked them… The songs on “Kite” are sharp, acerbic, effortlessly melodic, and given a big budget, glossy sheen by her husband’s production. She achieves the rare distinction of having Robbie McIntosh (Pretenders), Marr and Dave Gilmour on wistful album highlight “Mother’s Ruin”, as well as bass ace Pino Palladino (D’Angelo, Paul Young, The Who) on a bunch of tracks, and her layered harmony vocals are simply glorious. It also features a particularly wonderful cover of Ray Davies-penned Kinks classic "Days” – to me now, pretty much the definitive version, and the song that came into my head after her tragic, shocking death in Mexico in 2000. This is one of those records where I feel like I know every corner of its’ sounds, words and melodies – I can pretty much count off the seconds between tracks and know where the next track lands (along with tracklisting, a bit of a lost art in the age of Spotify). What this record is for me, though, is a deeply satisfying, and now hugely familiar and comforting selection of songs by a cherished, and deeply missed artist - supremely confident, and just bursting with ideas. Subsequent albums like “Electric Landlady” and the recently reissued “Titanic Days” are also strong sets, but for me – “Kite” is the one. If you already know it, I reckon dig it out and give it another spin, and you will find it sounds remarkably fresh; if you do not, I envy you, as you have a whole new world of song to discover!! Jeremy Taylor

    • RECORD STORE DAY 2024 AT SLOW BOAT!!!
      • Slow Boat is again thrilled to share with you our plans for Record Store Day 2024!! After the success of last year’s event, we have again agreed to co-ordinate with our dear neighbours at 173 Cuba Street, the venerable Flying Nun Records, so that there won’t be any clashes for our respective instore performances, which we are thrilled to announce thus; Flying Nun; 1pm – Living Clipboards – featuring Marineville’s Mark Williams, along with Ghost Club’s Denise Roughan and Jim Abbot – their “All Over Tawa” album is released on the day! Slow Boat; 2pm – Bleeding Star – fresh from the previous weekend’s Otisfest event at San Fran, the excellent Poneke/ Wellington indie guitar band will present their songs in a stripped back, largely acoustic fashion. Flying Nun; 3pm – Cruelly – grungy, punky, shoegazy? Who can say – what it is is life affirming, melodic noise from this young Wellington band – come check it out! Slow Boat; 4pm – Erny Belle (duo) - after the success of her superb second album (on the Flying Nun label), the Tamaki Makaurau/ Auckland based singer songwriter will perform in a duo setting – can’t wait!! We will also be opening at the earlier time of 9am (to give the eager beaver/ early bird RSD queuers an hour less to wait!), and will be bringing you an array of limited RSD vinyl exclusives for your delectation – you know the drill; no holds, no reserves - first in, best fed!! Thoroughly looking forward to what has become a real highlight of the record shop calendar, and to a day where we celebrate vinyl, music, and the culture of the independent record store!! See you all here!!! Xx Team Slow Boat X Team Flying Nun xX

    • AN ANNOUNCEMENT ON CULTURE VULTURE VOUCHERS
      • All good things, they say, must come to an end – and so it is the case with the joint Unity Books/ Aro Video/ Slow Boat Culture Vulture vouchers; we are calling time on them. If you are still holding unexpired vouchers, we would ask that you EITHER; -redeem them with the store from which you purchased them OR -return them to the store from which you purchased them and exchange for one of their own vouchers. Many thanks to everyone for supporting this joint venture over the last few years, and thank you for supporting, and continuing to support, all three independent Wellington businesses. CHEERS!!

    • 2024!!
      • Bloody hell, it's another year, already!! Welcome to it, everyone, and let us start by offering our sincerest thanks to you all for helping make it a busy and memorable one for us all here at The Boat - so many people must have gotten vinyl, and CDs, and vouchers, and tee shirts, and posters and all manner of Slow Boat goodies for Christmas, and that means more people listening to and loving music, and that can only be a good thing, right?! Thanks, also, for your patience in bearing with us with reduced hours and staff in the Xmas/ New Year period - all pretty much back to normal now (just as the Summer really arrives - typical, huh?!) ANYWAY - enjoying meeting folks from around the motu, and indeed around the globe, and helping people find the music they connect with - redeeming those vouchers seems like a swell time to me...! So - all the very best to you, your friends and whanau for 2024, looking forward to continuing to serve you up the platters that matter (have just topped up a HEAP of new vinyl that we sold out of over Xmas!), and to bringing the joy - a few things in the pipeline (not least of which being Record Store Day '24!), will let you know when plans firm up... Take care of yerselves - eat yer greens, keep cool, stay sun smart, and don't leave yer vinyl in the sun!! Peace and love, The Slow Boat Crew XX

    • HOLIDAY SHOP HOURS
      • Kia ora, everybody, hope everyone is doing good and enjoying some quality family/ break time - just thought we would let you know our likely hours over the next week or so - we will be closed Christmas Day, and open Boxing Day 11-4, and subsequent days the same sort of hours, then closed New Years Day, then same - 11-4. This is, of course, subject to change, depending on how busy we are (and how knackered we are feeling, which is, at the moment - quite knackered!!), so if you bear that in mind, I reckon we are all good! Thanks to everyone who has been in recently and supported us throughout the year - MERRY KIRIMIHETE!! Peace and love, THE SLOW BOAT CREW XX

    • So, this is Christmas...
      • Good grief - seems like just yesterday it was April and now - December, already!! Which means - Christmas, and New Year, and Summer, and holidays for lots of people - not so much for us. We are here throughout the Summer break, shutting up shop only for Christmas Day, and New Year's Day (although we'll likely open reduced hours...) As regards Xmas gifting - we have literally MOUNTAINS of new and second hand vinyl, CDs and DVDs, along with posters, tee shirts, and the ever-reliable Slow Boat vouchers - we're happy to help you find something that will help make your festive season the literal cat's pyjamas... As is ever the case, we are immensely grateful for your ongoing support throughout the year, and we appreciate that you are choosing to shop and spend your hard earned bucks with us, rather than on other forms of entertainment - but we are in sincere agreement with you all that music (and movies!) are something special, something that binds us and brings us all together. Sending you all our very best Slow Boat festive greetings, hope to catch you all over the season, or otherwise in the New Year... take care, drive safe, eat drink and be merry, and be excellent to each other!!! Love on ya, The Slow Boat Crew xxx

    • THE WAR ON DRUGS TICKET/ TEST PRESSING GIVEAWAY!!!
      • Stoked to announce that we are, in association with Live Nation NZ, giving away a double pass to the upcoming The War On Drugs show here in December - all you have to do to enter a prize draw for a double pass to the show, tour poster, and signed test pressing of their most recent album "I Don't Live Here Any More" is 'like' our Twitter or Facebook post, and tag who you'd like to take to the show with you - GOOD LUCK!!!

    • Spring?!
      • Well, it's apparently, officially Spring - not that you could tell from the dreary weather we are currently experiencing - feels like an extension to what has already felt like a long and arduous Winter... Still, not all bad - perfect time to kick back at home and enjoy some of the recent releases and reissues we have had instore, or even to dig into our extensive selection of secondhand LPs, CDs and DVDs - we also have plenty of posters to brighten up your walls (new selection just received and processed, in time for the school holidays!!), and tee shirts (good for 'layering'...) - will endeavour to get some new shirts underway before Xmas... As regards new music released this year, check out the recent photo selection above, plus - we are loving the new Blur album, "The Ballad Of Darren", PJ Harvey's "I Inside The Old Year Dying", the long-time-coming reissues of De La Soul's first three, seminal albums, vinyl reissues of The House Of Love's three major label albums, the three Betty Davis albums, Rhiannon Giddens' "You're The One", Robert Forster's masterful "The Candle And The Flame", and Olivia Rodrigo's poptastic "GUTS"... just a few ideas, anyway... Feel free to drop us a line at slow.boat.music@xtra.co.nz, or give us a call on 04 385 1330, or even, if you are in the 'hood, pay us a visit - heaters are on and we'd love to see you...! Meantime, keep warm - upward, onward...!! THE SLOW BOAT CREW XX

    • WINTER
      • Yup - WINTER. Happens every year, yet somehow every year it seems to come as a shock as the weather turns colder, and the days shorter and darker. We here at Slow Boat are PREPARED, however; we have heapin' helpin's of the good oil to get you through the Winter months. We have a HUGE array of DVDs for you to dip into - never seen House Of Cards, Game Of Thrones, The Sopranos, The Wire et al? Well, for starters - I envy you. Even if you have, a rewatch is often a good, satisfying task to set yourself (am personally 2 seasons into rewatching Succession, and absolutely loving it, and noticing heaps of things I missed at the time). Oh yeah - and MUSIC - did we mention we have a TONNE of top quality vinyl and CDs for your consideration; not just new titles, but a tastefully filtered (and cleaned, and guaranteed!) selection of reasonably priced second hand titles; there is a whole bunch of good stuff that never makes it any further than our 'new arrivals' section - and then there's the wall and window displays...Alternatively, we have a heap of stuff listed on Discogs (have recently listed a LOT of Flying Nun titles) - feel free to have a trawl through HERE ...and drop us a line if anything takes your fancy - prices are in USD (but can always do a bit better instore...)There are also a heap of posters to brighten up those bare walls - cheaper (and easier!) than painting or wallpapering!!By way of new releases, we are digging on new music from Jenny Lewis, the Richard Hawley selected "Little Bangers", Meshell Ndegeocello, King Krule, Janelle Monae, Kesha, Matthew Herbert, Graeme Nash, The Teskey Brothers, Jonny Greenwood, Sparks... honestly, just SO MUCH new music to get your teeth into!!We are also, as ever, in the market for excellent condition used CDs, LPs and DVDs - best prices paid, either cash or store credit. Hope everyone is doing good, do come pay us a visit sometime soon - or just drop us a line and let us know if there's something specific you are seeking.Love on ya,The Slow Boat Crew xx  

    • Record Store Day at Slow Boat 2023!!!
      • Slow Boat is absolutely thrilled to announce our plans for Record Store Day 2023!! This year, in the spirit of unity, we have opted to run a shared event with our good pals and neighbours at 173 Cuba Street, the iconic Flying Nun Records  - mostly, so there aren't clashes for the instore entertainment.And - we are pretty stoked with the entertainment we have managed to procure for you, thus; 12 midday - Tom Rodwell & Storehouse will join us for some "cult K'Road calypso-blues" - featuring wonderful Wellington-adjacent musicians Jeff Henderson and Chris O'Connor, we will have copies of Tom's terrific 2022 release "Wood And Waste" for sale.2pm - Connan Mockasin - we are thrilled to be joined for a rare acoustic performance by Connan Mockasin (who, with his band Connan And The Mockasins, played an instore here way back in 2006!!)We will open at the slightly earlier time of 9am (mostly so those who queue have a little less time to wait!), and I PROMISE to post a video of what RSD stuff we manage to get in to FaceBook/ Twitter. Please also note that the limited RSD vinyl will be restricted to ONE COPY of each release per customer, in the order in which you arrived at the store.SO looking forward to it, can't WAIT - please, as ever, be kind and considerate to everyone around you, as the store is likely to be BUSY, and we want everyone to have a great day and a great experience - and - will update once Flying Nun have confirmed their instore times - STAY TUNED!!!And finally - we will have limited stocks of the 'Slow Flying Boat Nun' poster on a tee shirt for sale only on the day! Get on it!!!XX THE SLOW BOAT CREW XX

    • HAPPY EASTER!!!
      • Greetings, cobbers - closed Good Friday and Easter Sunday, open as per Sat and Mon, hours may vary - HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!! X

    • A New Year - and Record Store Day 2023 at Slow Boat!!
      • Howdy, all, and welcome back to 2023 - well, yikes, it has gotten off to a horrorshow start to lots of folks North of us - Cyclone Gabrielle showed little mercy in ripping through communities in, particularly, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Northland and the West Coat of Auckland, for which we send our deepest sympathies and condolences to all those affected. If you are able to donate towards the recovery, I'm sure it would be much appreciated (we have made a donation) - a few places you can give here; Red Cross;https://www.redcross.org.nz/support-us/our-current-appeals/new-zealand-disaster-fund/Iwi fundraising;https://en.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/gabrielle-fundraisersHelp Us Help Animals - HUHA; https://huha.org.nz/get-involved/donate/ Thank you!!As for us here - we put out a heavin' helpin' of both new and second-hand vinyl last week, and it has been heartening seeing new and old faces swooping on the good stuff - meanwhile, CDs continue their steady progress - they are a comparatively cheap and efficient way to listen to music. A final note - we are receiving a tonne of emails from excited fans of, in particular, Taylor Swift regarding the release of the "Long Pond Sessions" for Record Store Day 2023, on the 22nd April - please be advised;-we have definitely ordered copies of this release, and many others. What we are supplied with often bears little or no resemblance to what we have ordered.We may get supplied, or we may not - we usually post a video to Facebook to show what we have actually been supplied with. -THERE ARE NO HOLDS OR PRE ORDERS. You cannot reserve anything. You will need to come to the store on the day - there is often a queue that forms from pretty early in the morning, so - up to you how keen you are; you will have opportunity to buy in the order you arrive, and it is strictly one copy of each release per customer.Will provide further details as they come to hand....Meantime, hope everyone is safe and well - take care of one another, hope to see or hear from you all soon!!!XX The Slow Boat Crew XX

    • So this is Christmas...
      • And then, just like that, we were gearing up and into another Christmas - how did that happen?! Doesn't seem like that long since we were recovering from the last one...! It's been a funny old year, all felt a bit stop start and like it has never really hit its stride, but - sometimes it's just a bit like that, eh? What we DO know is that, once more, we have been grateful for the loyalty and support of our terrific customers, both local, national and international, and that it has been a tremendous pleasure sharing the gift of music with you all, discovering new sounds and being reminded of old favourites.We had a great Record Store Day with live instore performances from Vera Ellen and 'Boat homeboy Luke Buda, and a return performance from the very marvellous Mr Don McGlashan - always grateful that some of our finest musicians are willing to come and play for us all for the sheer love of music. We have finally ditched the 'Top 50' from the wall, having run its course and served its function, and used the extra display space it freed up to show off a whole heap of new reissue CDs - which, despite what you may have heard, have never really gone away, and are very much still in circulation, despite vinyl garnering all the plaudits. We have a fresh batch of our much loved Slow Boat tee shirts in a range of colours and sizes, along with a heap of groovy posters with which to decorate your gaff. We have swathes of new and used vinyl, something for everybody this Xmas - and if there is something specific you are seeking, hit us up asap and we'll let you know if we can get it for you before the big day...And finally, we are saddened by the closure of our neighbours RPM, with whom we have enjoyed a fond and fruitful relationship, and wish head honcho Mr Paul Huggins all the very, very best - the loss of a fellow independent music store softened just a tad by the arrival of the storied Flying Nun Records at their site, relocating from Newtown - another store with whom we have a terrific relationship - we welcome you guys to Cuba Street, and wish you every success!!Finally, a big thankyou to all our customers, and suppliers - if it takes a village to raise a child, as they say, it takes something similar to run an independent music store in 2022, and we are grateful to you all for your roles in keeping this 'Boat afloat - best wishes for the festive season, and do hit us up for recommendations or if there is anything special you are seeking - we are here for ya, and will be open right through every day but Xmas and New Years (although hours may vary!)!!Love on ya, peace outThe Slow Boat Crew XX

    • Don McGlashan live instore at Slow Boat!!!
      • Slow Boat is thrilled to welcome back the esteemed Mr Don McGlashan - one of our most cherished and brilliant songwriting voices - for a FREE up close and personal solo instore performance when he visits Poneke for a couple of shows at Old St. Pauls (with his all-star band The Others), to celebrate the release of his magnificent, chart-topping fourth solo album, "Bright November Morning".Come join with us in celebration this Friday, the 28th of October, at 1pm - we will also have merch and CDs/ LPs, which Don will be happy to sign for you! 

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