New bands, new releases and new audiences. This is what Roger Shepherd promises from the resurrection of his iconic New Zealand label Flying Nun.

The label has just struck a deal with Remote Control, which will now be responsible for marketing and promoting forthcoming Flying Nun releases in Australia, as well as facilitating distribution through Inertia Music. The first release through the partnership is Die! Die! Die!’s new album Form, which will be released on October 1.

Steve Cross and Harvey Saward from Remote Control said the partnership is not just about Flying Nun’s legacy – it will also yield some “incredible” new music. “Having heard the Die! Die! Die! album, what’s really exciting is that the label isn’t resting on its reputation; it’s pushing forward and supporting great new music.”

Founded in Christchurch in 1981, Flying Nun has released music by the likes of The Clean, The Chills, Chris Knox, Straight Jacket Fits and The Bats. It was later sold as part of the purchase of Festival Mushroom Records by Warner Music Group in 2006, but was bought back by Shepherd, as well as Neil and Sharon Finn and a business partner, last December.

Tassie label Clones and Clones recently spoke to Shepherd about his decision to sell the label and his plans for the future:

Tell us about the decision to sell Flying Nun and the period in which it was owned 100 percent by Festival Mushroom Records. How did it feel to lose control of your label? Were you still “involved” with music?
To be honest it wasn’t exactly my idea to leave but I was tired out and had had a gut full of the bizarre machinations and politics of the Mushroom/Infectious environment I was working among in London. Still, I wasn’t happy about leaving Flying Nun, the label I had started in 1981. I spent the years after this at home looking after my young daughter Missy but still listened to music and went out and saw bands whenever I could. But being in London (and happy to be there) I was disconnected from New Zealand and what was left of Flying Nun.

In terms of what Flying Nun means to you, was anything lost in the period where the label was a complete major label subsidiary? Are you proud of every release that’s come from the label regardless of which period it was release in?
The label is almost 30 years old and lots of people have had input throughout that time. My own tastes are broad and I think variety is important and it is reflected in the types of artists signed and the records they have made over the years. The Mint Chicks were signed in the “corporate phase” and I think they are an astonishingly brilliant band. The idea with getting involved with Flying Nun again is not just to look after the catalogue (which is important) but to make the thing alive again by releasing great new music by original creative young bands.

So selling isn’t something you regret?
When I left there were lots of loose ends that needed to be tidied up and it was a relief when they eventually were but I was never happy about leaving. It wasn’t about selling my interest. I would have regretted leaving if I had had any control of the situation but I did not.

When you say “make things alive again” – do you mean make things alive again for you or for a safe/stale industry?
No matter how good the music is and the importance of keeping it accessible and available I have no interest in simply running a reissue label. The label will live again through new music made by a new generation of artists. I don’t think I can influence the industry but I certainly intend that the label mixes things up and challenges listeners with the new music we work with.

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