BILL DIREEN: Buildings on a velvet land

Poet, author, playwright, and perhaps the greatest less discovered songwriter of NZ's diy culture, BILL DIREEN is responsible for some of the most important episodes of early lo-fi days. His '80 - '84 works - under various monikers (Builders, Bilders, Die Bilder, Bilderine, Soluble Fish, Urbs...) - spirited by haunted velvet psych visions and kiwish post punk rawness, place him at equal height to JEFFERIES bros, ALASTAIR GALBRAITH, CHRIS KNOX, SANDRA BELL...

The introductory compilation, we prepared here, includes selections from:
"Six Impossible Things", 7'', 1981
BILDERS - "Soloman's Ball", 7'', 1981
DIE BILDER - "Schwimmen In Der See", 7'', 1981
BUILDERS - "Beati/en Hearts", LP, 1983
BILDERINE - "Split Seconds", LP, 1984

Musicians : Bill Direen (voc, lyrics, composition, piano, guitars, percussion etc), Malcolm Grant (drums), Campbell Mclay (bass), Peter Stapleton (drums), Allen Meek (keyboards)... and also Steven Cogle, Maryrose Crook, Liz Silver, Lisa Siegel, Hamish Kilgour, Tony O'Blaney, Alec Bathgate, Chris Knox and others...

*Some of the material derives from 90's Flying Nun reissues.
For a complete discography see here.

Bill Direen

(22 tracks, approx 70 min)