Rattle Records
Creativity will inevitably defy categorization: Rattle artists are creating music that comes out of classical, jazz, and world streams, but tends to look somewhere else for a home.
Here you'll find music created not only to enrich the aural fabric of our lives, but that will most reward listening with intent. You could call it 'art music'. You could call it whatever you like.
It's Rattle music.
Big respect to Rattle, a record company which has been releasing New Zealand recordings ...beyond the regimented lines of classical and contemporary boxes for some years now. - Mark Amery PAVEMENT
Official Site
Artists
Jazz and classical pianist and composer Amy Rempel is a doctoral candidate at the New Zealand School of Music. More
A diverse group of improvisers, Jonathan Besser's Bravura features ex-Madness bassist Peter Scott, Gitboxer Nigel Gavin, APO Violinist Miranda Adams, and Siberian accordionist Tatiana Lanchtchikova. More
Campbell Rae Dyne More
Contemporary jazzers with a an Aotearoa sense of space and ear-friendly world outlook. Influences are: Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Keith Jarrett and Jan Garbarek. Collaborators include Richard Nunns. More
The ancient tonalities of taonga pūoro find themselves in yet another challenging contemporary setting. Marilyn Crispell and Jeff Henderson weave a beautiful array of sonic textures and nuances around the... More
A jazz-leaning pianist with a unique performance style and audience rapport: WithYou Hit Hi.. (Best Classical 98) Dan Poynton wrote the book on NZ solo piano music. More
14 years in the UK & Europe established Gillian's international composing reputation, but in 1981 she returned to her Maori and antipodean roots. More
This legendary 90s nine-piece 'guitar orchestra' has quietly fused minimalist ambience with rockn'roll attitude to take the guitar somewhere entirely new and refreshing. More
Many New Zealanders may take the haunting sounds of Maori instruments for granted – but without these pioneering musicians our taonga puoro would probably remain mute in Museums. More
Best known as composer for the 2004 Olympics, it's the sheer exhilaration of his music which is marking him out as a potent artistic force to listeners in and out... More
Natalia Mann was born in Wellington, New Zealand. She studied harp and piano from the age of five, and began playing professionally as an ensemble and orchestral harpist in her... More
With Hirini Melbourne and master instrument makers, Richard has quietly changed our musical landscape forever. Beyond re-establishing a lost musical heritage, he has since gone on to explore unique musical... More
One of the most exciting and explosive saxophonists in Australasia, New Zealand's Roger Manins has spent much of his career based in Sydney. More
The FSH Trio is a collaborative project initiated by drummer Ron Samsom in conjunction with Rattle Records. More
Releases
Ancient Astronaut Theory is a new work by Canadian composer and trumpeter Dr. David Lisik, composed in seven movements for taonga puoro, and featuring one of New Zealand's most important... More
This is the first of two volumes of Beethoven works for cello featuring Inbal Megiddo (cello) and Jian Liu (piano). More
The album signals a maturing artistic focus as NZTrio keeps one foot proudly on the shores of Aotearoa, while taking its listeners on a journey out through the Pacific Rim... More
Campursari takes its title from an Indonesian musical term used to describe music that combines Western and
Gamelan instruments.
Strongly supported by bassist Jeremy Allen and drummer Jason Tiemann, Amy Rempel tackles the seven carefully chosen pieces on her debut outing with great skill and dexterity. More
Decadence is a live release containing tracks from the groups five studio albums. It is a compilation that celebrates ten years of the group's existence. More
Delayed Reaction was inspired by (and is a tribute to) the life and work of French jazz maestro, Michel Petrucciani (whose compositions feature on the album). More
On release, this compilation offered a fascinating preview of key Rattle artists – including John Psathas, Hirini Melbourne & Richard Nunns, Nigel Gavin, From Scratch, etc. More
This uncompromising 60-minute work was written to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the USA. More
Presenting here volume 1 of a projected 4-CD collection which brings to light in premiere recordings a number of works which were never publicly performed in Douglas Lilburn's lifetime. More
Presenting here volume 2 of a projected 4-CD collection which brings to light in premiere recordings a number of works which were never publicly performed in Douglas Lilburn's lifetime. More
Enceladus is a new electro-acoustic work by New York-based contemporary classical composer, Jorge Sosa. The work is structured around the trumpet playing of jazz musician and composer, Dave Lisik. More
Flourishes is the third album by one of NZ's most accomplished classical groups, NZ Trio. More
Inspired by an eclectic range of musical interests, the album takes the listener on a millennia-leaping journey,
from the sounds of the ancient Mediterranean, through the dance music of 18th...
Hikoi and Journey are two albums cut from the same cloth. More
This 2 disc, solo piano album by New Zealand's favourite classical musician both stretches and soothes. Inland realizes Michael Houstoun's goal to record music close to heart and home. More
Invenium Viam is the debut recording of virtuosic cello soloist, Inbal Megiddo, in collaboration with composers
and electronic musicians Jorge Sosa and Dave Lisik.
Based on a story by Tungia Baker, and features taonga puoro alongside piano, cello and voice.. With Judy Bailey, Richard Nunns, Tungia Baker, Georg Pederson. More
The debut album from The FSH Trio features compositions from all members of the trio, reflecting their diverse cultural backgrounds and wide ranging influences. More
Norman Meehan (piano), Bill Manhire (poet/readings) and Hannah Griffin(vocals) with support from a stellar cast of musicians follow 2010's highly successful Buddhist Rain with this very fine live in concert... More
A truly exceptional and brilliantly executed performance that resounds with superb playing, impressive arrangements and a unique "sonic footprint" delivered with a clarity and depth that completely immerses the listener. More
The outstanding Auckland based Samsom Nacey Haines Trio release their second record Oxide, which follows on from their very well received 2009 debut, Open To Suggestions. More
This beautifully recorded and produced album features some of the finest contemporary Turkish musicians - an
organic, richly textured, highly musical, deeply satisfying work.
Nine acoustic guitars. Nine players. Together. Shimmering ambiences shifts to Stravinsky shredding Pete Townshend, but it all turns out very happily. More
Inspired by the infamous Lindbergh baby kidnapping and subsequent trial in the early 1930s, Rail 16 is a fascinating 49-minute work for mixed ensemble by jazz and new music composer,... More
More than just a modern jazz album, Resonator references the jazz tradition while pursuing an array of rhythms
and textures unique to Bradley's eclectic musical personality. The result is an...
Rhythmic intensity & poetic introspection, performed by top NZ and US players: NZ String Quartet, Michael Houstoun, Deidre Irons, Dan Poynton & New Juilliard players. Best Classical Album 2000. More
If, as some commentators claim, a renaissance is taking place in New Zealand jazz, Tim Hopkins must surely be one of its leading lights, and his new album, SEVEN, one... More
Sax and voice features alongside the group's trademark PVC melodic percussion, in a salute to spiritual heroes. More
Guitarist Al Campbell, drummer John Rae, and bassist Paul Dyne, have produced a recording brimming with vitality, an album that exudes one of the fundamental qualities of good jazz joy. More
New instruments, new sounds, & unique video evoke voices relayed from a spiritual realm. This CD/DVD release features Hirini Melbourne, recording just before his death in 2003. More
Literally "The Woven Mat of Sound", Te Kü Te Whë announces a renaissance in Maori music, taking the listener into an ancient world, structured by mythology, history and the moods... More
A work in ten parts for voice and taonga puoro. More
with PITCH BLACK, WARREN MAXWELL, RHIAN SHEEHAN, SALMONELLA DUB, SJD, SOLA ROSA, LEE PREBBLE, EPSILON BLUE, UNITONE HI FI, VICTORIA KELLY, FARMER PIMP, THE NOMAD, CHRIS MACRO. More
The Curse of the Queen's Diamond is David Lisk's first NZ release and is an album for those who appreciate
music at its most expressive and exploratory.
Recorded on one of their exuberant evenings at Happy Bar in Wellington, this debut album is a moment of magic, a never to be repeated snapshot of one of New... More
The ancient sonorities of taonga pūoro again find themselves in a challenging setting. Marilyn Crispell (piano) and Jeff Henderson (reeds) weave an array of mysterious sonic textures and nuances around... More
A stripped-back Gitbox follows up it's debut Pesky Digits with an album that - ironically - reflects a wider world. More
Trio is the new album on Rattle Records from the award-winning NZ saxophonist Roger Manins. More
This unashamedly lush, ambient, spacious album, evokes a sense of mystery as it weaves together Maori instruments and jazz inspired piano. More
The simplicity of the round as a musical form belies the subtlety of this music. Jonathan Besser created this music initially as sketches, before handing them to a trusted group. More
One of Aotearoa's most successful jazz groups teams up with a leading exponent of traditional Maori instruments to create a "very New Zealand" jazz album. More
Ukiyo is the new album from NZ composer John Psathas & Portuguese percussion maestro Pedro Carneiro. More
double CD, building on the band's sound: 'Side A' features 10 songs in the band's spacious, contemporary jazz style. 'Side B' presents 6 tracks by members of CMBG in a... More
A PYROTECHNIC PERCUSSIONISTA. OUR GREATEST PIANIST EVER. THE HOTTEST SAX PLAYER ANYWHERE. THE MIGHTY NZSO. AND AN OLYMPIC COMPOSER: John Psathas came home to run his own race. More
The pieces on Who's Most Lost? have their own distinct magnetisms, and the musical map being charted by the group has a very welcome home at Rattle Records. More
This defining album for solo piano by a charismatic performer took Best Classical 98, "...NZ music at its best, imaginatively chosen, sensitively played..." HERALD More
Tom Dennison's debut recording Zoo, features a stellar line-up from the new vanguard of New Zealand jazz and the skill level that Tom and his young band - Steven Barry,... More
