Shocking Pinks is the project of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nick Harte from New Zealand.

History

Founded in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand, Nick Harte has played in many New Zealand bands such as the CM Ensemble,

Hiatus Hiatus may refer to: *Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * Gl ...

, The Incisions, Montessouri, Laudanum, Palace of Wisdom, Luxor Dance Ensemble, Urinator, Solaa, The Brunettes, and Pig Out. Harte & McDonald performed a Shocking Pinks gig at the Media Club in his hometown of Christchurch in December, 2003. This performance was attended by Tim Baird who ran local label Pinacolada Records; Baird subsequently funded and released the original version of the Shocking Pinks' debut album 'Dance the Dance Electric' on 14 February 2004. This release featured a full-band lineup and introduced Harte's sound, which nodded to the sound of classic New Zealand bands such as

The Clean The Clean was a New Zealand indie rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the Flying Nun label, which recorded many artists associated with the "Dunedin sound".Schmidt, Andr ...

and The Bats, as well as My Bloody Valentine's shoegaze sounds, and a budding dance-punk scene. The album earned strong reviews, including an 8.2 score on

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

. In the wake of this success, international labels became interested (including James Murphy of DFA Records who would later work with the band). The debut album was later reissued on vinyl by Dutch record label Geertruida and New Zealand record label

A Low Hum A Low Hum is the ongoing project founded by photographer and music impresario Blink (born Ian Jorgensen), and is based in Wellington, New Zealand. Under the umbrella A LOW HUM, Blink organises tours, releases records, makes music videos, organis ...

in 2015. The Shocking Pinks then signed to the legendary New Zealand imprint

Flying Nun Records Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringin ...

and released two further albums in 2005, ''Mathematical Warfare'' and ''Infinity Land'', which Harte wrote and performed on his own.

DFA Records DFA Records is an American independent record label founded in 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. They previously had a production team called The DFA, consisting of Goldsworthy and ...

signed Harte and released a series of limited-edition singles, which included remixes by The Glimmers, Deerhunter,

Eluvium In geology, eluvium or eluvial deposits are those geological deposits and soils that are derived by ''in situ'' weathering or weathering plus gravitational movement or accumulation. The process of removal of materials from geological or soil horiz ...

, and Arkitype, before issuing the self-titled album, ''Shocking Pinks'', in the autumn of 2007 —largely a remastered compilation of songs from Mathematical Warfare and Infinity Land.

Signing to Stars & Letters and ''Guilt Mirrors''

In November 2013 Shocking Pinks signed to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

label, Stars & Letters Records, and announced the release of a new triple album called ''Guilt Mirrors''. The digital trilogy released world-wide on 18 February 2014 and a limited edition vinyl release is due 15 April 2014. The first single "Not Gambling" was premiered via

on 13 November 2013. The ''Pitchfork'' news item also included the full track-listing of the upcoming "Guilt Mirrors" album. The follow-up single "What's Up With That Girl?" premiered 11 December 2013, via Dazed & Confused. A third single "St Louis", featuring visual artist Gemma Syme on vocals, premiered via ''Pitchfork'' on 13 January 2014.

Performance line-up

The Shocking Pinks gigging lineup has featured a large number of local New Zealand musicians over the years, including members of New Zealand bands such as The Brunettes, The D4, Leper Ballet, Pig Out, The Enright House, and the Tiger Tones.

Discography

Albums

* ''Dance the Dance Electric'' (2004 - Pinacolada Records) * ''Mathematical Warfare'' (2005 -

) * ''Infinity Land'' (2005 - Flying Nun Records) * '' Shocking Pinks'' (17 September 2007 -

) * ''Guilt Mirrors'' (Digital trilogy 18 February 2014 - Stars & Letters Records) * ''Guilt Mirrors'' (Limited edition 12" vinyl 15 April 2014 - Stars & Letters Records) * ''Dance the Dance Electric'' 12" repress + 9 digital bonus unreleased tracks (2015 -

/ Spiral Jetta recordings / EDILS recordings / Geertruida)

Singles

*"Smoke Screen" (The Glimmers remix and Edit) (12") (11 June 2007 · DFA Records) *"This Aching Deal"/"August 3rd" (Arkitype Remix) (7") (6 August 2007 · DFA Records) *"Victims"/"April/May" (7") (20 August 2007 · DFA Records) *"The Narrator"/"Dressed to Please" (7") (3 September 2007 · DFA Records) *"End of the World" (7", 12", CD) (15 October 2007 · DFA Records) *"Emily" (3 March 2008 · DFA Records) *"Not Gambling" (13 November 2013 · Stars & Letters Records) *"What's Up With That Girl?" (11 December 2013 · Stars & Letters Records) *"St Louis t. Gemma Syme (13 January 2014 · Stars & Letters Records)

References

External links

Shocking Pinks Bandcamp page

Shocking Pinks Facebook page

Stars & Letters Records

Shocking Pinks on All Music Guide
{{Authority control DFA Records artists Geertruida (record label) artists New Zealand indie rock groups Flying Nun Records artists