F.A.Q

So who are you guys?

MUZAI (Japanese translation of “innocent”, so we found out late in 2011) is an independent record label based out of Auckland, New Zealand. We started with a drunken ambition to release some record for some of our friends to begin with on CDR – haphazardly thrown together in jewel cases and sold in shows or S.O.R in stores around New Zealand. We ended up somehow along the way working with some really fantastic artists that helped put us on the map and since then have been regularly putting out some critically acclaimed record… still from our friends.

If you want to know how it all started and even more (for some reason), Radio New Zealand’s Music 101 did a pretty cool feature on us, which you can listen to here.

Our physical products are  distributed by the good people at  Rhythmethod to all good record stores across the country. If you don’t find any of our stuff in stock, then ask over the counter for some of our stuff. We’re serviced (*giggle*) to online retailers by the lovely people at DRM.

A fair amount of our stock also gets distributed overseas – if you’re in Australia, check out Tenzenmen, or if you’re in the UK, Bomb Shop has some items. We do post overseas though… just a thought.

Can I send you guys some music?

You totally can! Like we said, we’re music fans!

Cool – so you’ll sign us then!

Whoah there buddy. That’s a different story altogether. While we do our best to listen to everything, we’ve learned we can’t sign everyone we want, or can. We tried that – it wasn’t a sustainable business plan. We’re always keen to listen and maybe even give some feedback, but we can’t guarantee we’ll sign every demo we get sent.

Ok – so how do I send you music?

Best way is to upload your music somewhere (we currently dig Soundcloud a lot) and then send us an email to info[at]muzairecords[dot]com. If you’re a real stickler and want to send CD, cassette (we wish) or vinyl (we really wish), then send us an email and we’ll hook you up with a postal address

So then what?

Then if we like it, we’ll talk to you about it. Maybe we’ll come and see you play in Auckland or somewhere local if we’re on tour with a band. It’s not just about how great you are as a band though… there are other factors. The big one is attitude. We don’t like dealing with egos, or dickheads, or needlessly arrogant types. Those are the types that picked on us at school for listening to this kind of music in the first place. We’re still traumatized from it.

I want to book a band; are you guys management also?

We manage to some extent. Many of the bands on the label look after themselves, but we do specifically look after one or two musicians on the label. Best bet is to check their Facebook pages or official websites to find out more about booking agents.

I want to use some music for a school/university project. Is that cool?

Yeah that’s cool. Email us at the addresses given and let us know and we can always discuss what you want to do. We’re approachable

I want to use some music for a television/radio advert to sell stuff. Is that cool?

Nope that’s not – contact us directly if you want to use music in a publishing capacity.

Who to contact, good people of MUZAI, for an interview with a band?

That’s usually Benjii. If not the band themselves. It normally goes through both.

I want to stock some of your stuff. How can I do that?

If you’ve not gotten into contact with Rhythmethod and want to go direct through us send us an email at info[at]muzairecords.com

Gah! I need help with the store (or: where the hell is my merchandise I bought?)

Please be aware we do mail outs twice a week for orders – Tuesdays and Fridays.

I wanna work for MUZAI!

Thanks – we’re a fun bunch. But at the moment we’re not really looking for interns. If we do, we’ll let you guys know ASAP. But for now, it’s us four shmoes doing everything. We’re cool with that also.

What was the very first MUZAI Records release?

MUZ101 – god bows to math – Depravity.

Why “MUZAI”?

We wanted to translate “noisy” or “difficult” into Japanese (Benjii’s a mega japanophile). We translated it wrong – so we’re actually Innocence Records once translated. Still pretty gnarly though!

I have a question not in the FAQ!

Mail us and we’ll answer you as best as we can!