I'm looking at two CDs on the table in front of me wondering if independent New Zealand music is on the way out again.
Both are really good albums in their own fields; one may possibly be available from Tracs on Devonport Road. Other than that, if you want to buy them you have to email someone and arrange to have it posted out to you.

The problem, of course, is that there are virtually no shops left selling CDs apart from the Warehouse which – not to put too fine a point on it – does not exactly specialise in small Kiwi albums.
Perhaps we will look back from some future point and say that things were at their best sometime around the turn of the millennium. Bands had access to the new technologies that allowed them to record much more cheaply, and there were still plenty of music shops where they could sell that product. It's much easier to sell something that people can put their hands on in a retail environment. And I for one, call me old-fashioned, would rather own a CD than download MP3s (that scourge upon the music world), even if these albums were available for download, which I doubt anyway.
But, most importantly, there are still independent singers and musicians out there making music, even if it is harder to buy or sell. Neither of these albums is vying for a chart spot and you probably won't ever hear them on the radio. But there are many people who will enjoy one or other, although it may require a little work to actually get hold of them.
First up is a Tauranga album, a collection of country songs from June Armstrong called He's My Angel. I know nothing about June so I came to this cold, which was rather nice. Opinions do tend to get coloured when you actually know people, however impartial you try to be, and in a small nation such as this you do tend to get to know a lot of musicians over the years.
As far as I'm aware June has not recorded before and from the very good-looking album cover (kudos Graham Clark) I'd guess she's somewhere in her 70s. So it's all the more amazing that she should turn out such an impressive piece of work – June is clearly the Loretta Lynn of Tauranga! There are 12 songs here, all standards bar one original, and it's as good a middle-of-the-road country and western album as you could ask for. June's voice is terrific, rarely showing any hint of age and the backing from a crack local team including Mike Kirk (guitar), Ian Gilpin (drums) and Tim Julian (keys) is immaculate.
There are a couple of George Jones tunes, one of Dolly Parton's and a whole lot more that I vaguely remember from country club days, and the whole thing is a breath of fresh air. I was down at the Crown and Badger's country night a couple of weeks back and imagine that pretty much everyone there would dig this CD. It can be found by emailing [email protected].
The other CD comes from up north. Lounge Sweet is a jazz band from Whangarei and above, who regularly play Northland festivals. Perhaps they'll be down here for Easter one day. They are a five-piece with be-bop leanings led by American saxophonist Reese Helmondollar. And their album Stolen Moments is very good.
What makes it particularly cool is that the whole thing was recorded live in a couple of hours – all the tracks are single takes with no over-dubbing or editing. Now that's an efficient way to make a record! Of course it relies on the band being able to deliver, and they certainly do.
Reese's sax is supple and inventive as are the weaving guitar lines from John Costa, while the rhythm section – with another displaced American, Matt Hennessey, on drums – is tight and imaginative. The live recording gives a freshness to the sound across a range of tunes from Coltrane, Monk, Miles Davis and others and makes for a most enjoyable album. You can get this one from [email protected] and, if you're a lover of instrumental jazz, I'd highly recommend it.