Nice Music Label
Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. Since 2016.
News → Archive
Friday 21st November, 2025
Surprise drop today, a brand new digital only 2-track release from Bad Ambulance, aka. Melbourne/Naarm-based experimental juke producer Jack Palmer.
Finally we’re treated to Palmer’s follow up to last year’s breakthrough EP on NM, ‘Intel 95’.
2 tracks of hallucinated juke, vocal automations and warped polyrhythms - ‘Possessor’ hisses and wriggles wildly into surprisingly hazy ecstasy, arpeggiating skyward, whilst retaining Melbourne/Naarm-based producer Jack Palmer’s trademark anxiety rhythms and minor key stress waves. Read more...
BANDCAMP STREAM
Only available at Bandcamp, Nina Protocol and Souncloud.
Wednesday 19th November, 2025
NM label head Simon J Karis returns to plays live in Melbourne/Naarm 23rd November, 6th December and 19th January following his first national run in 2025.
photo credit: Mark Panizza
Simon J Karis plays 'Smashed Platitudes...' live in Melbourne/Naarm, following his national run in 2025.
Sunday 23rd November
at Suntop Plaza - 241 Nicholson Street, Brunswick East (enter via rear)
with Bad Ambulance, Adam Halliwell (Mildlife, Airpoets, Elations Recordings)
Saturday 6th December
at Bell City Takeaway - 221 High Street, Preston
with Who Cares?, Dylan Martorell (Hi God People, Snawklor), Despair (Harriet K Morgan, Military Position)
Monday 19th January
at The Old Bar - 74-76 Johnston Street, Fitzroy
with Bonnie Mercer
After a quick final visit to Adelaide/Kaurna in November to end Karis' first ever Australian tour also taking in Sydney/Eora, Hobart/Nipaluna and Brisbane/Meanjin, the NM label head returns home for one show a month for the next 3 months. Collected together, these shows are ostensibly a fractured launch for his recent release of material from a live performance protocol he's spent this year refining, entitled 'Smashed Platitudes'. Karis wields a rollercoaster of sound collage, spoken elements both live and recorded, heady pop music references, singing and his trademark synth drama.
LISTEN TO 'SMASHED PLATITUDES'
photo credit: Duncan Marshall
Wednesday 15th October, 2025
Out today, streaming everywhere but spotify - not your average live re-tread; Joseph Franklin & Ben Carey 'a thousand tiny mutinies live' NM064 cassette/digital.
Surrounded by an encircling audience, Franklin’s fragmented acoustic cycles issued from an array of instruments and sources were splayed across 4 channels at Brunswick’s Quadraphonic Club via Carey’s impressively restrained synthesis, software interaction and live engineering, mixed down to stereo for this release. The duo’s staggering meshes lurch from blistering to elongated and back again, often as tactile as they are psychically liquefied, both performances rippling at each other’s wide-eyed interpolations.
Frightening in its unpredictable objectives, this rare capture of a duo in such gleaming, inspired symbiosis does not strike so often. Read more...
BANDCAMP STREAM
joseph franklin - contrabass guitar and artefacts
ben carey - max/msp and modular synthesiser
recorded live at the quadraphonic club, brunswick
recording engineer: loui froia
mixing and mastering: ben carey
art and layout: simon j karis
Thursday 25th September, 2025
Out now, NM’s mercurial label head Simon J Karis’ has released a new album of spoken/sung voice and blasted musique concrète - ‘Smashed Platitudes Avillion, Abbotsford, Adelaide/Heaps Of Sorrow’.
A new album from Simon J Karis of spoken and sung crypticisms and sentiments, collaged with overblown sounds from locales throughout the broken travelogues navigated in 2025.
This work might seem like quite a turn sonically to listeners perhaps more familiar with his dramatic synthesizer texture studies or indeed my crook fascination with techno rhythm diversions, reflected in last year's 'So Little Sorrow' and his collaboration with Actress (UK) 'THRASH' respectively. But also, he does whatever the hell he wants with every release really so yes, here's an album of Karis breaking things and talking and singing and travelling, pushed into the red.
(Cassette orders will begin shipping Tuesday 30th September, 2025)
LISTEN/STREAM
Tuesday 23rd September, 2025
Bassist/composer Joseph Franklin’s NM follow up, accompanied by synth/sound artist Ben Carey in a high resolution live exhange - released 15th October.Damn, we are so back, here's another one for you.
Today we announce the return of bassist/composer Joseph Franklin to NM in this wildstyle heat exchange, actioned live in collaboration with synthesist, composer and improviser Ben Carey. Modestly, this one does what it says on the box, however ‘a thousand tiny mutinies live’ revises motifs and prompts from Franklin’s solo bass and extended technique LP for NM in 2024 with spectacular license, captured in stunning high resolution audio.
Listen to a 10 minute excerpt and preorder the limited edition cassette now, exclusively at Bandcamp until the full release on 15th October.
Mastered by Magnus Lindberg, design/photography by SJK.
READ MORE/LISTEN
Wednesday 16th September, 2025
Released today, streaming now - the new single 'op.1 ādam' by Aarti Jadu on NM.
Flittering open with its arpeggiated petals and subsuming sub bass tones, ‘op.1 ādam’ immediately breathes through Jadu’s layered autotune vocal gliding across the stereo field. As the bass then relents in waves, a constant arp progresses in elation, while obtusely room mic’d flute drifts between in calmness and bass clarinet snakes into focus.
This release follows the live debut of this piece at Soft Centre last month as pictured, featuring Jadu's ensemble collaborators Adam Halliwell on flute, composer and bass clarinettist Aviva Endean and longtime AJ collaborator Emma Ovenden on synths.
Stream on your preferred platform now or purchase a digital download at nicemusiclabel.bandcamp.com
ALL LINKS/LISTEN
Monday 8th September, 2025
Aarti Jadu joins NM with new single ‘op.1 ādam’ following ensemble appearance at Soft Centre festival .
In conjunction with last week’s incendiary ensemble performance at Eora/Sydney’s acclaimed Soft Centre festival program alongside Klein, Team Rolfes, Robin, Fox, Ryoji Ikeda, Malibu and more, we’re pleased to announce Aarti Jadu will release her second full length ‘SICFWYLF’ album on NM in 2026.
This is marked by the release of ‘SICFWYLF’s first single later this month, entitled ‘op.1 ādam‘ and features contributions from Mildlife’s Adam Halliwell, Emma Ovenden and Aviva Endean.
READ MORE/LISTEN
Monday 8th September, 2025
Simon J Karis releases new album ‘Smashed Platitudes...’ and continues national gig run with Bonnie Mercer.
Last week, we announced this drastic left turn released 24th September, jammed up with writing, utterance and yes even some singing from NM label head Simon J Karis following some notable 2024 output, including collaborative projects with Actress (UK) and Andrew Chalk (UK).
Karis this time flings us the first documentation of his ongoing live performance project ‘Smashed Platitudes’, a rough-hewn collage of recordings on stages and in hotel rooms across Australia - a constant work in progress, auditing itself in real time in front of intimate audiences.
His creative process in these takes is indeed a collage approach in itself; a fractured and intuitive rearranging of concrète recordings captured in travelogue, some particularly jagged synthesis and lashings of noise interruptions to break up this constant jawing; because most notably, Karis’ voice is the constant thread throughout; we hear him speaking clearly and closely, sometimes wilfully obscured and surprisingly, often singing. His words are chosen immediately before us in the workspaces we’re let into, through automatic writing, both as pen on paper and incanted into the air.
See poster below for his visit to Hobart/Nipaluna this week with touring partner Bonnie Mercer, DM/email us for location details.
READ MORE/LISTEN
Monday 8th September, 2025
Tina Stefanou plays Soft Centre festival following the release of ‘You Can’t See Speed’ & ACCA exhibit, vinyl manufacturing delays
After an incredible weekend at Soft Centre in which we saw a stunning A/V collaboration with Kirby Casiili and Eek, plus her landmark main exhibit at ACCA earlier in the year, Stefanou is having a huge year in 2025.
Thanks for your patience on the significant maanufacturing delays for the gatefold LP edition of ‘You Can’t See Speed’, which you can hear in full below exclusively at Bandcamp and Nina Protocol (no major services for this release). The current updated ETA is late October/early November 2025.
‘You Can’t See Speed’ is the highly affecting, often commanding audio recordings used in the films and installations presented at Stefanou’s ACCA exhibit.
LISTEN ON BANDCAMP
LISTEN ON NINA PROTOCOL
Thursday 10th July, 2025
Following Stefanou's main exhibit run at ACCA which wrapped up in June, with an unforgettable performance to celebrate, the arresting audio taken from 'You Can't See Speed' is now widely available.
Please note that there has been a significant delay with vinyl shipping from the manufacturer and we will now begin shipping orders on this item from late August, if not earlier.
In the meantime, listen to this bandcamp exclusive release of sung experience, scarily dedicated to its internal crypticisms and commanding vocal performance. A truly spectacular act of mercurial cross-pollination between people and platforms.
BUY/LISTEN
Friday 6th June, 2025
Finally, we can announce our first release of 2025, our tenth year of operation -
NM066 Tina Stefanou 'You Can't See Speed'.
Please join us at 3pm, Saturday 7th June at ACCA Melbourne for a special one off performance, to both conclude Stefanou's main exhibit run, whilst celebrating the announcement of this deluxe gatefold vinyl LP release of arresting audio taken from 'You Can't See Speed'.
Joining Stefanou for tomorrow's performance are vocalist and multiinstrumentalist Lisa Salvo, bassist and composer Joseph Franklin and horn ensemble Brass Commons, comprised of Callum G'Froerer, Tristan Rebien, Tristram Williams, Sarah Henderson and Sophie Spencer.
Register for free entry to this event via the ACCA Melbourne website to secure your entry.
Preview and preorder the album release here.
Site design, photography, product design & 3D illustration by Simon J Karis
Built in cargo.site
CONTACT
general/orders/submissions: info@nicemusiclabel.combookings: niceagencyaus@gmail.com
design & photography, pricing & enquiries: simon@nicemusiclabel.com
Q: Can I send my demo or finished recording to NM for consideration?
A: For sure, we have a big listening pile and our releases are currently scheduled 18+ months in advance, but we get around to hearing everything we’re sent and really appreciate that you thought of us.
Q: Who do I talk to about booking or playing with NM artists?
A: That’d be Tim Stratton at Nice Agency Australia niceagencyaus@gmail.com
Q: Who do you use for manufacturing your physical products?
A: Monotype Pressing for CDs and tapes, Program Records for vinyl LPs