New Zealand legend Brent Hayward AKA Fats White is probably best known as the vocalist and guitarist in Wellington and Auckland post-punk bands like Shoes This High and Kiwi Animal but when he wasn’t collaborating with others he recorded solo as Smelly Feet. As Smelly Feet, Hayward performed on both street corners and stages supporting such bands as The Clean and even The Fall on their legendary 1982 tour of New Zealand. Hayward self-released three Smelly Feet 7” singles and a handful of cassettes, all around the year 1981. Most were simply given away to friends and fans, while the rest were only available at a few local record stores.
The music of Smelly Feet is sardonic, chaotic DIY folk on the surface, but much deeper than that is a legit artistic genius baring his soul using just his voice and an acoustic guitar. Tuning was often an afterthought. It’s the message that counts: prophetic, apocalyptic, cynical, passionate. Brent is one of the few artists who really, actually, TRULY plays like his life depends on it. Smelly Neu Pollution compiles the three self-released 7” singles Brent recorded, pressed and distributed himself in 1981, as well as various tracks hand-selected from the last small archive of Brent’s cassette recordings from the same time period and recording sessions.
Minimum Table Stacks is proud to debut as a label with this collection, released in a one-time pressing of 300 copies, featuring cover art by Hayward and liner notes from NZ legends Stuart Page of Axemen and Bruce Russell of The Dead C. All tracks mastered directly from original copies of the 7” vinyl and various cassettes by Josh Stevenson at Otic Sound. Graphic design/layout by the great Raoul Tinybear.
The music of Smelly Feet is sardonic, chaotic DIY folk on the surface, but much deeper than that is a legit artistic genius baring his soul using just his voice and an acoustic guitar. Tuning was often an afterthought. It’s the message that counts: prophetic, apocalyptic, cynical, passionate. Brent is one of the few artists who really, actually, TRULY plays like his life depends on it. Smelly Neu Pollution compiles the three self-released 7” singles Brent recorded, pressed and distributed himself in 1981, as well as various tracks hand-selected from the last small archive of Brent’s cassette recordings from the same time period and recording sessions.
Minimum Table Stacks is proud to debut as a label with this collection, released in a one-time pressing of 300 copies, featuring cover art by Hayward and liner notes from NZ legends Stuart Page of Axemen and Bruce Russell of The Dead C. All tracks mastered directly from original copies of the 7” vinyl and various cassettes by Josh Stevenson at Otic Sound. Graphic design/layout by the great Raoul Tinybear.
