New Zealand group BROTHER LOVE began in 1993, initially as a solo project of songwriter Martin Henderson, (also of Space Dust, and at that point just out of The Axel Grinders). Following some recordings being circulated, the group were approached to release vinyl through New York label New World of Sound Records, and between 1994 and 1998 released a single, “King Acid” and two albums - “Every Garden Grows One” and “My Own Worst Enemy”.

All received healthy press coverage and widespread distribution through Forced Exposure and Drag City, among others. In 1996 the group first toured to the US, playing San Francisco (in store at Aquarius, live to air on KFJC, and live at the Bottom Of The Hill), Minneapolis and New York (the Knitting Factory) among other places, sharing bills with a variety of US groups including Barbara Manning, Bardo Pond, Bloodloss, Tono-Bungay and the No Neck Blues Band.

The next album “Rock and Roll Criminal” was released on CD and vinyl in 1998 by German psychedelic mail-order specialists September Gurls Records, who had found the groups earlier records to be among their most consistent orders. The album introduced the band to new followers in Europe, and helped to raise their profile in their own country.

By mid 2000, the group was now know as BROTHER LOVE AND THE FREE ASSOCIATION - a reference both to the wide profusion of musicians who have constituted the groups live line-up over it’s ten year history and the determinedly improvisory nature of performances, an approach sometimes more akin to that of Jazz groups. Other activities included a return visit to the US, and providing music for both the soundtrack of a NZ feature film, “Snakeskin”, and a compilation CD of new kiwi rock bands, “Christmas On The Rocks”, which also featured such names as The D4, The Datsuns, Shaft, and The Brunettes.

The last CD, “The Sin Aesthetic”, represents the groups in action - a musical beast which prowls the landscape of modern rock music: from the psychedelic deserts of hard bluesy rock, to the inner city slag heaps of Stooge-style garage, to the urban nihilism of hard edged rhythm and blues.

This is a ‘group’ who have always mixed well-crafted songs with a fresh punk attitude and a willingness to explore which sees them crossing genre boundaries like they never existed. In the course of their development, they have been compared to everything from Human Instinct and Jimi Hendrix, to Sonic Youth and Sebadoh, to The Clean and Split Enz.