Remember Record Store Day, which celebrated record stores or, as we call them on this side of the pond, shops? Well, now comes the record label equivalent. Berwick Street in Soho, long the mainstay of London's second-hand record shop scene and home to such bastions as Sister Ray, hosts the day-long Independent Label Market from 10am till 5pm on Saturday 21st May.
Independent labels - Angular, Bella Union, Chess Club, Domino, Fortuna POP!, Heavenly, House Anxiety, Merok, Moshi Moshi, Mute, Peacefrog, Play It Again Sam, R&S, Rough Trade, Round Table, Soul Jazz, Transparent, Tri-angle, Wall Of Sound, Weird World and XL - will be selling ultra-rare and one-off items, while artists ranging from Slow Club to These New Puritans skulk about looking indie.
The label heads will be manning their stalls with their artists, selling their wares directly. And fending off assorted demo-wielding hopefuls, most likely.
“I started making mixtapes and selling them," says XL founder Richard Russell, whose artists range from Adele to Friendly Fires, and Radiohead via Beck to The xx. "I had a stall in Camden market. That's really what a record company is, apart from the fact it's not legal. You sort the music, get the artwork done, do the manufacturing and then sell them. That was actually the most fun, visceral way of running a record label that I've ever been involved in, because you talk to every single person who buys something.”
XL are giving away a “Record Label Starter Kit” which includes the master tapes, lifetime copyright and one page contract for an EP called Fresh Touch, an EP that was recorded in Ethiopia by Russell and XL’s in-house engineer Rodaidh McDonald. It features local musicians playing alongside a host of well known special guests. What better way to get a label started?
Check out a compilation of tracks from the various labels involved on Soundcloud:
The rise of album-gigs has been one of the most noticeable developments in live music in recent years, as everyone from Lou Reed to Primal Scream and Spiritualised has zoned in on their fans' favourites in a bid to exploit nostalgia. This week, Suede are taking things two steps further and spreading their bets by devoting three nights at the Brixton Academy to their first three albums.
Their eponymous and Mercury Music Prize winning debut (featuring Animal Nitrate and The Drowners) will be played in its entirety on 19 May, before Dog Man Star (featuring The Wild Ones) gets a run-through on 20 May and Coming Up (featuring Trash) is outed on 21 May.
Chapel Club will be providing support for all nights.
Bassist, composer and bandleader Charlie Haden gets a two-night residency at the Barbican this weekend with a pair of contrasting shows. On Saturday, it'll be the Charlie Haden Quartet West which will feature vocal turns from Liane Carroll, Melody Gardot and Ruth Cameron to accompany the quartet's West Coast swing. On Sunday, he'll be leading his Liberation Music Orchestra in a one-off concert.
Since her debut London gig last year at The Social, this pretty young thing from Detroit has found herself with a deal on Island Records and attracting attention from all the right places. Her new video to Sister Wife is a study in surrealism, accompanying one of her sweetest songs as she navigates her way between pop star immediacy and arthouse inventiveness. Expect a debut album in August.
Channel Cairo + Bravestation - The Social, London - 16 May
Gang Gang Dance – XOYO, London – 16 May
Okkervil River – Heaven, London – 16 May
Moon Duo – Corsica Studios, London – 17 May
Queens Of The Stone Age – Roundhouse, London – 17 May
Grant Lee Buffalo +Heidi Spencer – Royal Festival Hall, London – 18 May
Explosions In The Sky - Roundhouse, London - 19 May
Edward Randell Quartet - Map Cafe, London - 19 May
Club Motherfucker (Charli XCX + Rowdy Superstar + Plant Plants)- Corsica Studios, London - 20 May
Moda Music (Mylo + Aeroplane + Jaymo & Andy George)- XOYO, London - 20 May
Julianna Barwick – Village Underground, London – 21 May
Mercury Rev– Roundhouse, London – 21 May
Just Announced:
Liam Finn- XOYO, London - 20 July
Following his return to the London stage with a recent gig at the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, beardy New Zealand-born singer/songwriter Liam Finn has announced a short European tour in July that will take him to XOYO, as well as to slots at Truck Festival and the Secret Garden Party. Ahead of that, his second album FOMO (illuminatingly short for Fear Of Missing Out), is due for release on 4 July.
A rare tour from the ultimate in Japanese grunge girl groups is scheduled for August and September as they promote a new album and celebrate an astonishing 30 years of Shonen Knife. Proving their unique brilliance with a highlight set at last year's Matt Groening-curated ATP, noone does nonsense lyrics, bubblegum rock and colourful playfulness quite like them.
London Jazz Festival- venues around London - 11-20 November
Once again, the city of London will be washed in all that is jazz, as the traditional and the contemporary fill every venue they can find. The first wave of gigs have been announced and are on sale for a festival that will, as it did last year, open with the gala Jazz Voice. There will be shows by McCoy Tyner, and from international artists including Indian percussionist Zakir Hussain and South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim.
Well, well. While we were filling our ears with the sounds of many and varied bands this weekend at Brighton's The Great Escape and at the final May ATP at Minehead, curated by Animal Collective (much more on both shortly), all the way up the M6 in Carlisle, at the Radio 1 Big Weekend, Lady Gaga was giving a taste of her new album Born This Way which, an ickle birdie tells us, is out this coming Monday (23 May).
Among the new tracks played during her set oop north was Judas. And here she is, playing it:
Some free newspaper or other streams the album later this week. Though one presumes not on its pages. Mere music sites must wait their turn, or listen to that stream. Such is the status of success/the price of fame/the run of cliché.
Swathes of the capital’s gig-goers will be deserting their normal habitat for Brighton and the excellent line-up at this year’s Great Escape, or for Minehead's Animal Collective-curated ATP, announced as the last May ATP for the foreseeable future. But there's still lots of great stuff happening for those of us left behind.
Having said that, one of the most intriguing needs to be approached with some caution. The lovely folks over at Eat Your Own Ears, together with Harrier and Zinnerwell (also known as Sam Potter of Late Of The Pier) are putting on the first Blackout – Anonymous Artists Play Music In Pitch Black. Yes, that's right - the live performances will take place in the dark and while the audience are assured that the bands are well-known, they’ll not be told who will be playing. In fact there’s no guarantee that the artists’ identities will ever be revealed.
The novel challenges will be for the promoters to find acts who will suit that kind of environment and make it entertaining, and for the artists to, you know, be able to play their instruments. We’re all in the dark as to how this concept will pan out, but it’s got our interest piqued enough to find out.
The first Blackout gig will take place at The Apiary on Thursday 12 May. More details here.
Gigs Of The Week: 9 May – 15 May 2011
Wild Beasts (pictured)– Wilton’s Music Hall, London – 11, 12 May
With this week’s release of their third album, the universally lauded Smother, Kendal boys Wild Beasts are playing the lovely Wilton’s Music Hall in the East End for two nights as part of their celebratory UK tour. They'll be back again in November when they'll play the Shepherd's Bush Empire.
Sufjan Stevens– Royal Festival Hall, London – 12, 13 May
Following his successful return last year with The Age Of Adz, Sufjan Stevens’ European tour reaches the UK this week. He’ll be found playing the Royal Festival Hall for two nights, before heading on to Brighton, Gateshead, Dublin and Manchester.
Short Circuit Festival – Roundhouse, London – 12, 13, 14 May
For lovers of the roots of electronic music, this year’s Short Circuit Festival explores the work of labels Raster-Noton and Mute Records. Thursday will be devoted to the former, featuring the world premiere of a collaborative piece by Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Atom TM and Bluenote. Mute’s Friday’s line-up includes Richie Hawtin, a DJ set from Moby, Recoil and Nitzer Ebb while Saturday finds Erasure headlining above other Mute acts including The Residents, Liars, Josh T Pearson playing Mute songs and Alison Moyet, as well as DJ sets from Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore and Andy Fletch.
Spiers & Boden + Eliza Carthy– Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 11 May
North Mississippi Allstars– Dingwalls, London – 11 May
Josh T Pearson– Union Chapel, London – 11 May
Those Dancing Days – XOYO, London – 11 May
The Soft Moon– Lexington, London – 11 May
The Antlers– Heaven, London – 12 May
Scout Niblett + EMA– Cargo, London – 12 May
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Grafitti– Koko, London – 13 May
Grimes– Old Blue Last, London – 13 May
Just Announced:
Angie Stone– Jazz Cafe, London – 14, 15, 16 June
Ever since she broke into the charts with classic single Life Story back in 2000, Angie Stone’s been widely regarded as one of the great modern but classic soul singers, eschewing the obvious commercial route for a more subtle, loungey feel. With her fifth album, Unexpected, released last year, catch her at one of these three gigs in June.
Statisticians and scientists have figured out that by the time October comes around, Metronomy’s success rate will have taken them to the heights of this headline show at the Royal Albert Hall. Such optimism is entirely warranted as their third album, The British Riviera, has already begun its slow-burn climb towards its recognition as one of the biggest leaps forward by any act in 2011. This gig (if a night at the Royal Albert Hall can possibly be classed as such a thing) could join it as one of the best of the year.
Steve Reich’s work and influence will be the focus of celebration this weekend as LSO St Luke’s and Barbican Hall between them host Reverberations, a series of sessions by various artists exploring how his work has affected their own music. Musicians featured over the weekend include experimental, contemporary New Yorkers Bang On A Can, as well as Tyondai Braxton, Johann Johannsson and Owen Pallett who, accompained by the Britten Sinfonia, will play his Heartland album on Sunday.
Reich will himself be performing and his compositions will of course feature heavily. Some will be getting UK premieres, including Mallet Quartet, performed by the Amadinda Quartet, and Double Sextet, performed by eighth blackbird and Bang On A Can.
Kronos Quartet are heavily involved, giving Reich’s WTC 9/11 its European premiere, and also performing the world premiere of Tenebre by Bryce Dessner, taking time out from his day job as guitarist with The National.
Reverberations: The Influence of Steve Reich takes place on 7 and 8 May.
The Americanisation of Bertie Wooster continues as the highest paid actor on telly gets ready for the release of his debut album, Let Them Talk, on 9 May. Inspired by New Orleans blues, Laurie takes the vocals and piano parts on a collection of versions of tracks originally laid down by the likes of Ray Charles and Lead Belly. It also features collaborations with Irma Thomas, Tom Jones and Dr John. Having already showcased a couple of tracks on Later with Jools Holland, he’ll be letting us in on some more material at the Union Chapel before heading to Hamburg, Berlin and Paris.
Mariza– Queen Elizabeth Hall, London – 5, 6, 7 May
In recent years, the sad songs of Portuguese fado have become synonymous with Mariza, as she’s managed to imbue the genre with a cross-over appeal that’s taken her and her art around the world. In March she released Fadotracional, an album in which she has revisited Fado songs that she grew up with. Catch her performing them as she takes up a three day residency in the South Bank Centre this week, before moving on to Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.
And So I Watch You From Afar + Mojo Fury– Scala, London – 3 May
Baths + Starslinger– Cargo, London – 3 May
Max Raptor– Barfly, London – 3 May
Brandt Bauer Flick – Bush Hall, London – 4 May
Fdot1– Queen Of Hoxton, London – 4 May
Young The Giant – Borderline, London – 4 May
Panic At The Disco– Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 4 May
The Chakras – Borderline, London – 5 May
Duologue– Electrowerkz, London – 5 May
Young Legionnaire– Barfly, London – 5 May
Nikki Yanofsky– Queen Elizabeth Hall, London – 8 May
Laura Cantrell– Union Chapel, London – 8 May
Just Announced:
Austra– Cargo, London – 7 July
Canadians Austra, led by Katie Stelmanis, have what is sure to be regarded as one of 2011’s best debut albums. While her powerful vocals offer up comparisons to Florence Welch and Nika Roza Danilova, the sideways 1980s synths that back their hook-laden, earwormy melodies ensure that Austra have something new to offer. Having recently completed a successful trip over here that’s cemented their reputation, they’ll be back in July.
A new one-Sundayer in Victoria Park, The Apple Cart promises to combine music, comedy, art, cabaret and magic. The music side of things is shaping up nicely for the more discerning types of a certain age, with Saint Etienne, Soul II Soul and Badly Drawn Boy all confirmed. Chilly Gonzales will be headlining the cabaret stage.
