We're delighted to announce part 1 of our The Lights And Lines Sumer Singles series!
This summer we're releasing 5 singles by our extremely talented roster of independent musicians across to celebrate our 1st anniversary as a music collective and independent record label.
All of these singles are available to pre-order on Bandcamp now! They're only £1 each which isn't a lot, but all goes towards further supporting the artists. If you subscribe to the label all of these are already available for you in the digital vault!
There'll also be a part 2 announced shortly, and all of the singles will be available as a collection on CD and/or Download as a special one-off anniversary label sampler this autumn.
We think all of these tracks are fantastic of course - but don't just take our word for it, check out what Susan Omand at Albie Media had to say in this amazing review!
You can find out all about each release below...
This is Gozer Goodspeed... but not as you know it!
Gozer is always moving forward, developing his distinct sound, and experimenting. Full Tilt Revival is the first Gozer Goodspeed track to feature him exclusively playing slide guitar. It's also the first 'full band' release recorded entirely at Gozer's home studio, with him playing all of the instruments. Fans will be pleased to hear that Gozer's contemporary and soulful mix of Blues and Folk is still ever present, rooted firmly in storytelling and remodelled for 2022 with added bravura style. We've also included the song Gozer and GRIM17 did together for our charity compilation last year as a B-Side, Things That You Know You Can't Say Aloud.
The 3rd single from Torrid (A Love Affair)'s heavy grunge debut album Poems From Mars...
The 3rd single from Poems From Mars is the beautiful (see what I did there) live acoustic track, I Can't Be Beautiful. Full of Alice In Chains Unplugged vibes this track was actually recorded live in studio garden one hot summers day last year.
There'll also be a video ready for the release which we'll share when it's ready!
AND as a special treat the band recently recorded a live version of the Portishead song Glory Box which we've included as a B-Side.
Fans familiar with his back catalogue will know that there are many sides to GRIM17 - he is far from 1 dimensional.
With Bitter Shine we are served up a guitar driven alternative track with a post-rock feel. There's even a guitar solo, but not as you might expect!
Fear not though, we aren't ripping up the rule book completely. GRIM17's trademark touches are all over this with a glitchy industrial drum beat, a poetic sadness in the lyrics, and multi-layered vocals that showcase his incredible range.
Here's what GRIM17 had to say about the song:
"You know, Erin (Ms. 17) asked me what Bitter Shine was about earlier today. I had no answer for her. It was okay, though, she only asked because she said, "rather than dealing with your emotions you just let them build up until you write a song about it and you consider that a decent alternative to therapy"
As part of the release we recently shared the track stems as part of a remix competition! We're asking independent musicians everywhere to make either a #BitterGrimRemix or a #ShineGrimRemix of the song. All the submissions will be added to the Bandcamp page as a collection of B-Sides for the track! And we'll pick some favourites and and give out some cool prizes. You can find out more about the remix competition HERE.
Give me drums... Give me bass... Setting up some... Track and trace...
A perfect introduction to South London's most prominent post-punk poets Crushed By Pimps, the popular track Pimps Run Free is being re-released this summer with a brand new video. Watch this space for more details!
In addition we'll (finally!) be releasing the next episode of The Inner Sleeve: Digital Liner Notes podcast on the same day where we go track by track with the band starting with the single, and moving on to the Space Between The Eyebrows EP.
Pimps Run Free picks up the threads of the general dissonance and chaos of society explored in the debut album, bringing them up to date in the context of the pandemic. A mix of poetic nuance and anger with layers of satire and a whole load of NOISE really help hit the nail on the head with this one...
In guitarist Ben's own words:
“Pimps run free is a song about the pestilence virus times. Pimps will continue to run free regardless of pestilence virus times.”
From the mountains and isolation of the Isle of Skye...
This is Scottish singer/songwriter Shaun Panda Nicolson's debut release, and a preview of the upcoming album which will be out on the label in the near future. I think you will be very pleasantly surprised and slightly stunned by the simple beauty of this track!
Panda's music is filled with beautiful indie-folk vibes that give a nod to traditional music and add a modern twist. His beautiful voice is filled with effortlessly rolled R's and broad Scottish isles intonations, all softly packaged up in rich harmonies and outstanding melody.
Plus we've asked GRIM17 to work his magic and give us an alternative version of the song... and it's very different! A cool B-Side to give you something interesting and special for this unique release.
We hope you enjoy this amazing collection - and we can't wait to share more with you!