2017 Blog
Latest Releases Manufactured by Key Production_August Round-up
Sparks Hippopotamus vinyl double LP + CD .
“Idiosyncratic, giddy pop gems.” Sparks are back with their 23rd studio album. One of their most accessible albums to date. ‘Hippopotamus’ is a master class in pop songwriting. Already critically acclaimed with major support and play from 6Music and Radio 2. Special edition picture disc double vinyl with spot gloss finish. Vinyl formats include digital download codes.
Jen Cloher Jen Cloher vinyl LP and CD, [Marathon Artists]
The self-titled album, "Jen Cloher", represents another quantum leap forward for the artist. Recorded amidst the rolling greenery of South-Eastern Australia and mixed at Jeff Tweedy's famous Loft Studios in Chicago, the songs are split by Courtney Barnett's extraordinary lead guitar and anchored by the rhythm section of Bones Sloane and Jen Sholakis. The end result is bold, assured, and piercingly observed, seeing Cloher face up to painful truths with unwavering honesty and emerge triumphant.
Coasts This Life Vol.1 red vinyl, [High Time Records]
Packed full of poppy hooks, rocky riffs and big choruses, ‘This Life’ is the product of 12-months intensive studio work by the band, recording in collaboration with producers Dan Bryer who has worked with Rag ‘N’ Bone Man and Niall Horan, Tim Larcombe, who has produced Lana Del Rey, Halsey and The Hunna, and Duncan Mills, who has been credited on The Vaccines and Jake Bugg’s releases.
Yassassin Vitamin Y signed clear blue vinyl EP.
The physical release has been funded by Key Production through PRS Foundation Flash Funding for vinyl.
Yassassin’s debut EP Vitamin Y produced by Dave Allen (The Cure, Neneh Cherry) and mixed by Mike Moore (Liam Gallagher) will be released on September 1 by Babelogue. Shortly after its digital release, Vitamin Y will be released on a limited edition transparent blue 12” vinyl through the support of PRS Foundation Flash Funding and Key Production Group. Pre-orders will ship mid-late September.
Maid of Ace Maid In England black/orange splatter vinyl includes 2-page insert and free digital download.
The Cribs 24-7 Rock Star Shit black vinyl LP, yellow vinyl LP, splatter vinyl LP, CD/DVD album and CD album.
Recorded live to tape in just 5 days by venerated underground engineer Steve Albini (Nirvana, Shellac, Pixies) '24-7 Rock Star Shit' marks a return to the bands early roots with it's raw, rough-around-the-edges approach and sonic aggression.
Norman Jay Mr Good Times limited edition heavy-weight LP, [Sunday Best]
The carnival godfather Norman Jay MBE and his Good Times Sound System has entertained and educated revelers since 1984, bringing new soul, hip hop and house music to the masses. Norman now brings to you "Mister Good Times".
Turtle Human mint green 12" record, [Beatnick Creative]
Turtle's brilliant debut album 'Human' is available on special transparent mint green 12 inch coloured vinyl. Sleeve is beautiful 300gsm matt reverse board, with white inner sleeve. Vinyl track listing is different to the digital album, providing the listener with a shorter but unique vinyl experience.
Second Storey Lucid Locations CD, [Houndstooth]
Second Storey returns to Houndstooth with a sublime presentation of bass driven, meticulously crafted tracks that again deftly display a balancing act between the delicate and the riotous. What is on offer on Second Storey’s new album is an array of concise forward thinking dance music not limited by genre and driven by Alec Storey the drummer- someone you can easily come to know through his engaging live shows. Bass, electro, techno, ambient, industrial- the word that best represents this album is spirited. It is a spirit that adapts survives and soars on these 10 tracks of real substance.
Victor Vox Live at Eastcote Studios vinyl LP with full-colour label, in full-colour sleeve with spine and white paper inner bag.
Victor Vox is a London based performer and songwriter playing a sophisticated mix of blues, rock and folk music, soulfully blending his background in world music with his passion for storytelling. All songs recorded live at EastCote Studios by George Murphy, under the supervision of Philip Bagenal and JB Pilon.
Nadine Shah Holiday Destination vinyl double LP. [1965 Records/PIAS]
For most of us, 2016 was a tumultuous and ugly year – one steeped in political chaos and an air of uncertainty. For Nadine Shah, these headlines had been a big part of her life for years, and Holiday Destination – her brilliant and compelling third album out on 1965 Records – sees her stepping out of the shadow of the complicated relationships she examined on her second album Fast Food and taking account of the world at large.
Catholic Action Propaganda 7-Inch single.
Glasgow’s Catholic Action release new single ‘Propaganda’ on limited 7’ Vinyl, taken from their debut album In Memory Of. It includes B Side ‘Sunday Driver (Divide & Conquer Edit)'. A breakneck paced slab of punked up art-rock, ‘Propaganda’ typifies Catholic Action’s penchant for penning instantly memorable pop nuggets, with a sardonic and knowing sense of self.
Pvris All We Know of Heaven, All We Know of Hell standard black vinyl, splatter clear and white vinyl, marble effect white and black vinyl, [Rise Records]
Fleetwood Mac Love That Burns 7" vinyl picture disc, part of the "Love That Burns, A Chronicle of Fleetwood Mac, Volume One: 1967–1974" by Mick Fleetwood.
The Sherlocks Live For The Moment standard black vinyl, limited edition LP, exclusive artwork + splatter vinyl housed in alternate sleeve with a special mirror reflective finish, CD & cassette, [Infectious/PIAS]
The Sherlocks have announced the release of their debut album ‘Live For The Moment’, due for release August 18th, the album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales and produced by Gavin Monaghan.
Arturo O'Farrill & Chucho Valdes Familia: Tribute to Bebo & Chico CD, [Motema]
Familia: Tribute to Bebo & Chico brings together two of the influential families in Afro-Cuban music in a celebration of their late patriarchs: pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader Bebo Valdés and composer, arranger and bandleader "Chico" O´Farrill
Loney Dear Loney Dear CD, [Real World Records]
On his upcoming seventh album, he has undergone a rebirth, a transition and had a profound artistic awakening in which he sees this as the beginning of something very new and very potent. Often unhelpfully described as indie pop (when in fact the music has always been more multifaceted and intricate than that genre suggests) this new album looks set to squash such binary comparisons.
John Coltrane European Tour 1962 10 CD box set, [Le Chant Du Monde]
To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, theFrench Le Chant du Monde label release the mostcomplete set so far of the much-bootlegged 1961European Tour.
The box set contains all extant material from the shows in Paris, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm and also includes (unlike other sets on the market) the 27th November Stuttgart and 2nd December Berlin gigs.
Guided by Voices Live from Austine Texas, [New West Records]
[All info about the albums are sourced through official press releases]