April 2002 • Rockbites Alternative Daily
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April 2002 • Rockbites Alternative Daily
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Glasgow’s Geographic label presents vital sampler 19 April 2002
Stephen McRobbie and Katrina Mitchell (aka Stephen and Katrina Pastel), two thirds of The Pastels, the “oldest living Scottish band” (according to Glasgow’s jockrock.com), launched their Geographic label in 2000 with the release of a CD/double-LP by Maher Shalal Hash Baz—a Japanese experimental lo-fi act led by enigmatic ceramic artist Tori Kudo. The release set a decidedly international and miles-removed-from-mainstream tone for Geographic, which McRobbie and Mitchell have since run with, putting out albums by Empress (from Leeds, England, featuring former members of Boyracer), Future Pilot AKA (a Glasgow lo-fi collective), Nagisa Ni te (a Japanese noise-folk band led by Shinji Shibayama, founder of Osaka’s Org Records), Telstar Ponies (Scottish retro/avant-rock), and Bill Wells Trio (led by Falkirk-based outsider jazz composer/musician Bill Wells). Last year Geographic’s exceptional catalog gained North American distribution through the US branch of England’s Domino Records. And a couple of weeks ago they released here a 17-track, 65 minute sampler of new, re-recorded, and rare material by a head-spinning cavalcade of underground artists titled You Don’t Need Darkness To Do What You Think Is Right. The album was originally commisioned by Tokyo’s Trattoria label (run by genre-spanning Japanese artist Keigo Oyamada, aka Cornelius) but it’s now available worldwide. It includes new songs by Appendix Out (Ali Roberts of Callander, Scotland), Pedro (James Rutledge from Manchester), Barbara Morgenstern (electronica artist from Berlin who’s collaborated with Chicks On Speed, Couch, and Mouse On Mars), Plinth (an unsigned duo from Dorset, England, who were 'discovered' when they sent Geographic a cassette), Sister Vanilla (Linda Reid along with her brothers, Jim and William, from The Jesus And Mary Chain), and the first solo work in ten years by Kevin Shields (of the legendary My Bloody Valentine). YDNDTDWIR is an essential, horizon expanding, emotionally fulfilling glimpse into an international and diverse community of musicians united by their heartfelt, outsider approach to musical art. This record may not make the charts. But as a muse for established artists and fledglings alike, I expect it will launch a thousand ships. Five bites out of five. Rockbites ratings 5: life changing, 4: stunning, 3: captivating, 2: amusing, 1: annoying. On 1 May, London’s 93 ft East club hosts Geographic Night, with performances by Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Bill Wells Trio, Sister Vanilla, and The Pastels. | Domino Records (parent for Geographic) | | album details from Domino | | The Pastels (site abandoned two years ago) | | Tori Kudo of Maher Shalal Hash Baz | | CD from Amazon US | | Trattoria records (mostly in Japanese) | | top of page | |
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