4ad is 30, for three quarters of my life I’ve looked out for it’s distinctive sleeves, and unique take on music. 23 Envelope/V23, Ivo Watts-Russell, Vaughan Oliver, Nigel Grierson, Simon Larbalestier are part of my life as much as the bands that began their musical lives on the arty label.
I’m not going to do a history of 4AD – (just read it on their site) but I challenged myself to find a track from each year in my record collection to illustrate the beauty and blinkered individuality involved in their history. (I tried my best to stick with the release dates in my catalogues and their timeline on the 4AD site – so stuff you i-tunes, sometimes you are wrong – so there.)
I also could have just loaded it with double ups and entirely obvious choices.. but tried to avoid that too… I’m also really gutted, missing some class tunes and bands (there could be a follow up Label Day post!)
With Bands like Bauhaus, Matt Johnson (The The), The Birthday Party, even ‘sloppy heart’ by Frazier Chorus, originally being released on 4ad, Peelie fav’s Cocteau Twins and three of my all time best in The Wolfgang Press, Pixies and the Mountain Goats…
Have you got an all time top 4AD Song, Band or Cover design?
Enjoy the tunes:
[Audio http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/17%20crowds.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/Various%20Artists%20-%204AD_Natures%20Mortes%20-%20Still%20Lives_14_So%20Many%20Others%20-%20The%20Past%20Seven%20Days.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/Various%20Artists_Lilliput_01_04_I%20Melt%20With%20You.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/03%20Sugar%20Hiccup%20%5B12_%20Version%5D.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/01%20Kangaroo.mp3%5D
1 Crowds Bauhaus 1980
2 So Many Others The Past Seven Days 1981
3 I Melt With You Modern English 1982
4 Sugar Hiccup [12" Version] Cocteau Twins 1983
5 Kangaroo This Mortal Coil 1884
[Audio http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/Colourbox_Colourbox_12_Hipnition.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/Harold%20Budd%2C%20Simon%20Raymonde%2C%20Robin%20Guthrie%2C%20Elizabeth%20Fraser_The%20Moon%20and%20the%20Melodies_04_Eyescare%20Mosaics.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/Various%20Artists%20-%204AD_Lonely%20Is%20an%20Eyesore_04_Fish.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/01%20Not%20in%20love%20%28hit%20by%20a%20truck%29.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/01%20sight%20of%20you.mp3%5D
1 Hipnition Colourbox 1985
2 Eyes are Mosaics Budd, Raymonde, Guthrie, Fraser 1986
3 Fish Throwing Muses 1987
4 Not in love (hit by a truck) Ultra Vivid Scene 1988
5 sight of you Pale Saints 1989
[Audio http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/15%20De-Luxe.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/1-11%20U-Mass.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/05%20Riders%20on%20the%20Heart.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030/Belly%20-%20feed%20the%20tree.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/1-14%20%20Your%20Ghost.mp3%5D
1 De-Luxe Lush 1990
2 U-Mass Pixies 1991
3 Riders on the Heart The Wolfgang Press 1992
4 Feed the Tree Belly 1993
5 Your Ghost Kristin Hersh 1994
[Audio http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/Air%20Miami_Me%2C%20Me%2C%20Me_02_World%20Cup%20Fever.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/01%20Take%20you%20anywhere.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/Thievery%20Corporation_Sounds%20From%20The%20Thievery%20Hi-Fi_13_38.45%20%28A%20Thievery%20Number%29.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/Various%20Artists_Anakin_09_Sacrifice.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/Lakuna_Castle%20of%20Crime_01_Lemongrass.mp3%5D
1 World Cup Fever Air Miami 1995
2 Take you anywhere Scheer 1996
3 38.45 (A Thievery Number) Thievery Corporation 1997
4 Sacrifice Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke 1998
5 Lemongrass Lakuna 1999
[Audio http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/Magnetophone_I%20Guess%20Sometimes%20I%20Need%20to%20Be%20Reminded%20of%20How%20Much%20You%20Love%20Me_09_Why%20Stop%20When%20It%20Feels%20So%20Good.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/His%20Name%20Is%20Alive_Someday%20My%20Blues%20Will%20Cover%20the%20Earth_05_Write%20My%20Name%20in%20the%20Groove.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/Sybarite_Nonument_08_Fresh%20Kills.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/08%20See%20America%20Right.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/07%20Don%27t%20Love%20You.mp3%5D
1 Why Stop When It Feels So Good? Magnetophone 2000
2 Write My Name in the Groove His Name Is Alive 2001
3 Fresh Kills Sybarite 2002
4 See America Right The Mountain Goats 2003
5 Don’t Love You TV On The Radio 2004
[Audio http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/03%20Multiple%20Suns.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/05%20Requiem.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/11%20Cherbourg.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/05%20No%20One%20Does%20it%20Like%20You.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/Tune-Yards_Bird-Brains_08_Little%20Tiger.mp3,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1075113/4AD%20%40%2030%20%232/04%20-%20My%20Plants%20Are%20Dead.mp3%5D
1 Multiple Suns Cass McCombs 2005
2 Requiem M. Ward 2006
3 Cherbourg Beirut 2007
4 No One Does it Like You Department Of Eagles 2008
5 Little Tiger Tune-Yards 2009
6 My Plants Are Dead Blonde Redhead 2010
Brilliant post Shane! I doubt I’ll have anything to add but I love the way you’ve organised it. I’m really looking forward to going through this from start to finish ’cause -know what? – I know absolutely nothing about 4AD! I love it when you do this! A whole new world to explore! Thanks
I’m sure if you delved into it (or listened to Peel in the ’80) you’d know a fair amount about 4AD.
If there’s anything you like on here – I will give you a heads up listening list – these bands are like families, they create solo recordings and work with each other too.
This Mortal Coil being the ‘House’ band for the owners ideas – for instance.
and Lakuna being the drummer (David Narcizo) from Throwing Muses who had Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly in. (Who have both released many solo albums on the label)……
……it’s a long and incestuous 30 year journey.
What Maki said!
So you and Maki are going to be useless on the 4AD quiz then?
Loving this and can’t wait to listen – recognise most of these artists’ names, but a lot of unfamiliar songs. I was very aware of 4AD in my Melody Maker reading, record-shop loitering days, but since I mainly download things now I’m much less conscious of record labels generally – didn’t realise they were home to The National, The Mountain Goats, Bon Iver etc. etc. When I think of 4AD, I think of the Cocteau Twins – sometimes forget about the Pixies side of things.
Top song – obvious maybe, but it’s hard to beat This Mortal Coil’s version of “Song to a Siren”.
Band – Tanya Donnelly’s Belly is close to my heart (that sentence didn’t come out quite right, did it?) and “Star” might be very album, but since I’m the first person answering, I’ll nick the obvious one and say the Pixies.
Sleeve – off the top of my head, the Red House Painters rollercoaster one.
Here’s my entry for 2007. Love this:
good choices –
I find knowing labels difficult now.. and as wiki says:
“In 2008, the Beggars Group recognised that 4AD was its most prestigious and successful label, and re-aligned itself so that several labels (including Beggars Banquet itself) were folded up on to the 4AD label. Bands like Stereolab and The National were signed to 4AD as a part of this merger…”
it really isn’t Ivo’s choice as it once was .. but they still have interesting things happening.
as for record-shop loitering, that’s when it all started for me – their covers in racks made no sense – you couldn’t just flick through and know whose album it was – you had to remove it and find out usually. And once I’d got this bit of vinyl in my hands, it was really difficult to put back down again. I picked up the Cocteau Twins as a 13 year old.. having never heard them.. boy was I shocked.
cool choice of cover.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_House_Painters_(Rollercoaster)
Well that was a labour of love. Most excellent.
Love the Paper & Glue video.
Another epic Shane post!! I didn’t really know about 4AD, and I’m actually familiar with many of these bands, so I’m very excited about this!!
hope you enjoy – but if I need to twist Lemongrass by Lakuna into a veg list (I know it’s not really a veg.. but) – It’s mine, okay everyone – MINE.
Wow. That was a wonderful tour through 30 years of alternative music. I thought things dropped off a little in the late 90s (like music in general? Discuss) but then really picked up again.
A few highlights – Modern English (what’s with all these early 80s bands doing spiky covers of Nouvelle Vague classics?), Throwing Muses (the only album of theirs I have is 1991′s The Real Ramona), Ultra Vivid Scene (but it appeared twice – no Pale Saints
), Belly and Kristin Hersh of course, His Name is Alive, TV on the Radio… Advance donds for Lemongrass too. OK, better stop now.
Pale saints is in now – with vinyl crackle starting if off.
Throwing Muses are really worth getting to know The Real Ramona is a classic – but dip in and enjoy. (I’ll come back to that one)
Ultra Vivid Scene – check out special one.. doing a sonny and cher:
Every His Name is Alive album is very different – (this is from his R&B album) – very interesting atmospherics in other albums – the first we got was very typical fitting in with cocteau/this mortal coil sound.
90′s was an interesting one – when I started doing this I thought it would be earlier in the decade – I had sulks with the quality coming out of 4AD (at the time).. but then I looked back on Lush/Pale Saints etc… and late nineties I was really into GusGus and the introduction of Emilliana Torrini into my life. .. so I think it’s how you felt about life & music in that space and time.. certainly was less choice in my collection though late 90′s.
cheers for the listen through and comments.
Great post, my favourite 4AD artist would have to be Dead Can Dance.
Very enjoyable post.
My favourite album cover is, probably predictably, In the Flat Field by Bauhaus, very black, shiny and with a blurry image on it, what’s not to like? Not my favourite Bauhaus album cover though, I prefer The Sky’s Gone Out, but they were on Beggars Banquet by them, which I always thought was more my label than 4ad.
The Bad Seed by the Birthday Party, although it’s not very 4ad in style or content, is one of my favourite releases, I suppose that Dead Can Dance are the band I most associate with them.
I do love the Pale Saints though. Lots of good bands on there, aren’t there?
The Cocteaux…. Love the cover to Heaven or Las Veeegassss
dead can dance – the serpant’s egg is so effective as a cover and a wonderful album.. I had this backed with early His name is Alive on a c90 tape.. played often at 4am at the time if I remember correctly.
Buying In the Flat Fields as a young teenage boy had an interesting thought process going on – The Sky’s Gone Out is my favorite (but on beggers, yep) – unfortunately my copy was an import – with extra 12″ but white cover.
Axis/4AD was set up as a feeder label for beggars (using their cash to start up).. but Bauhaus were the only band that they let Graduate to the parent company. (I was very useful in incredibly specific pub quizzes back in the day)
Nigel Grierson’s earlier abstract photo’s do it for me FP on the earlier Cocteau covers.. Heaven or.. was a wonderful album made under difficult circumstances..
Cheers for popping in everyone – I had so much fun.
I’m with barbryn, TMC’s Song To The Siren is my all-time favourite 4AD release single, and The Pink Opaque my top album.
The Pink Opaque was the first ever 4AD CD release (and has both the 4ad and american company’s – can’t remember the name – catologue #s printed on)
I really don’t know why these things stay in my mind – while anything else just dissolves like an alka-seltza in the ocean.
Cheers Shane.
Thanks to your post, I’ve got the 1995 4AD sampler Facing The Wrong Way playing now as I type, and I’m racking up long-forgotten stuff to check out. What with that and this week’s Earworms, I’d better put a PC Parental Control Lock on myself against Amazon.co.uk !!!
I picked up ‘Facing in the wrong’ way in oxfam one year – odd time for 4AD I think.
but still very interesting.. did you ever check out ‘the Hope Blister’ the core version of this Mortal Coil that Ivo did? (the albums seem to be available on E-music – they were by post only originally) how times change.
I loved doing this – and yes, I need adult supervision with the credit card too, for things I need to catch up on.
Thanks Shane,
I’ve been a major 4AD fan since ‘Song To The Siren’. I would recommend that track as well, but then you would have to remove ‘I Melt With You’ which would be against my blog (Modern English). The other tracks I would want to include would be MARRS (Colourbox) ‘Pump Up The Volume’, Modern English ‘Gathering Dust’, This Mortal Coil (Dead Can Dance) ‘Dreams Made Flesh’, Cocteau Twins ‘Pink Orange Red’ (my all time fav track of theirs), Lisa Gerrard ‘Sanvean: I Am Your Shadow’, The Hope Blister ‘Let The Happiness In’, Xmal Deutschland ‘Qual 12″‘, Clan of Xymox ‘Stranger’ and Gus Gus ‘Starlovers’.
Richard
cheers for popping in Richard,
I most definitely had to leave out some classics – but I wanted a rounder picture of the 30 years – with the constraints i gave myself: 1 song for each year – no repeats of bands.. it was a tough (impossible) call knowing what to omit.
GusGus were a complete fav, so I was gutted not to include them. Same with xmal and xymox – for 40 years I’m going to do 40 tracks for EACH year… save me making so many decisions.
shane.