MR JAMES BRIGHT - Big Sounds From Small Spaces [TAPCLB012] - OUT NOW!




This is the debut album from the young and upcoming super-songster, Mr James Bright. Available on CD and Digital Download worldwide.



'The man's gift for composition is evident from the start. 4/5 ' Big Issue

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THOS HENLEY - Live EP [TAPCLB016]



A handful of live and unplugged tracks from the avant-folk adventurer, Thos Henley. Available to download worldwide.



'it is utterly lovely and you can quote me on that' www.dummymag.com

Thos Henley - Live EP.

As well as releasing the lovely debut album by our man, Mr James Bright,

MONDAY 30th NOVEMBER



will also see the release of a little EP from our Parisian adventurer, Thos Henley.

It's a four-track record, all live, one take only! It was recorded by the wonderful Josie Lloyd, and really shows how good this boy is LIVE!

It's available digitally from EVERYWHERE you care to think of, so do yourself a favour, and go and check it out.

dummymag.com said " it is utterly lovely, and you can quote me on that"

While we are on the subject of Thos, we are all dead chuffed with his exploits over the pond, in Paris. He has been giggin' like a trooper, made lots of friends, and secured placement on a nationwide-music streamer (which goes in lots of shops around France).

Well done Thomas, we love you.

xxx

James. The Debut.

Yep. So it's been a long long time coming. But it's finally here!

Well, almost here. The album will be released and available in all good stores on

MONDAY 30th NOVEMBER



There's a lot of nice things to say about the album, but most importantly, this album marks the peak of our development as people and as a label. Everyone involved in the label has had some hand in making this album what it is, and we are TRULY proud of the final product.

It looks nice, smells nice, and most importantly, SOUNDS NICE.

Keep helping us do what we do, pick up a copy, or download a (legitimate) version.

I'll be updating y'all with the press, but in the meantime, here's a nice video of James, playing a track from the album.










Signing off now! By the way, if you would like a press release, a free copy to play on the radio or write about, then either message us, OR, email will@tapeclubrecords.com

Easy peasy.

Love and more love

xxx

Weno.

So - Tape Club has a very very special friend called Tom Eno. He's signed to the mighty
Jack to Phono Records, and on Monday next week, his fantastic debut album is being released. The album is called 'Barnstormer', and it's bursting at the seems with wonderful goodness.



It's available all over the world, as a digital download, and, as a BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED CD. Our man Dan (BoneBookBang) done the artwork, and it looks SEXY.

One of my favourite things about the album is that it features Mr James Bright. Tom's production style has shown another side to James, and its something we're all falling in love with. Actually, why don't you have a looksee; here's a video of them doing a track from the album:



I love this album. And so will you. Buy it now, it'll keep your ears in good company before James' solo album comes out.

LOTS OF LOVE

Will x

Well hello there Mr.CD!

Wow. It's felt like a long, long time since we started James' album. Well, it's all done now, and I finally managed to get up to Kudos, our distributors, to pick up some of the CDs.

I've been battling the sniffles this week, and to be honest, it was pure adrenaline that helped me lift the box all the way home.

Like a child at Christmas, I power slid across the floor and slammed the box down. I took one gasp of breath, and then, tore that sucker apart.

We've all been busting our balls recently, and it's moments like this that really make it worthwhile. The prospect of a night of paperwork after working all day at a real job is daunting, but it's the sweet sweet deliveries like these that remind me why I do it.

Ladies and gentlemen - Tape Club's first full-length, proper release album;

MR JAMES BRIGHT - BIG SOUNDS FROM SMALL SPACES.

Here is the front;



Here is the back;




And here it is, Blappin' in your stereo.




Thank you to everyone that was involved. And for pete's sake, buy the damn thing. It comes out on November 30th.

xxxx

Tape Tube

Okay - so it's taken a small while for this to actually happen now - but finally, we have a YOUTUBE ACCOUNT! Go there and watch some videos! I'll be adding a few new ones each week to keep you nice and smiley. So yeah, go there. Here.

Here's a little snippet of what we've got going on. I've been obsessing a little over this video - I've not quite got my finger on the reason why yet. I think it's a combination of all the tape club heads and the impending nerves and excitement before a gig. Plus Kerry's voice gets me all fuzzy in my tummy.

You're new favourite record label - I think so.

Check out this cheeky flyer design by our design wizard BoneBookBang.

This is what he looks like;



This is what the flyer looks like;



YES!

xxxx

Duvet

There are a few things I love dearly. My girlfriend, my family, my Tape Club brethren,my friends. You know, the usual stuff. But there's one item, and as simple as it is, I can never deny the magnitude of its worth.

I am talking about my duvet. I find that everyday, its the one thing I want the most, but repeatedly have to give up. An early meeting, a washing load, a car meter ticket. You name it, there'll be something everyday that separates us.

Well today, there has been nothing. I have just spent an hour with my duvet, 90% awake, and purely enjoying its company. The soft, protecting nature of the fabric, the sensation of being wrapped up and snuggled - in my opinion,is priceless.




Of course, hand in hand with my intamacy with the duvet, comes a flourish of reflective thoughts. Short bursts of satisfaction and consideration of the current times.

The things that are rockin' my brain today are as follows;

1) Recent Tape Club Gigs
The comradery between our artists is ascending to levels that I'd only dreamed of. We are all beginning to mutually love and respect one another and the point at which our musical meanderings have reached. I honestly couldn't be more proud right now, I feel I have secured a great bunch of people.

2)Nice things in the Future
We have a Tape Club night coming up at the Winchester School of Art on Monday. All the gang are going to be there. I've also just heard that Mr James Bright's album CDs have been shipped and are on their way. Soon we will have our first ever ever fully distributed, worldwide CD release available at shops everywhere. This makes me tingle.



Tee shirts is something we're totally gearing ourselves up for - I'm hearing that people are seeing other folks sporting the TCR logo tees and this is one of the most exciting things about running a label. Seeing people supporting and enjoying the artwork and music is absolutely what we do this for.

That'll do for today, I'm on the verge on rambling (more).

Lots of love,

Will x

LADY

Well, we at Tape Club Records are just a little bit proud to announce our NEW and FIRST proper LADY Artist. She's 23, she's called Kerry Leatham, and she'll tuna melt your face OFF!

Hats off to Mr.J Bright for scouting out this one, within just a few minutes I was hooked and now just two weeks later, we have taken her with arms wide open into the Tape Club family. Kerry will be kicking around with us, making tracks, playing gigs and RELEASING some DOPE DOPE DOPE stuff.

Kerry will be joining us at the Tape Club Records showcase for Rough Trade in the Afternoon at the Notting Hill Arts Club ( 4pm - 8pm , Saturday 26th September). It's totally free and absolutely worth your while to see what all the fuss is about.

We will be releasing Kerry's single 'A Different Light', which she has just finished making a video for! Check that out! (Below).

Kerry Leatham 'A Different Light' from Luke Meadows on Vimeo.

She's a busking maniac and there is heavy documentation of her singsongin' travels on the 'tube.

I have to say we are all dead excited about this - Kerry is an amazing talent, and we CANNOT WAIT to see what we come out with over the next few months. Expect big things from this one!

Just around the corner....

There's a few little treats in store for you this week - I'll be dropping tid-bits of information as it trickles towards the weekend.

Today, I'd like to announce a new toy that we've bought. Presenting, the Flip Ultra HD.



We've indulged in one of these little beauties so that we can give you a generous helping of video documentation. We're going to be filming pretty much everything we do, including day-to-day trivial normalities, and more extravagant gigs and trips.

I for one CANNOT WAIT to see what'll come out of it. I'll be passing it around to different Tape Clubbers as the months go by.

That's your little bit for today,

Signing-off prof.

Will x

neglect

I know, I haven't been as faithful to the blog as once intended. It's difficult, because it seems that I'm always most enthused to write when all the exciting stuff isn't happening. Well from today, I am going to make a mental promise (in the same vein as those diet type promises), to stick at the communication via blography.

So what has been happening? Well, the biggest thing is that we signed a deal. Yeah, weird eh? A label signing a deal? Well yeah. We essentially got 'signed' to a distributor. They are going to take over the task of dishing out our records, and sell them to shops all over the world. This means that you could see our albums over in Japan, or Greece, or Norway, or the States, or Argentina.

The distributor is called Kudos, and they also distribute Ninja Tune, Tru Thoughts and Fat City. These labels were particularly influential to me as a youth, and so hear hear, I'm proud of us. We are on the right track.

Another exciting thing is also something a little saddening. We have introduced a new format, and its not a type of tape. We have gone waxwards. Yep, vinyl, and we've kicked off with a 45rpm, 'cos you KNOW that's the way it has to be done. Our first single is a split between Dogtanion and Mr James Bright, and I'm so excited about it, I think I could pee my pants. The single will be available on the 24th, and for those of you that are iTunes savvy, it'll be on there too. I could discuss the fact that we are doing digital releases, but I won't.



In the meantime, look out for James B on Balcony TV, and also news about his album which is due out at the start of Winter. It's bloomin' good, and looks incredible too.

Ta Ta for now ladies and gents,

Will xxx

Brutha!

This is a photo of my youngest brother Ross (well, he's older than me). Ross is sporting one of our new Tape Club Summer Tees.






You can get one from our shop.

W x

So we went to London....

Last Wednesday (17th June 09), The Slaughtered Lamb in Clerkenwell played host to the first EVER Tape Club night in London. This was a big deal for me personally, as we have up until this point kept it local. Inevitably the label has grown and our musicians have ventured to new brighter and bigger locations, and so from this point onwards, London serves as one of the most central locations for us all. This is not to say that we won't be doing stuff in the 'shire anymore, because we absolutely will be.

So - myself and Ms.Tape Club arrived in the afternoon and traversed the city with wheely bags packed full of merchandise. We checked in to the Swinton Hotel near Kings Cross (bargain if you're in the area overnight!) and swiftly relocated to Clerkenwell.



A somewhat dank muster was apparent in the venue itself, following a recent flood which had caused havoc the week before - however, within seconds we were in awe of the actual set-up. A venue with no stage, simple lights and a ridiculously low ceiling would normally cause concern, but the atmosphere in there really matched the Tape Club ideal. It was ridden with comfy furniture, and the decor was like a late 70's wine bar. This place was perfect for Tape Club, it was like doing one of our kitchen shows - but in the middle of one of the greatest cities on the planet.

A little behind schedule our special guests took to their instruments. I hadn't quite bargained on the amount of loyal fans we have, reinforced by a swelling of industry suits who were falling over themselves to get a view of Stornoway. Ready for Glastonbury and having been hailed by the broadsheets and Beeb, these guys were just mind blowingingly tight. It was a joy to have them open for us, and lets hope their success is long lived!





The mega-cue outside had finally dispanded, and the crowd were in place. The Stornoway boys captivated the crowd, and the mood it seemed was set. Peter Lyons and Steph (his trusty left hand-woman) played an intimate two-piece rendition of his latest offerings, before the might Dogtanion took to the stage. Never have I seen someone pull off a jig-come-chicken dance whilst maintaing an honest sense of musical dignity. Matthew (Dogtanion vocals) ate up the audience, and was soon joined by his musicians for a slower-paced, instrumentally supported closing.

Last by not least stepped up the song-writing super boy, Mr James Bright. Having taken down time recently to focus on his debut album ('Big Sounds from Small Spaces' out in October'), James gave us a sneak preview of the goods he's been baking. Joined by string tickling Jim Cole, the pair played all the hits and then some, and left the sweaty betty audience gagging for more.




Dan BoneBookBang slammed all the best funkensoul in the breaks, and we boogied till the cows came home.

The night was a huge success, and a massive thank you is in order to all those that showed up. I sold the most amount of merchandise ever, and met a few super contacts which could lead to even bigger things for Tape Club. We are going to do another one on the cusp of winter, with even more surprises to come.

W x

have a break...

'Break Time' hosted by none other than wax wizard BoneBookBang and vinyl vigilante Please Will is coming up around the corner once more...In fact, it'll take place on every first THURSDAY of the month at the Guildford Tup. Now that the sun is here to stay for a while, there'll be food outside in the MEGA beer garden, and potentially a few Tape Club acoustic sets going down whilst Dan and myself pump the funk out of inside...

DO NOT miss this, there is absolutely no better way to spend your Thurs-day.Evening.



xxx

Dan in Computer Arts Magazine

Our wonderful chief designer/doodler Dan Walters (aka BoneBookBang) has been featured in this months Computer Arts magazine.

Totally awesome if you ask me. Well done Dan, you've done us proud.



Go grab a copy! It'll be in shops until early June.

You can see Dans blog here. He's a travellin' pen maestro.

Adios!

Time for a break?

Last Thursday, the Guildford Tup played host to the first deejay-only Tape Club Records soiree. The name of the night - Break Time, the aim of the night - to FUNk you in the bum. Myself (Please Will) and Daniel (BoneBookBang aka head artiste of Tape Club) donned the wheels of steel, oh - and a bit of cheeky digi-mixing, to chokeslam a bunch of booty yankers right down the lovely people of Guildford's pipeholes.



Turn out was great - thanks for all who made it out, and Francois (main man at the Tup) boogied his way through the night behind the bar like a true pro.



This is the first of many, its going to happy on every first Thursday of the Month - with Dan and I spinning on the best in funkahop disco beets. Look out for some extra special guest deejays along the way. One more thing - its FREE. Yep, you love it.

S-s-studio

This week Thos Henley came up to the studios where I work to do an almighty mega day of recording. At the helm was a lovely lady called Josie Lloyd, she's soon to graduate as a Tonmeister, which means she knows more about sound and recording than you do. She also writes music and plays just about everything.



Here she is with assistant Dan (thanks Dan!). I helped out a little on the production side, attempting to exploit Thos' vocals as much as possible. So, with 15 hours booked, we steadily worked through a bunch of Thos' tracks. By the end of the day we'd layed down 7 songs (guitar and vocals), and a BEAUTIFUL live set.



Josie and I will be working on the material over the next few months whilst Thos embarks on a European journey for a while. Expect a serious full length, and probably a bonus live set to appear by the end of the summer.

Playing Shop...

So, the Tape Club shop is now fully up and running! We have put up some items that are NOT available anywhere else - So if you fancy a Tape Club shopping spree, this is the place to be! Go here to start spending pennies.






Note that we have the final few copies of the Peter Lyons tape, as well as some unearthed copies of James Bright's full-length tape. This is well worth investing in - when he's famous you'll be pissed that you didn't pocked a copy of this!

Product Placement

So, some of us at Tapeclub are BIG Stones Throw Records fans... Stones Throw is one of the biggest independent hiphop labels, based in California, and they've been going strong for a long time - They have some mega artists including Peanut Butter Wolf ( awesome VDJ ), Madlib ( one of the best producers ever?), J.Dilla ( r.i.p.), James Pants, Mayer Hawthorne, OhNo, Omar Rodriguez ( you know, from Mars Volta / At The Drive In ), Koushik. Thats just a few, there's even more!


Anyway, the point of my rambling is thus - A bunch of us attended the Stones Throw on Tour gig at Cargo last weekend, and I decided to give Peanut Butter Wolf some Tapeclub tees... Now, I was flicking through the Stones Throw website, and saw that they have been keeping a tour diary. Turns out, that at 30 seconds in, our Tapeclub tee shirt makes a bold appearance in the dressing room. I know that is bordeline pathetic, but wow, it made my day......

Here's the video...


James Pants Video Diary : London from Stones Throw on Vimeo.

The last few days...

The end of this week has produced an influx of new Tapeclub developments. I was contacted by a guy who puts on events in London, and now he's going to help us put on some shows at some lovely venues ( The Slaughtered Lamb, Luminaire, Union Chapel). He works with the ElectroacousticClub and I thoroughly recommend you check it out here. In fact, we have penciled one in for June and it looks to be mega.

On other gig news, Myself and Dan will be starting a night in Guildford. It'll be mainly deejay only, with a few Tapeclub artists playing here and there... We are probably going to do a test night in a few weeks at the Guildford Tup - keep your eyes peeeeeeled! You know we'll drop the finest in old school hiphop/funk/soul/bay-area magic!

I was out diggin' the other day and I came across this awesome looking record - by a fella called Bobby V... When I got home, I searched everywhere but couldn't find any info on him...strange...

And finally, we have lots of recording in process at the moment - Mr.James Bright is working on a new mega album, James Moss is recording a mighty fine record with our man Gillan, Thos Henley is due to come and record with me and a fantastic engineer lady called Josie at the University of Surrey at the end of the month, and I'm busy working on a new single release, as well as a very special new remix!

So, its all go at the moment - I feel like I should put a picture in this post to make it more pretty...I know this picture of Mossy rules.

An Institution

Today I went to meet Sean at Rough Trade Records (the West London shop). Rough Trade is one of the most important independent record shops in the country, playing a large part in the Rough Trade brand ( which includes a label, now up and running again) that has sprouted and supported some of THE best acts of recent times.They have been kind enough to stock their shelves with some of our releases, and it would be mighty fine of you to drop in and purchase them. Its not too far from Notting Hill Gate, just offa Portobello road.

In fact, I just read that BBC Four will be airing a documentary about Rough Trade this week. Smart eh?

The Introduction

Welcome to the Tapeclub Records blog. This is going to be an intimate, colourful experience - I will be regularly documenting the things we do,the music we make,the people we love and the places we see. I hope this journey will be as exciting for you as it is for us.

Let me introduce myself - My name is Will and I run the label. I love records, and cola.

The label is coming up for 3 years old, and in our infancy we have already established a fine army of creative warriors. We have been voted DIY Label of the Week on BBC Radio 1, we've been in some music magazines, we've sold a lot of tapes, and most importantly we've become best of friends.

Let's meet two of my best friends and original Tapeclubbers - Mr James Bright and Daniel Walters.

James is a musician supremo. He sings and plays guitar, does some production and doodles a LOT. He works with Dan. Dan also doodles, in fact this is what Dan and James do. They are professional doodlers. They work at peagreen - the best illustration / design company in the South of England. In their spare time these guys help me do Tapeclub. Dan is the head art guy, he did that logo at the top of the blog, and pretty much 90% of the artwork - he loves 45s, is a dope deejay, and is one of the friendliest guys I know. James is one of Tapeclub's top musicians. He KNOWS how to party, is the most enthusiastic person I have ever met, and has more heart that most of the world put together. His music is spans beyond all conceivable genres, and he's my bestest bud. If you want to hear his sounds go here.

I will introduce you to the rest of the gang in due time, but for now, go to our shop and buy some merchandise. Help us to help you.