Label Love: Simon Raymonde looks at Bella Union's 2011

The past year has been an extremely busy one for Bella Union, with huge releases coming from some of the label’s most well known artists, as well as the launching of a whole host of stunning debuts. Here, label leader Simon Raymonde glances back over the last 12 months and has a look at the very exciting things in store for the coming year.

“2011 has gone so quickly, it’s hard to believe it’s almost over. A quick re-cap for those of you coming back from a coma or from active duty:

We began the year with a flurry of brand new artists, and the return of The Low Anthem with their marvellous Smart Flesh. Heidi Spencer & The Rare Birds, Thousands (both from USA) and Treefight for Sunlight (from Denmark) are all very different from each other. Heidi Spencer had lived in cars, made experimental films and self-released three albums in her home town of Milwaukee before she came to my attention. I am drawn to her rawness, her honesty as a songwriter and her all-or-nothing delivery as a singer. Heidi doesn’t just sing her songs, she lives them.

http://www.vimeo.com/19904135

Thousands (from Seattle) were recommended to me by their friend Skye Skjelset, the guitarist of Fleet Foxes. The Sound of Everything was recorded in several different public spaces around Washington and Seattle – libraries, stairwells, that kind of thing. It’s a strange and wonderful secret of a record. Secret, because no-one played it on the radio, and barely anyone reviewed it. It goes like that sometimes. Those who DO own it adore it, and their live show – equally quiet and lovely – is a rare treat. Duelling nylon acoustic guitars play with intricate patterns and on top of all this rides Kristian Garrard’s unusual voice, like a young Kurt Wagner.

Treefight for Sunlight’s debut came out in February but this was not a cold, wintry sound. With nods to The Beatles and Beach Boys, Floyd and The Who, this four-piece all sing beautifully and play their pyschedelic sunshine pop with youthful energy. I loved how positive and summery their sound was. It felt like, and it was, a breath of fresh air.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Then Alessi’s Ark, Fleet Foxes, Explosions In The Sky, Vetiver and latest signings Cashier No. 9 released new albums. Alessi has made a wonderful new record, Time Travel with producer and engineer David Wrench, and confirms all that we have known for 3 years already (and she’s only just 20!) We will let all our artists grow at their own pace and I think that’s important. I see so many artists jettisoned on to the scrap heap even just a few short months after their first record has been released! Sometimes even before.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

The return of Explosions In The Sky was celebrated with a truly special launch night at the Royal Observatry in Greenwich where we had a playback of the album Take Care Take Care Take Care inside the Planetarium to a uniquely designed stars & planets show.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Fleet Foxes‘ brilliant second album Helplessness Blues took our breath away and the addition of Morgan (from Blood Brothers) has also given the band extra dimensions live. Of all the shows I saw them play this year, I would say Brighton Dome was my absolute favourite. The venue was of course beautiful, atmospheric, and they filled every crevice of that room with sounds so divine I found myself wiping tears away all night long.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Vetiver‘s The Errant Charm is already my favourite creation of Andy Cabic and his band. Vetiver do certainly suffer with press and radio, because they just write wonderful songs and play them with love, care and attention. That isn’t particularly fashionable these days, and without it having been ‘heralded in a fanfare cos it was recorded in a tent in a snowstorm in Alaska’, great music can sometimes drift past people.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Cashier No. 9, I believe are destined to be a great band, both live and on record and I owe the producer and composer David Holmes a big favour for telling me about them. Holmes has invested a huge amount of love and energy into the Belfast five piece and it shows all over their debut record. I am told it’s not an a-typical Bella Union signing which makes me smile.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

The last quarter of the year has been non-stop, as Jonathan Wilson, I Break Horses, Veronica Falls, Lanterns on the Lake and Zun Zun Egui all have debut albums being released. Much has already been written about some of these in recent days so I won’t labour on, except to say that I don’t recall our roster being this consistently strong before, nor have we ever had so many bands from these fair isles before.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

September saw John Grant finally getting to perform Queen of Denmark with the band he recorded it with, our Texan friends in Midlake and that has to go down as one of the finest shows I have seen at the Royal Festival Hall… or anywhere for that matter. The new songs aired at this and his other recent shows, suggest that the next album, set to be recorded in January 2012 should be something very special.

2012 will see the return of Beach House, Midlake, Andrew Bird, Peter Broderick and a brilliant new album from Xiu Xiu, as well as a couple of surprises I cannot mention just yet!

A few changes have been made in this last quarter. From September onwards, all Bella Union vinyl albums will come with a free CD too. Then, next year, we’ll be celebrating our 15th anniversary with some very special gigs and unique limited edition releases. The Line of Best Fit will be the first to know exactly what we are planning as soon as we release the info.

Thanks to all of you who continue to support our bands.

Simon Raymonde

All week, The Line of Best Fit is looking at the life and sounds of Bella Union, so stay tuned for exclusive videos, interviews and a very special competition.