Stag-O-Lee Festival

Out now: Music From Planet Earth Vol. 1

posted April 18th, 2014

This is Volume 1 of three limited 10"-es in the Music From Planet Earth series - tunes about Martians, Ray Guns, Flying Saucers & other Space Junk . Each 10" will feature cover artwork of the great Marcel Bontempi. And to make these releases even more special, each one will come with a free 24 x 24 cm high quality screenprint of the cover artwork - numbered and signed by the artist (who will also design the covers for Vol. 2 +3)..

About the record: What’s that in the sky? Back in the late 1950s and into the early ‘60s everyone seemed to become obsessed with the possibility that science fiction might become science fact. Movie houses and drive-ins across America were fascinated by the idea of a Martian invasion, with a suitably theremin-powered eerie soundtrack, not to mention the prospect of the rise of unruly robots. Never one to miss jumping on a trend, the prolific Jimmy Haskell – who would later go on to provide music for Doris Day, Andy Williams and a host of others – produced a whole album of space-based tomfoolery called ‘Countdown’ for the Imperial label. Similarly, in the UK Joe Meek produced the concept album ‘I Hear A New World’ to quench his intrigue in the stars having already peaked the public’s imagination with his ‘Telstar’ hit with The Torandos. Meanwhile, in Belgium, in the process of developing new possibilities for sound recording Tom Dissevelt and Kid Baltan produced the electronic pulse at the heart of ‘Song To The Second Moon’.

So the story went in many of the alien invasion films, it was always going to be some remote back woods territory where the people from another planet would choose to land, so it was hardly surprising that aspiring rockabilly performers and early rock ‘n’ rollers in the southern states picked up on the phenomena while craning their necks upwards. Billy Lee Riley And The Little Green Men, The Wildetones, Buck Trail and Joe Tate all took the idea to new levels of incredulity, while Lynn Vernon’s instrumental chops for the Tennessee-based Cover label just needed a suitable title to put it in the frame. But if those southern performers were looking to the skies for inspiration, legend has it that Sun Ra And His Arkestra were looking down on them from their own planet. Far fetched? I don’t think so.

For a special deal go here!

In the works: Savage Rhythm

posted March 30th, 2014

While this may be coming as a suprise to Stag-O-Lee fans I can only say that this one swings very hard and we are proud that this release will be graced with our label-logo. Here is what compiler Shamblin Sexton has to say:

New musical styles don't appear over night. Rock and Roll didn't explode out of a vacuum and Elvis wasn't the Big Bang (more like the start of rapid inflationary expansion). Before Elvis, there was a massively diverse R&B scene in the States, which today's record buyer is currently enjoying the discovery of through a wealth of compilations and reissue 7s. In turn, this music was a development of the sound that came before it, with many of the key players having been instrumental in the swing bands of the 30s and early 40s.

Savage Rhythm is a compilation of this fantastic music, documenting the direct lineage from the Jazz and Swing of the 30s through to a more R&B-ready sound of the early 40s, signposting the way ahead for what was to become Jump Blues and eventually Rock and Roll. Compiled by Brighton (UK) DJ, music lover and vinyl junkie Shamblin Sexton, Savage Rhythm is put together to make the party swing hard. As much a ticket to the good times as a history lesson, Savage Rhythm delivers both with urbane style and swagger. 

The double vinyl is packaged in a gatefold sleeve with liner notes by Shamblin Sexton. With original artwork by graphic designer Chris Sick, this compilation will be a must-have for the vintage kids & R&B heads, as well as the electro-swing DJs and club-goers. Savage Rhythm swings a hefty punch of serious, quality music that is as vibrant and essentially vital today as it was 75 years ago.

In the works: Slow Grind Fever

posted March 24th, 2014

We are starting a new series inspired by the Melbourne based clubnight called Slow Grind Fever. Is is soundtrack to a smoky late night bar in Chicago, or a hot Sunday afternoon down at the Popcorn. If you feel the cold sweat of soul, and the cool chills of haunted crooners singing out their final swansong, or the sinful shakes of R&B in it’s twilight years, then you have a bad case of the “Slow Grind Fever”. These are collections of haunting, hungry, heartbroken humdingers full of swing, sway and sleaze. With obscure B-sides sitting next to some of these great artists’ last outings on wax.

There will be two limited edition LP with 16 tracks - to be released within a month. Vol. 1 + 2 will be released on one CD at the same time as the vinyl version of Vol. 2 hits the streets.

Coming up next: Music From Planet Earth Vol. 1

posted March 23rd, 2014

We have quite a few releases in the pipeline. Coming up next - about 4 weeks from now - is Volume 1 in the Music From Planet Earth series.

Back in the late 1950s and into the early ‘60s everyone seemed to become obsessed with the possibility that science fiction might become science fact. Movie houses and drive-ins across America were fascinated by the idea of a Martian invasion, with a suitably theremin-powered eerie soundtrack, not to mention the prospect of the rise of unruly robots. And this is the soundtrack to it.

There will be three limited 10"-es in the series. Each one will feature cover artwork of the great Marcel Bontempi. And to make these releases even more special, each one will come with a free 24 x 24 cm high quality screenprint of the cover artwork. Out by the end of April.