The Leaf Label: NEWS ARCHIVE FOR SEPTEMBER 2022

Murcof - Martes 20th anniversary vinyl reissues update
Published 2 September 2022 by DM

To mark the 20th anniversary of The Leaf Label, we released an all singing, all dancing vinyl box set. For various reasons, it was delayed until our 21st year, and while it turned out great, we vowed to think long and hard about undertaking a project of that scale and intricacy again. Just five short years later, and we've walked into it again.

Who knew that finding capacity for 11,000 slabs of pristine vinyl would be so difficult in the year 2022? Long story short, the Murcof re-issues to mark the 20th anniversary of Martes are being pushed backed. Ultimately, we're in the business of making great sounding records, not marking the passing of time. We leave that to the speaking clock. The albums will now be released on December 2nd in Europe. Due to extended shipping times they won’t be in stores in the rest of the world until February 2023, but if you have ordered them from Bandcamp you should still receive them by early December.

To tide you over until then, we have decided to release the newly remastered digital audio for Remembranza and Cosmos exclusively on Bandcamp today, including the previously unreleased track 'Cuásar' - if you’ve already ordered you should receive a notification. If you haven’t, then today is a good day to order them - it is Bandcamp Friday after all.

Introducing Decius
Published 6 September 2022 by DM

We are delighted to add another thoroughbred to the Leaf stable. From the people who brought you Warmduscher and Fat White Family and many more, please welcome Decius.

<a href="https://decius.bandcamp.com/album/decius-vol-i">Decius Vol. I by DECIUS</a>

Decius are brothers Liam and Luke May, founders of Trashmouth Records, together with Quinn Whalley (Paranoid London/Warmduscher) and Fat White Family frontman Lias Saoudi. Those with an ear to the ground will have picked up on a string of self-released 12”s over the last few years, supported by the likes of Daniel Avery, Honey Dijon, Ivan Smagghe, Mike Servito, 2 Many DJs, Moxie and Erol Alkan.

Debut album, Decius Vol. I, will arrive on November 4th, a lean entry point to their sordid world – dark, uncut, unrefined and unrepentant. Unwashed acid house and disco through a broken South London filter - from ‘70s New York bathhouses to ‘80s Chicago nightclubs via the Brixton Windmill. Bring a towel.

Feast you ears and eyes on the video for single ‘Look Like A Man’.

Decius Vol. I is released on double black and limited edition Imperial Purple vinyl (1000 copies), and also as a limited edition double CD (1000 copies) which includes a bonus disc of mixes and remixes from the Decius vault. The physical editions will land in UK and European shops on November 4th along with the digital album, and on January 13th for the rest of the world. You’ll find everything available to pre-order on Bandcamp now, including a T-shirt bundle.

Keeley Forsyth - Phantom Limbs
Published 15 September 2022 by DM

Keeley Forsyth follows her expansive Limbs album with a collection of remixes entitled Phantom Limbs, featuring brand new reworks by Ben Frost, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Yann Tiersen and Simon Fisher Turner.

<a href="https://keeleyforsyth.bandcamp.com/album/phantom-limbs">Phantom Limbs by Keeley Forsyth</a>

Since the release of debut album Debris in 2020, Forsyth’s work has attracted the attention of those creatives looking to push the envelope, with calls to collaborate on record, on stage and on screen. Phantom Limbs brings together a cast of influences, friends and cutting edge contemporaries. “The artists possess a performative element in their work that I admire greatly,” Forsyth explains. “They’re ready to throw themselves into the concept and process, pushing far beyond the fundamental building blocks. I consider all of them friends through mutual admiration.”

The power and emotion carried by Forsyth’s vocals tie these works together as a cohesive whole, expanding upon Limbs’ frayed world.

Phantom Limbs will be released digitally on September 30th, and is preceded by Ben Frost’s remix of ‘Land Animal’, which is accompanied by a kinetic dance video directed by Ross Downes.

Pre-order/pre-save now

Snapped Ankles - 'The Fish Needs A Bike' + US West Coast tour
Published 28 September 2022 by DM

No strangers to the fine art of taking a song and making it their own, Snapped Ankles follow up their 2018 Violations EP with their take on Blurt’s cult classic ‘The Fish Needs A Bike’. This is the sound of the woodwose letting loose on their post-punk standards songbook, after the ‘serious business’ of last year’s Forest Of Your Problems album.

“We focused our logs on a band that we’ve always admired for their dedication to the simplicity of groove, whilst maintaining a fierce outsider stance,” the woodwose explain. “Blurting out primal rhythms and absurd poetry for over forty years, Ted Milton’s Blurt has been consistently singular in their output.”

<a href="https://shop.snappedankles.com/track/the-fish-needs-a-bike">The Fish Needs A Bike by Snapped Ankles</a>

listen/download

The release coincides with Snapped Ankles' return to the USA. They start in San Francisco tonight for a handful of West Coast dates, which includes Desert Daze festival in California. They return for a late-night celebration at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on October 15th, and an appearance at the SWN festival in Cardiff. See our live page for full details.

Sarathy Korwar - 'Remember Begum Rokheya'
Published 29 September 2022 by DM

Sarathy Korwar has released ‘Remember Begum Rokheya’, the second track taken from his new album KALAK - an Indo-futurist manifesto. The album celebrates a rich South Asian culture of music and literature, while leaning on the aural tradition of passing rhythms, melodies, stories and recipes from generation to generation, and attempts to use those parts to describe a better route forward. Meticulous production comes courtesy of New York electronic musician, DJ and producer Photay, translating these communal rhythms and practices into a timeless and groundbreaking electronic record.

Built on an infectious group vocal, the single celebrates the life of Bengali feminist writer Begum Rokheya, and enforces the idea that marginalised voices from the past and the present can be highlighted in order to suggest a different perspective on the future.

<a href="https://sarathykorwar.bandcamp.com/album/kalak">KALAK by Sarathy Korwar</a>

“When speaking about futurism, one of the fundamental questions is - who gets to speculate?” Korwar explains. “Who gets to tell their story or vision of the future? Begum Rokheya is an example of someone with a radically different worldview and someone who we would generally not hear from. In her 1905 book Sultana’s Dream, she tells the story of reversed purdah, where peace-loving women overpower aggressive men to live in harmony with nature.”

"The song is based on a simple, call and response melody, paying homage to its folk music origins," Korwar continues. "The group vocals are performed by friends and family, to reflect the song's emphasis on community."

KALAK will be released on November 11th in three vinyl editions (on black, dark green, and for a special Dinked Edition, crystal clear vinyl) and a CD, each featuring a different cover image. Unfortunately, as is often the case these days, the physical release date will be pushed back outside of the UK and Europe due to shipping delays. We will update this with a firm date when we have it.

Pre-order/pre-save now.

Korwar has announced a handful of UK and Irish dates including Oslo in London on November 30th. Full details on our live page, with tickets going on-sale on September 30th at 10am.

Keeley Forsyth - Phantom Limbs EP
Published 30 September 2022 by THD

Keeley Forsyth remix collection Phantom Limbs is released today. Ben Frost, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Yann Tiersen and Simon Fisher Turner have been let loose on tracks from her Limbs album, to devastating effect.

"Working on the remix of ‘Fire’ was an absolute dream for me as I’d discovered Keeley’s work some years ago and found it incredibly refreshing and exciting. It was her unique, emotive voice that immediately drew me in. That’s what I focussed on for my remix, building on and heightening her deeply moving impassioned soulful vocal outpourings. Keeley’s voice is always striking and her work is outstanding."
Cosey Fanni Tutti

"The first time I heard Keeley Forsyth I think I sort of stopped breathing for a minute. This is the first thing Keeley and I have ever done together, and it won’t be the last. I am thrilled to be a part of this one and to be counted among this list of luminaries."
Ben Frost

We couldn't agree more.

Phantom Limbs is available on all digital services now, including a 24-bit 96kHz download on Bandcamp.

Listen/Buy Phantom Limbs

<a href="https://keeleyforsyth.bandcamp.com/album/phantom-limbs">Phantom Limbs by Keeley Forsyth</a>

In addition to Phantom Limbs, a live recording from the Southbank Centre of a piece Forsyth and Ross Downes composed for the New Music Biennial 2022 entitled 'Bog Body' is available on digital services now.

Listen/Buy Bog Body

Keeley has a number live appearances before the end of 2022 including three in the UK in October and one at Le Guess Who? festival in the Netherlands in November.