The Leaf Label: NEWS

Polar Bear's Seb Rochford Launches Singles Club
Published 23 January, 2012 by BWL

Polar Bear's Sebastian Rochford has launched a brand new monthly singles club under the banner 'Days And Nights At The Takeaway'. Each single will feature a different collaborator (or collaborators), backed with an exclusive remix of the track, and the singles will be released on the last Friday of the month throughout 2012, beginning this Friday (January 27).

The tracks will all be recorded in Seb’s studio in a former takeaway in London (hence the project name). We’re looking at some pretty spectacular guests working with Seb throughout the year, and the music is going to be extremely varied, as you might expect.

The first release in the series is a collaboration with LA poet & singer Gina Loring and British Indian vocalist Ranjana Ghatak, entitled ‘Love A Sacred Path’. The track comes complete with a superb remix by Keysound/Hyperdub mainstays LV. It’s perhaps not what you’d expect from him, but Rochford’s long immersion in the worlds of hip-hop and dubstep has been increasingly apparent since the release of the Common Ground collaboration with UK MC Jyager in 2010, and his production work with rapper Mikill Pane in the last year. You can stream the tracks below and buy from our shop (tracks will be available for download from Friday).

<a href="http://thetakeaway.bandcamp.com/album/days-and-nights-at-the-takeway-1-january">Days And Nights At The Takeway 1: January by Days And Nights At The Takeaway</a>

The artwork for each release takes the form of an imitation takeaway menu, and the visual reference is carried through to the project’s dedicated blog. There will be a series of live events around the project in London, featuring Polar Bear and special guests.

thetakeaway.net
theleaflabel.com/thetakeaway
@atthetakeaway
facebook.com/atthetakeaway

Matthew Bourne Live Videos & Album Launch Ticket Competition
Published 16 January, 2012 by BWL

We've just released five rather wonderful videos of Matthew Bourne performing pieces from his upcoming Montauk Variations album (out February 6). Filmed at Leeds College Of Music in December, Bourne plays tracks from the album including Charlie Chaplin's 'Smile' and a brand new composition, 'Unloved'. Jazzwise premiered the first video earlier this week.

London's Café OTO hosts the album launch for Montauk Variations on February 15 and Leaf alumni Icarus have just been confirmed as support. Promoters Eat Your Own Ears have offered us a pair of tickets to the show for one lucky reader. All you have to do is email us the answer to this ridiculously easy question with your name and contact number, using the form here.

What instrument is Matthew Bourne best known for playing?

The competition closes at midnight on Sunday 12 February.

matthewbourne.com
@MortButane

Matthew Bourne Announces Album Launch Gig In London
Published 16 December, 2011 by BWL

Matthew Bourne will play at London's Café OTO on February 15th to mark the release of his first ever solo studio album, Montauk Variations (out Feb 7). Bourne's extraordinary physical performance on the intimate venue's grand piano is not to be missed. This will be Matthew's last show before heading to China as part of a residency programme organised by The British Council and PRS For Music Foundation.

Here is a selection of tracks from Montauk Variations (which you can pre-order from our shop):

matthewbourne.com
@MortButane

AU Sign To Leaf And Release Single
Published 08 December, 2011 by BWL

2012 looks set to be a very busy year for Leaf and we're thrilled to announce that we've signed the Portland, Oregon-based duo AU. AU is Luke Wyland and Dana Valatka and their first release with us will be ‘Solid Gold’, taken from their forthcoming album, Both Lights. The single will be released on Jan 9, with the album to follow in March.

AU (pronounced ‘ay-you’) first came to our attention in 2009 with the brilliant Versions EP, but Both Lights is really the long-gestating follow-up to 2008’s Verbs album. In the interim Wyland has stripped his previously extensive band down to a two-piece, rewriting his own rulebook and honing the duo’s considerable talents. They’re quite capable of delivering astonishing, muscular live shows (Dana on drums, Luke playing everything else), something we hope you’ll get the chance to see in Europe in 2012.

The ‘Solid Gold’ 7” also includes an exclusive song, 'under/Epic' (feat. Colin Stetson) and is limited to 500 copies for the world (just 150 for Europe). It's a joint release by The Leaf Label and Hometapes. Pressed on transparent yellow-orange vinyl, it’s packaged with full-color transparent cover art in a heavy PVC sleeve, and includes a free digital download. You can stream/download the track here now or over at Pitchfork, where the track was previewed earlier today:

More info on the single here.

The 7” and digital download are available to order now from our shop.

Outside of Europe, they can be ordered from Hometapes via Bandcamp.

au-au-au.com
@autheband
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