Photo: Neil R. Thomson
Eat Your Own Ears have been promoting concerts in England for over 20 years, after launching in an East London club, and boosting talent from tastemaking labels like Rough Trade, Warp, and Mute.
They’ve worked with a staggering number of exciting acts, with London’s Field Day Festival for a decade, and a few years ago, announced their expansion into a record label.
The label has signed a handful of new acts, but the most exciting release was a pair of EPs called Recordings l & ll, which are soon to be collected into a full album, along with some new material.
Its first track is one by legendary producer Four Tet, created especially for the compilation.
‘Scythe Master’ boasts Kieren Hebden’s famed lightness of touch. He’s been saying for years he uses barely any processing, and on a recent podcast was able to prove it, showing the host an almost-complete lack of plugins on each track. Dynamically this approach harks back to an earlier time, pre loudness-wars, but in most other ways he’s looking forward.
The electronic textures on ‘Mantra’, by Belgian duo Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, share common ground, eventually building to a steady thump, as Adigéry wonders how people have time to meet for coffee or wash dishes.
Side two of the compilation features more guitar-centric sounds from Anna Calvi, and Electrelane, and a mournful piano number by Arab Strap.
Of the tracks not found on the EPs, there’s a 2005 obscurity by producer Caribou, appearing on vinyl for the first time, and a track from Guinean musician Falle Nioke, a recent addition to the Eat Your Own Ears roster.
The track ‘Weatherman’ has his buttery voice soaring over production from producer Tev’n.
An American entry comes courtesy of North Carolina duo Sylvan Esso, a live version of their song ‘Hey Mami’, pre-recorded street sounds giving way to a cheering crowd near its end.
The collection of tunes on Eat Your Own Ears Recordings Vol. 1 is impressive due to pedigree as well as diversity, testament to how many artists seem to respect them. In October it’ll be available on double vinyl, or to stream at their bandcamp page.
One eyebrow raising entry is from the band Ride, who just recently released their seventh album Interplay. It’s a track from their 1990 debut Nowhere, called ‘Vapour Trail’, given a remix by The Cure’s Robert Smith, guitars stripped away, strings foregrounded over a crude beat, and all rather lovely.
