Cult label Speedy Wunderground are renowned for their innovative and trailblazing approach to recording and producing. Even with an AIM ‘Innovator’ award and ‘Producer of the Year’ award, two Mercury nominations and four Grammy nominations under his belt, co-founder and producer Dan Carey continues to push the boundaries and raise the bar.
Just ahead of their 10th Anniversary Celebration in London, AIM’s ‘Best Small Label’ have shared a new digital release called the SXSW EP; a three-song EP recorded by Dan Carey on the ground during the SXSW festival in Austin, featuring tracks from Enumclaw, Revival Season and alexalone. The digital EP is live now and will receive a limited 12″ release on November 17th and can be pre-ordered HERE
Speaking of the EP, Pierre Hall, one-third of the Speedy Wunderground triumvirate, said,
“It was so good to be able to spread our wings and take Speedy transatlantic. And obviously as soon as we found out we were going to Austin we immediately started looking at studios. Some of these were actually recorded even quicker than the usual ones in London – often two in one day rather than one. So here we are, still breaking our own records, ten years on.
There’s definitely a distinct difference in the sound of these but despite the strange surroundings and lack of regular equipment it’s clear they are unequivocally Dan, and quintessentially Speedy.
You can take the boy out of Streatham…”
Ahead of a planned trip to the US for this year’s festival, Dan Carey and Pierre Hall from the label approached a number of artists that they admired asking if they might be interested in recording something for Speedy. Enumclaw and Revival Season confirmed but – as always with Speedy – there was room for spontaneity.
On the evening of their arrival, Carey and Hall, heard loud music coming from inside a barn, down a beaten track on their walk back to their Air B n B which was nowhere near the festival itself. The natural conclusion was to investigate and see who could be making it, so, still holding the plastic bags full of beer and milk, they entered and watched said noise-maker and following a short conversation, their prized barn discovery, alexalone, were the next band confirmed to record for them on that trip, heading into the makeshift Speedy studio with Carey a couple of days later- A real celebration of the label’s ethos and a perfect time capsule of their time at SXSW.
Carey is best known for his work with the likes of Fontaines DC, Squid, Kae Tempest Kylie Minogue and so many more, whilst always keeping things fresh with emerging artists.
Find out more about the three featured artists on the latest SXSW EP below:
Enumclaw are an already much-tipped American indie-rock band from Washington. They’re signed to Luminelle, a Fat Possum imprint, and have recently wowed UK crowds with sets at Wide Awake and with a headline performance at Moth Club.
Revival Season is a collaborative hip-hop duo featuring rapper Brandon ‘Bez’ Evans and producer/multi-instrumentalist Jonah Swilley and signed to Heavenly Records, the revered independent label who helped Speedy Wunderground find their feet when they first started. The duo performed an incendiary live set at Speedy’s SXSW showcase at Sellers Underground performing alongside The Lounge Society, Heartworms, Miss Tiny (featuring label boss Carey himself), Warmduscher and Been Stellar.
alexalone are an experimental noise-rock trio local to Austin itself, signed to the much-loved US label Polyvinyl, whose debut album ALEXALONEWORLD saw the group pick up significant praise from the likes of The FADER, Stereogum, Paste and more. ‘Unpacking My Feelings‘ is the band’s first release since last year’s cover of ‘Rainbow‘ by Japanese doom titans Boris.
To celebrate the landmark ten years, they’re also throwing a sold-out party at London’s iconic Village Underground on Saturday 16th September. Carey and team have curated a mammoth 7-hour celebration, which features an array of SW alumni ‘past, present and future.’
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