Records, design and thoughts. Simon Minter is a freelance designer from Oxford, UK.
As so often happens, here is a record that I have no recollection of buying. But buy it I did, and probably on the basis that Oren Ambarchi (“composer, multi-instrumentalist and musical polymath” – thanks, orenambarchi.com) is one of many oft-cited names in the complex world of experimental music, and therefore, one that somebody like […]
Bought this shortly after the height of my indie disco-visiting days (Sunday night at the Nue Valbonne in Reading was the place to be, you know…), during which time Beastie Boys’ ‘Sabotage’ was a prime floor-filler (along with ‘I Am The Resurrection’, ‘Cannonball’, ‘The Only One I Know’ and so on). I can’t remember exactly […]
I have no idea exactly where or when I bought this record. It was long enough ago that it was almost definitely purchased in a shop, rather than online. Based on its year of release, it is likely that it was when I lived in Reading and, therefore, it’s likely that it was bought in […]
I have this record because my friend Marceline was in the band. She lived in Glasgow at the time of the record’s release (which is not officially stated on the sleeve, but Discogs places it as 2004), and she was deeply entrenched not only in a very vibrant Glasgow music scene, but in an international […]
I bought this 12″ pretty much when it came out, from a shop in Shrewsbury that I forget the name of now. It was upstairs, and just around the corner from the entrance to Shrewsbury Castle, I think. I bought the record because Jellyfish – at the time – seemed to represent a combination of […]
This may be the first 4AD release I’ve mentioned on here, and I’m pleased it’s come about, as 4AD is a label with almost invariably good artwork. As the spine of this 12″ proudly states: “Art Direction & Design : Vaughan Oliver; Photography and Set Construction : Panni Charrington; MARRS”. So, in a traditional Western […]
That’s Verve, of course, not The Verve, as they became, slightly later in their career. I can’t quite remember why they changed their name, but it may have been to do with potential mixups with the Verve record label…? I think they were also known as The Verve UK in America: it must be pretty painful to […]
The Smiths are, for me, an odd band. I’ve got a few of their records, but I’d never really describe myself as a fan. Whenever I hear any of the vast majority of their songs, I’m reminded that I like them, and ‘This Charming Man’ and ‘How Soon Is Now’, in particular, I really like. Yet […]
Early on in my headlong dive into indie-pop that took place from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, Talulah Gosh revealed themselves as one of the fundamentals of that whole scene. Through a fast-expanding Sarah Records back catalogue I discovered Heavenly, who were predated by Talulah Gosh; Sarah also released the Talulah Gosh collection They’ve Scoffed The […]
Cardinal Fuzz has become one of my favourite record labels of recent times – they seem as concerned with a high quality of finish and design on their releases as I think any label should be, and their records all spin around the axis of noisy, guitar-based psychedelic/experimental music. Win, and indeed win. Cable Street Sessions is […]