Friday 16 June 2017

Winter Hill Recordings

Winter Hill Recordings is devoted to reissues or archive releases only...

WHR007LP  MUMMIES AND MADMEN Grow Dark in the Sun LP. Limited edition reissue of this long o/p cassette originally released by Coventry's Slob Tapes in 1984, featuring two side-long pieces of garbled electronics, distant planet serrated guitar churn, basement Wobble-esque bass, primitive rhythms and the kinda spoken word that wouldn't have been outta place on a record by The Fall or The Shadow Ring. Originally recorded as a one-off, these tracks feature connections to what seemed at the time like a fervent enough local scene via the involvement of not only Slob Tapes' founder and early Attrition percussionist Bob Oliver, but also Alan Rider of Stress and Adventures In Reality label found Alan Rider. Serving as another document of an incredibly fertile time in music, this album perfectly illustrates just how far some of those concerned could go with limited resources. Limited to 100. Includes insert. Scheduled to go into production spring 2021. 14.75 GBP + 8.50 GBP postage (anywhere in the world)

WHR006CD   ALTERNATIVE TV Primitive Emotions: A Collection of Single, EP and Compilation Tracks Released Between 2016 and 2019 CD. A collection of songs during recent years that have appeared on vinyl-only releases or compilations and suchlike. Includes 'This Little Girl', 'Negative Primitive', 'The System', 'Radiator', 'Walls' and 'Chinese Burn', amongst others. 'Chinese Burn' will be a different version to the one which appears on the 'Low Expectations' comp. 10" on Fourth Dimension. Even if you own some of the vinyl, this will be a neat way of listening to the tracks as they map out an arc in the group's more recent development that makes perfect sense hearing them all together on one release. As Mark himself said, this release actually sounds more like an album in its own right than what's otherwise tantamount to a compilation gathering together various loose ends. However you choose to look at it, the CD makes for another great entry in the band's illustrious career. Released early November 2019. 11.00 GBP + 3.50 GBP postage (anywhere in the world) 

WHR005CD   ALTERNATIVE TV Scars On Sunday CD. Remastered reissue of this rare live album originally released on cassette in 1979. A must have release for all those who love where Mark Perry took the group during the Vibing Up the Senile Man period. Includes sleevenotes. Released mid-June 2019. Available to buy now. 11.00 GBP + 3.50 GBP postage (anywhere in the world)

WHR004CD   THE MIDNIGHT CHOIR English Ghosts 2CD. A collection featuring the Sheffield post-punk group's previously unreleased third album and a bonus disc comprised of a general selection, including some rarities, spanning their career, plus a booklet of sleevenotes. Arriving from a period in music when there were countless such groups up and down the UK, and around the world, who'd initially been inspired by punk but then attempted to channel the energy and attitude into sometimes very different musical shapes, The Midnight Choir began as an idea of Simon Hinkler's of Artery. Leading other members of said group mostly pseudonymously into this new guise, alongside the late Dave Loukes from Quite Unnerving on vocals, the group themselves went on to cement links with Pulp and The Mission through the comings and goings of their personnel. Much like Artery themselves, there was more to The Midnight Choir than a simple doffing of the cap to the Banshees or Joy Division or whoever else at the time had done so much of the groundwork for groups similarly inspired but wanting to break away from the trappings of punk. The group were possessed of strong abilities to hone their craft to the point they had the potential to reach a far broader audience without losing the chemistry they clearly had at the outset. Shifting easily from a ravaged monochromatic sound to one rife with different hues, The Midnight Choir operated in that space when post-punk music took on new forms as independent music came into greater dominance throughout the 1980s. Like many others, they slipped through the cracks without really deserving to. It is for this reason, as well as the music itself of course, that this collection is not only long overdue, but more than justified. In production now and should be available mid-September 2020. Pre-order now for the slightly lower price of 13.50 GBP + 3.75 GBP shipping (anywhere in the world)

WHR003 PLAYGROUND Strychnine and Snakes cassette + booklet package. Before Splintered there was Playground, a perhaps more directly post-punk-inspired group equally given to furrowing a more intense sound. Collection of rare/demo/live recordings all selected by founding member Andy P. and spanning the very beginning of this Kent-based post-punk/noise group to its later stage when the renowned late Chicago producer Iain Burgess sat behind their recordings. From early drum machine-backed assaults in 1986 to the more full-on sound developed when future Splintered members Paul Dudeney and Paul Wright joined the ranks, the songs here catch the group's broad sound before its demise in 1989 and co-founder Andy P.'s commencing of a short-lived second version of the group (which released a 12" and CD on Dirter Promotions). Released in March 2018. 50 copies made. SOLD OUT

WHR002   RED BEAT Clones By Contact cassette + booklet package. Remastered reissue collecting nine songs from the 1980s by this UK post-punk outfit. 75 only. Released in August 2015. SOLD OUT

WHR001   PART 1 Live at the Autonomy Cenre, 01/03/1982.  Originally recorded at the Wapping Autonomy Centre, London. Remastered reissue  of this now highly collectible tape, originally released as a bonus side to the In the Shadow of the Cross demo cassette on the band's own Semen Tapes in 1982. Long out of circulation, this rare recording of a complete set by the first line-up of the band at the legendary venue funded by Crass was originally set to appear on vinyl in 2014 on an Italian label. These plans were, however, shelved due to unforeseen circumstances. Remastered, this was released in an edition of 100, with the first 50 numbered, and packaged with two printed A4 sheets of Mark Ferelli's incredible and distinctive artwork, as well as a reproduction of the original cover. SOLD OUT