Ultramarine is the fantastic latest release by The Ocean Blue, and let me assure you, it sounds exceptionally tasty on vinyl! Visit our friends at Shelflife to secure a copy on black vinyl while you can. Keep an eye out for announcements about TOB’s fall tour schedule–you may be able to score a limited edition Ultramarine on white vinyl at one of their shows!
We can’t wait for you to hear this fantastic new record by The Starfolk! CDs and download cards will be available at The Starfolk CD Release show on Aug 24 in Minneapolis (two weeks before the 9/10/13 release date!) at Aster Cafe’s River Room. The night will also feature Bay Area sunshine popsters The Orange Peels, and the eclectically jazz infused stylings of Korda’s own Jim Ruiz Set. All three bands will also be playing in Chicago at Schubas!
The Starfolk CD Release Minneapolis 8/24/13 Ticket Link
The Orange Peels + Jim Ruiz Set + The Starfolk in Chicago Aug 22 Schubas, get tickets here!
“The present iteration of Tighe’s Anglophilia lands The Starfolk somewhere near the land of The Left Banke in the time of The Three O’Clock, and that’s the kind of music that gets me all fired up with religious fervour.” –The Big Takeover
“The Orange Peels’ fifth disc, Sun Moon, overflows with bright, healing alt pop salvos that sound primed for vacation playlists. . .” –The Aquarian
“Jim Ruiz Set creates music that’s quite hard to pin down. Cocktail jazz? Art-pop? Sometimes wry, sometimes romantic, never overwrought –Mount Curve Avenue is one of the best new, non-rock albums I’ve heard in quite some time. Immediately appealing on its first listen, the album only improves on subsequent spins.” –Musoscribe
It’s summertime and the riding is easy here at Jim Ruiz Set HQ. With the spring classics behind us we are heading into the most challenging time of the year. The season has been a memorable one and we are pleased to announce three surprising and exciting new developments.
Jim Ruiz Set Wins Bellows for Mount Curve Avenue
Director Sportif Jim Ruiz: “of all our palmares, I believe The Bellows is our most prestigious, awarded for ‘making a good CD’ and, notably, by a 10 year old.”
Jim Ruiz Set Wins Bellows for Mount Curve Avenue
“Honestly, I’m tired of The Grammys, so many people win them! It means a lot more to me to have The Bellows on my wall than some old statue I would have to dust all of the time.”
Mount Curve Avenue now available for sale on Vinyl on Shelflife
Jim: “we are very pleased to announce that a sponsorship deal with Shelflife will mean that Mount Curve Avenue will finally appear on vinyl. We will be adding the Shelflife logo to our jerseys at the soonest opportunity.”
Mount Curve Avenue now available for sale on vinyl on Shelflife
The first 150 will be pressed in light blue vinyl and are available for pre-order here. Mp3s will also be available for download for those who purchase the LP record. “I think I speak for everyone involved in making Mount Curve that we all felt we were making a vinyl album, it was what we were striving for and why we put so much effort into capturing the sound of that house.”
Jim Ruiz Set to play Chicago’s Schubas August 22nd
Jim: “After a very good showing in Brooklyn, the Set is excited to test itself in Chicago.”
Jim Ruiz Set to play Chicago’s Schubas August 22nd
“We are familiar with The Starfolk but The Orange Peels are a bit more of an unknown. It’s always fun to play Schuba’s so the venue shouldn’t have an effect on the outcome.” Tickets are for pre-sale here.”
Many thanks to all who pre-ordered The Ocean Blue’s latest ULTRAMARINE on vinyl; and to our friends at Shelflife Records with whom we partnered to put it out. Shelflife is now sold out, but some copies will still be available in record shops starting Tuesday, June 25. Here is a partial list of shops that should have the LPs:
Amoeba (Hollywood, SF, Berkeley)
Sound Garden (Baltimore)
Newbury (Boston)
Homer’s (Omaha, NE)
Twist & Shout (Denver)
Waterloo (Austin)
Luna (Indianapolis)
Strictly Discs (Madison)
Juno
We hope a repress will be coming later this summer! Order on CD or digital download here.
Stay tuned: Jim Ruiz Set’s MOUNT CURVE AVENUE on vinyl coming soon!
View a rare live video performance of “Comin’ Through” by The Hang Ups on 89.3 The Current Local Show here! Very excited that The Hang Ups are 89.3’s artist of the month. Tune in for the rest of their performance and interview this Sunday June 23 6PM here.
The Hang Ups’ singer Brian Tighe also leads The Starfolk, who are gearing up to release their debut LP on Korda Records 8/20/13!
We are pleased as punch that KEXP chose “Sunset-Moonrise” by The Ocean Blue as song of the day today. Earlier in 2013, TOB’s David Schelzel visited KEXP for in studio performance. Hear all about it here.
The Ocean Blue has been playing to amazing audiences in support of their latest LP, the oceanic gem Ultramarine. Heartfelt thanks to all who came out. Next stops: Paraguay and Peru!
We are beaming with pride that 89.3 The Current has chosen The Hang Ups (fronted by Korda’s own Brian Tighe) as their Artist of the Month. Tighe is on the verge of releasing the debut LP of his new band The Starfolk, right here on Korda Records! Fingers crossed we’ll see some new material from the Hang Ups too– someday someway?
Deep thanks to Steve Seel for writing the wonderful retrospective on The Hang Ups, which you can read in full here.
The Hang Ups were elegant, if that’s a word we can still use to describe something actually desirable. It was a kind of music purveyed by few in the wake of the grunge era—music with a kind of grace, lightness of touch, and economy—practically the antithesis of the qualities that the major labels were seeking out during that dark age that gave us the likes of Korn and Limp Bizkit…
Once upon a time in the 1990’s, Korda’s own Brian Tighe (The Starfolk) formed the melody rich, sixties-inspired pop group The Hang Ups with two fellow classmates from Minneapolis College of Art and Design: Jeff Kearns and Stephen Ittner.
The Hang Ups went on to release five splendid records, and over their career the line up grew and evolved. This month an old friend returning to town has inspired the original trio to return to stage for the first time in two decades!
Korda’s own Jim Ruiz will also be appearing, as well as Mountain Singers, Stephanie Says, and guest of honor Reba Fritz. Don’t miss it!
Minneapolis shoppers will find the entire Korda CD Katalog at Electric Fetus and Treehouse Records. The birds are singing, the sun is making quick work of melting last week’s spring blizzard; it is a fine day to indulge in new music!
