Ventil Verlag Vinyl & CDs

Notes: Existing for a few short years (1984 - 1988), El records was perhaps the most 'cult' of the UK so-called 'indie' labels. El records was created in 1984 by Mike Alway. Alway was A&R man for Cherry Red, signing artists such as Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set and Felt. Alway left Cherry Red to help run Blanco Y Negro (an offshoot of WEA) but soon felt constrained by the conservativism of the commercial music sector and left to set up his own label. El was once described as 'the most innately English record label there has ever been' and yet had a global appeal. Alway must be the only record label boss to have had four songs written about him.

Alway's mercurial approach was to take complete control of the repertoire, the philosophy of the label's releases and even the titles of songs in the manner of pop impresarios of the past. Alway became a curator, selecting, shaping and overseeing the records issued on El. He employed songwriters proficient in classical pop techniques such as Nicholas Currie (AKA Momus) and Philippe Auclair (AKA Louis Philippe) who in addition to issuing their own records wrote, arranged and performed for other el artistes and used creative talentssuch as photographer Nick Wesolowski and designer Jim Phelan to create the El "look".

El had a unique flavour eschewing the traditions of rock and indie music of the mid 1980s, exhibiting instead a taste for 1960s bubblegum and chamber pop, the European chanson tradition, Latin rhythms and film scores (one of El's key players was child prodigy Simon Turner who wrote music for the films of Derek Jarman).

The ethos of the label was decidedly un-macho and many of El's key artists were female. El's first single "I, Bloodbrother Be" by Shock Headed Peters was an uncompromising gay anthem. Alway saw El as a celebration of elegance and beauty, in his own words, "a pop world beyond leather jackets and jeans". While record sales were disappointing, this unique blend was critically acclaimed in the UK and popular in America and mainland Europe while in Japan El had a profound effect, directly influencing the Shibuya-kei phenomenon that included Pizzicato Five, Cornelius and Kahimi Karie.

Bright Young Things is the first book to tell the fascinating story of El, one of the most influential indie labels of all time

Notes: London 1977: Daniel Treacy drops out of school, bored to death. Thanks to a few pounds sterling, lent to him by his parents, he records a few songs with friends and sends the finished single to the legendary radio DJ John Peel, who is immediately thrilled - the Television Personalities are born ..

In the turbulent life of Daniel Treacy we meet Jimmy Page, Bob Marley, Alan McGee, David Gilmour, Wham!, Nico and Kurt Cobain. "Dreamworld" is the very real, very crazy story of a genius in music history whose importance is not infrequently compared to that of Mark E. Smith of The Fall. Enriched with plenty of scene and period colour from British pop from the 1960s to the present, "Dreamworld" tells of all the ups and downs of a legend who once ironically (but quite rightly) described himself in an interview as the "Godfather of Indie Pop".

The English ranslation by David Marshall is published with a completely revised colour picture section and numerous illustrations.

Notes: Seidel's groundbreaking book, which includes unique historical photographs, paints a vivid picture of the old Federal Republic of Germany, with all of its contradictions and struggles. What is now celebrated as Krautrock emerged in this environment, and at the time was an attempt to contribute the soundtrack to the revolution. As a fly onthe wall, Seidel recounts the squats, demos and first concerts of bands such as Cluster, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel. Just as precisely and vividly, he recapitulates the influence of minimal music composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass, the origins of many Krautrock musicians in jazz and the role of the synthesiser.

Wolfgang Seidel delivers a captivating account on Krautrock that dispels many of the founding myths of the first genuinely German pop culture, which above all did not want to be German. In addition, the book is supplemented by a discography of the 50 most important Krautrock records, written by music journalist and Krautrock expert Holger Adam.

Translated from German by Alexander Paulick (member of influential Dusseldorf based avant-garde band Kreidler).

Notes: The book project "M_Dokumente" focuses on the explicitly female perspective of the all-female bands Mania D., Malaria! and Matador on the West Berlin music and art scene from the late 1970s on.

The three bands around Bartel, Koster and Gut played concerts, released records and toured around the world in different formations from 1979 on. What stood out and was new was the self-determined appearance of the musicians, which was reflected in their music and lyrics as well as in their unique style and the genre-crossing approach of "more art in the music, more music in the art". To this day, the three M_Bands are considered visionary, they shaped a new image of women in pop culture and are pioneers and role models for important and necessary emancipatory movements in the music industry.

With oral history documentary by and with Beate Bartel, Gudrun Gut and Bettina Koster as well as contributions by Nick Cave, Diedrich Diederichsen, Christine Hahn, Peter Bommels, Mark Reeder, Scumeck Sabottka, and Annett Scheffel.

In German and English.

Notes: Born in Lahti in 1965, Jimi Tenor changed his name from Lassi Letho to Jimi Tenor in reference to his favourite instrument, the tenor saxophone, and out of admiration for the musician Jimmy Osmond. After school, he began studying music before finally moving to New York, where he worked as a souvenir photographer on the Empire State Building. During this time, Tenor continued to work on his music in his apartment, creating what he considers to be a very idiosyncratic mixture on the border between house, jazz and experimental pop music. His solo debut Sahkomies (1994) helped to establish an exciting artistic career, which has now lasted for over 30 years.

A techno pioneer in the 1990s, Tenor turned primarily to his love for jazz from the 2000s, recording an album with Afrobeat legend Tony Allen and collaborating with several orchestras.

As the first part in the new series Sounds, Sights & Stories, Omniverse uses photos and stories to document the various stages of life and work of Jimi Tenor, whose work goes far beyond his music - from photography and filmmaking to instrument making and Fashion design is everything imaginable in the world of probably the first Finnish pop star.

Hardcover - 200 pages.

Notes: Belle & Sebastian and Teenage Fanclub have dedicated songs to them, Courtney Barnett has cited them as a major influence, and numerous bands have covered their songs: The Go-Betweens. In 1977, friends Robert Forster and Grant McLennan founded the band in Brisbane, Australia. With their folky indie rock and songs like "Right Here", "Love Goes On" or "Streets of Your Town" they became an international force in the indie world within a few years . The band broke up in 1989 after six successful albums, only to return in 2000 with The Friends of Rachel Worth, an album they recorded with the members of Sleater-Kinney. Two more albums followed until 2005, until the sudden death of Grant McLennan in May 2006 put an end to the band.

Since then, Robert Forster has maintained the band's legacy, re-released the band's early work in two box sets on Domino Records in 2015, told the story of the Go-Betweens as a story of friendship in his autobiography "Grant and I" and also presented numerous solo albums. Now another facet is being added to this maintenance of the band's history: Eleven international comic artists have each chosen a favourite song in order to bring it to new life in very individual approaches as a comic strip.

Written in English, with liner notes by Robert Forster.

The line-up:

Philip Waechter: "Karen" (from the single "Lee Remick", 1978)

Noah van Sciver: "Love Goes On" (from "16 Lovers Lane", 1988)

Matthias Lehmann: "Right Here" (from "Tallulah", 1987)

Katharina Kuhlenkampff: "Lee Remick" (single, 1978)

Sarah Lippett: "Here Comes A City" (from "Oceans Apart", 2005)

Bim Eriksson: "The Clarke Sisters" (from " Tallulah, 1987

Christopher Tauber: Bye Bye Pride (from Tallulah, 1987)

Klaus Cornfield: Streets Of Your Town (from 16 Lovers Lane, 1988)

Ulf K.: Quiet Heart (from 16 Lovers Lane", 1988)

Oska Wald: "German Farmhouse" (from "The Friends of Rachel Worth", 2000)

Luka Lenzin/ Leif Gutschow: "Too Much of One Thing" (from "Bright Yellow Bright Orange", 2003)