Moving Sale

I'm selling a lot of music at clearance prices due to an impending move. Check out my Discogs store if you are interested.

https://www.discogs.com/seller/fiftypercent/profile

New release: Other Bright Colors - Endlessly Rocks The Cradle

I'm excited to announce the next release by Base Ten Records! This time we are making available the superb debut album by Other Bright Colors. Featuring 12 tracks of quality jangle pop with a distinct Reckoning era sound, mixed by the legendary Don Dixon and (lightly) remixed for the digital era by yours truly. Much thanks to Joe Jaworski for making this possible. 

New Release - Just Looking Volume 1

Tracks from ten of my favorite 'lost' albums over the last year or more, available in high quality. Let me know your thoughts!

Any donations received from this release will help fund future label releases. Happy 2021!

New Release: Demarest - Word Gets Around

My latest release on Base Ten Records is one I have featured on the blog previously. However I have now been given permission to make this available in high quality via Bandcamp, so check it out if you haven't already.

A headphone recommendation

As anyone who has visited my site will know, commercial considerations do not factor into my posts. But I did want to tell you about the deal I just got. Earlier this year I lost my cheap $20 headphones while travelling pre COVID. I took a chance on some Studio headphones (PRO 30) from OneOdio and although they ended up taking a while to arrive they have been amazing headphones for the price. I also bought a much more expensive pair for around $90 but even then the OneOdio remains my first choice hands down. 

Great sound, very comfortable, and I like the adapter that can plug either way so I can switch between computer jack or my amps easily. My kids have been all over it so I know its durable.

They are doing a big sale right now. I just ordered two extra sets for around 60% off each, with a free coaster, free stand, and free shipping. I was also able to use an extra coupon code SALE20 to get an extra discount meaning I got two sets for around $26 each all in. 

Here's the link. 

Introducing Base Ten Records

I'm very excited to be able to announce the formation of my new record label, Base Ten Records.

This year, like many other people, I have been looking for ways to actively support the music community. Over the summer I started spending more time on Bandcamp, especially on Bandcamp Fridays, where once a month all the revenues go direct to the artist. I started to think about all the records I had collected, all the wonderful obscure albums I have enjoyed, and enjoyed restoring digitally, and most importantly, the talented artists behind them.

Last month I decided to take the plunge and tracked down a few of the artists and asked them if they would be interested in using my label to promote their music on Bandcamp. The response was very positive, so I was encouraged enough to take the plunge and form the label.

I'm working on releasing 2-3 albums of material a month, all approved by the artists themselves and with their input and, potentially, further previously unreleased goodies. 

I'm really enjoying the challenge of putting together a label design, and creating the artist pages, releasing the music, etc. I've put up our first two releases, and so now is the time to begin promotion  - especially with the next Bandcamp Friday (possibly the last fee free day) coming this Friday.

I will be using the blog more and more to promote our releases and the artists involved. I'm also going to release a compilation series privately to the friends of Mine For Life with the goal of being able to track down some of the more elusive artists on my want list.

Our address is http://basetenrecords.bandcamp.com please stop by and say hello. And watch this space for new developments!

Primary Colors - Wildlife

Art Affairs - Workaholic

 

7" Single, released in 1988

Art Affairs - Workaholic (A Side)

Art Affairs - Even If You Go (B Side)

Ruby Blue - Give Us Our Flag Back

 

7" Single released in 1987

Ruby Blue - Give Us Our Flag Back (A Side)

Ruby Blue - The Quiet Mind (B Side)

Both tracks were taken from the band's debut album, Glances Askances, on Red Flame. Initially consisting of Rebecca Pidgeon and Roger Fife, they then released a second album and some singles on Fontana between 1988-1990.

Richard Sanderson - Anytime At All

 

7" Single, released in 1990

Richard Sanderson - Anytime At All (A Side)

Richard Sanderson - Silly People (B Side)

A new artist discovery for me this year, I'm not sure why Richard's excellent album Anytime At All was only released in Germany as it includes many great tracks, including both sides of this single.

October's Child - I Can't Stand It (1987)

President - European Summer

7" Single, released in 1987

One of the (many) 80's singles in my box I have held off posting, President was at the time a vibrant young British band centered around two brothers, Geoff and Tony Wright. Given that the summer of 1987 also brought us droves of europap like Spagna and Sabrina, you might well fear the worst, but in fact despite only having one song the songwriting ability was immediately in evidence. The single was released on a small label (Rekords UK) and I suspect would have been well received by a wider audience if it had made more radio playlists at the time. There was also a video filmed at Saltburn by the Sea in July 1987.

For much of the music I feature, that would be the end of the story, but happily in recent years Geoff and Tony have returning to recording and performing with impressive results. They released an album, Breathe, in 2014 and posted some videos. I really liked "Coast" which saw a digital release a couple of years ago.

I'm not going to post my rips of the "European Summer" single here - I also have the 12 inch - because all the tracks are available on Spotify and other digital media outlets if you search for the European Summer EP. Kudos to the band for keeping their name all these years, even if in the internet age it makes it a little harder to google search them. 

They also have a new single out this week called "Reach Out" which is nothing if not timely. 

Amazon UK link

Thanks to Geoff for reaching out - I really should have mentioned them before now!

Sleep Of Reason - Building 27 (1987)

I don't know much about Sleep Of Reason. They released one album on Top Records in 1987 and came from the Vienna, Virginia area apparently. Band members were Steve Hansgen, Tom Rowland, Arnie Karklis and Vince Silberberg.

Building

Cottage Industry - Things Go Up (1986)