Rusted Rail 2009 Round Up!!

I can’t believe that 2009 has flown by so quickly! So here’s a round up of the releases from Rusted Rail and a look ahead to what 2010 holds for the label....

Music for Dead Birds “And then it rained for seven days”

It's amazing the amount of genius song writing and structure that is unveiled on the Music For Dead Birds album considering its tiny size - a mere 3 inches (and no rude comments please.) Acoustic patterns knit warm, cozy comfort blankets of sound. An auditory trip through a rural acoustic electronic hinterlands. The natural elements intertwine with uplifting processed electronic beats that overall blissfully exudes and creates an air of alt country charm. MDFB have embraced their surroundings and fed them musically into machinery that has harvested some of the most fertile musings I have heard this year. At times quirky and at others deadly serious, MFDB musically take flight where few others dare or are even capable of venturing and whilst you can hear tiny snippets of influence, MFDB are the true sounds, sights and delicate smells of the countryside in summer. - Crumbs In The Butter

'What did you expect' recalls some of Sebadoh's earlier experiments in distorted confessional pop, 'The Sex' is a tender folkish chestbeater with a hearty vocal chant, some really emotive guitar picking and a stunted primitive drum line. It gets folkier on the the sing-song 'To Grow Up Wet', the clickety dub laced snare cracks on the eerie & quite wonderful 'Pill, Oh' are a fine backdrop to the hazy boy/girl vocals and a shambling, meandering acoustic guitar. Fans of early Hood will REALLY like this one, it's boss. - Norman Records

What Music for Dead Birds are trying to do is channel as many different styles of music as possible into one album. 'Pill, Oh' sounds like a lullaby and with all this talk of falling asleep into the deep and being asked to come with him, it is perfect to drowse to. 'The Sex' - is an attractive, melodic number while 'To Grow Up Wet' accounts for the 'acoustic' tag. As for experimental, that's catered to by the last track which features the sinister opening monologue advising us to head to the country or the sea so as to avoid certain death. - Comfort Comes

The album opens up with some perfectly ramshackle lo fi indie rock ala Pavement or Sebadoh before settling into a much more laid back indie-folk mood. Sounding at times like some bedroom folky take on Grandaddy meets early Elliott Smith, the album will tick all the right boxes for all you lovers of lo-fi indie sounds. Its got that lovely laidback loose kind of sound that will most definitely appeal to early Yo La Tengo fans with just a hint at the weirder side of psych-folk. - Road Records

The Dovetail Consort “East & West”

Bristol based solo artist Tim Newman releases this very beautiful collection of guitar instrumentals...calling to mind the likes of James Blackshaw with some added strings. Fans of the slightly eastern tinged avant folk sounds of the likes of John Fahey will instantly fall in love with this one. Features some beautifully meditative folk guitar picking with a lovely spacial kind of ambient feel about it. - Road Records

“East & West” is a simple yet delicately harmonious record that shifts slowly through many acoustic fields of vision. Songs that are plucked delicately, shift in waves of gentle repetition and slip you into hazy fields of humid summer country air. An apt title, as this release mixes many ingredients from the musical world of the Eastern and the Western hemispheres of this world and the results are palpably hypnotic. "1919" has that uplifting melancholy that just makes you want to stare from your window and pretend the world does not exist. Once the song ends, it's clear that the real world could never be as beautiful as the one created in this song. Acoustic guitars spin joyous patterns and the listener becomes giddily trapped in this world of ambient folk inspired haziness. - Crumbs in the Butter

Essentially these tracks are based on simple, but heavily edited, folky guitar pieces which take on an almost mantra-like quality through the repetition of notes and phrases. It's quite beautiful really. - Norman Records

There's something rewarding about a record which is open about reference points and inspirations without sounding like any of those catalysts. Bristol-based Tim Newman's titles refer, variously to David Crosby's boat (Mainsail), Indian classical music (Devotional) and Ian Carr's Nucleus (Elastic Folk) and all of these points of his musical compass make me warm to the record before the laser hits the pits. The music created by Mr. Newman is a charming world of guitar melodies with mandolin, 'cello, thumb piano and percussion, all wrapped up in Rusted Rails hard-to-resist 3" format, delightful on both ear and eye. - Boa Melody Bar

The adorable 3-inch disc, which is placed in a hand-made sleeve, features a scenic photo of a dusty road at sunset, prepping you for the 20 minutes of serene lullabies that lie within. The group's sound features mainly acoustic guitar and strings, but there are many more instruments thrown in to give the album an eclectic blend of Eastern and Western sound, hence, the album title. The opening track, "Devotional", is a positive, earthy tune. It could easily be used on a movie soundtrack, playing while the credits roll after a bittersweet ending. It reminds me of what I imagine the Tuscan countryside would sound like, if hills could make music. - BalconyTV

This 3” manages to squeeze six little compositions into its twenty minutes, favoring a vast and dusty folk sound emphasizing vast, wheat-filled vistas and back porch moments of tenderness. Performed and written solely by Tim Newman, who, it seems, is quite capable on a number of instruments ranging from guitar to fiddle, the album is unapologetically countrified and folky, as well as utterly sincere - this is an honest and credible approach at folk that pulls far more from Doc Watson than it does from John Fahey. There remains something cinematic and rich about this stuff that, though sounding instantly familiar, is not really in the vein of a distinct approach. A fine effort, this is a voice that anyone into folk of any sort should give an honest chance - extremely earnest stuff, and beautiful for it. - Foxy Digitalis

CWK Joynes "LHR Twins"

The opener sounds like a Mandolin is being mauled (lovingly) by talented fingers whilst zither, piano, cello and musicbox are employed in varying degrees of audibility. It gets quicker to the point where you could possibly do a spindly Irish Jig to it. Amazing stuff! 'Lay You Down O My Brother' is of the Rose/Parr/Blackshaw/Cam Deas school, an hypnotic steel guitar mantra that never fails to thrill. A plaintive acoustic finishes the set, reminding me of old Django R, an evergreen influence for sure. This Cambridge boy sure knows his way around the strings, long may his precious pinkies play on! - Norman Records

There are 3 instrumentals on here and the disc opens with a fascinating take on what sounds like an Appalachian folk tune played on zither, prepared piano, cello and music box. It's utterly charming. Next up is a long reworking of the spiritual "Lay You Down O My Brother" (used in part on the Incredible String Band's "A Very Circular Song") which also draws in elements of Hildegard Von Bingen's "Columba Aspexit" - the mid-section of this develops into the kind of celestial elegance James Blackshaw's 12 string playing manages. Finally Joynes rounds the disc up with a melancholic meditation, on nylon strings.- Boa Melody Bar

The album features three lengthy avant folk instrumentals from Joynes, who has previously released material on the Bo'weavil label. The tracks feature all manner of plucked instruments including zither, prepared piano, cello and guitar. Beautiful folk tinged with little hints of traditional middle eastern folk and the avant garde sounds of early John Fahey. - Road Records

Yawning Chasm “The Shadow is That Hidden”

This is beautifully crafted, hypnotic folk of the like you don't hear much nowadays. Simple guitar motifs are punctuated by thoughtful and reflective vocals and executed in short sharp doses. Some of the additional guitar effects and sounds help push these formal sounding tracks into the space zone. Blissful musings and beautiful melodies. - Norman Records

Slow shed-recorded songs accompanied by gorgeous (mandolin/guitar) finger-picking, casio and a haunting use of delay/reverb and shortwave radio that gives the songs the feeling of being beamed in from afar. Dreamy melancholia. - Boa Melody Bar

Yawning Chasm explores a modern, ruminative, psychedelic folk-rock..."The Shadow Is That Hidden" has a rich, deep, and full sound, more impressive than its humble origins suggest. - Galway Advertiser

A lovely rustic selection of weird folk sounds with hints of early psychfolk and intimate lo-fi bedroom indie folk. - Road Records

Aaron M Coyne has crafted a hauntingly exquisite work of personal, idiosyncratic psych-folk. Employing little more than his strummed electric guitar and his sublimely understated, Kozelek-meets-early-Callahan voice, Coyne designs passionate and memorable songs that come off as original despite their minimalist composition...one of the strongest psychedelic folk releases in recent memory. - Indieville

Agitated Radio Pilot“A Field Day”

This new release from Dave Colohan's Agitated Radio Pilot contains 6 new songs that are amongst his finest. Dave's music is a perfect accompaniment to autumn - minor key and melancholic - although some of the songs on here sound more upbeat than normal with a full band arrangement including double bass, mandolin, guitar, banjo, melodica, piano and some unexpected wah-wah guitar. Wrap up warm, have a single malt and enjoy - this is a treat and a half. - Boa Melody Bar

An impressive example of modern psychedelic-folk....beguiles with its poetic and deeply personal lyrics, and its autumnal, pastoral atmosphere. - Galway Advertiser
Summery feelings, a bit of the usual melancholia, and nice instrumentation... - Evening of Light
A lovely rustic collection of laid back alt-folk sounds with a somewhat dark sombre feel about it. Features lots of gently plucked acoustic instruments, scratchy droning sounds and some truly haunting strings. - Road Records

A 6 track EP of earnest singer songwriter gear that straddles a folkish vibe... it all sounds really quite delicate leaving plenty of space for the songman to do his thing. It's no happy ride mind but a goodie to weep into the whisky glass to. - Norman Records

More unique pseudo-folk brilliance from the Rusted Rail label. The lead singer's crisp voice is unmistakeable, a distinct mish-mash of Johnny Cash, Stephin Merritt, and Leonard Cohen... A Field Day is a very strong EP from Colohan and company. Unique delivery, melodic composition, and a knack for atmosphere make these six tracks remarkably unforgettable. – Indieville


and coming in 2010.....

Brigid Power Ryce will release a stellar yet earthy ep called “You Are Here” in Februrary
Paul O'Reilly is about to begin recording an ep for Rusted Rail.
Phantom Dog Beneath The Moon just submitted the master copy of their absolutely stunning debut full length cd “The Trees, The Sea in a Lunar Stream” and that’ll be getting pressed in the new year.....a very special album indeed!
Cubs will release their long-awaited debut full length CD...
while
The Driftwood Manor are also recording an ep too for RR.
These and more delights will emerge in the next year on Rusted Rail!

Thanks for all yr support his year!!
RR

Rusted Rail Xmas Party!!

Rusted Rail Xmas Party!




























December 22nd at Roisin Dubh (Downstairs) Galway

Doors 8.30 pm SHARP! featuring...





Music for Dead Birds
www.myspace.com/musicfordeadbirds

Phantom Dog Beneath The Moon
www.myspace.com/phantomdog

Paul O'Reilly

www.myspace.com/iamonablackmountain

Brigid Power Ryce

www.myspace.com/bpowerryce

Yawning Chasm
www.myspace.com/yawningchasm

5 acts for 5 yoyo! Come along for a cool yule...

reviews of Agitated Radio Pilot & Yawning Chasm...

Agitated Radio Pilot - "A Field Day"

This new release from Dave Colohan's Agitated Radio Pilot contains 6 new songs that are amongst his finest. Dave's music is a perfect accompaniment to autumn - minor key and melancholic - although some of the songs on here sound more upbeat than normal with a full band arrangement including double bass, mandolin, guitar, banjo, melodica, piano and some unexpected wah-wah guitar. Wrap up warm, have a single malt and enjoy - this is a treat and a half. - Boa Melody Bar

Agitated Radio Pilot is singer-songwriter Dave Colohan and the six track "A Field Day" ep is his second Rusted Rail release. It is an impressive example of modern psychedelic-folk. It may take a couple of listens to get used to but soon beguiles with its poetic and deeply personal lyrics, and its autumnal, pastoral atmosphere. Stand out tracks include 'Far North' which rises into a wah-wah guitar driven crescendo and 'The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things', which sounds as if Dave is being backed by a sitar. - Galway Advertiser

Irish label Rusted Rail have released a new Agitated Radio Pilot EP, entitled A Field Day. It contains six tracks in a style that reminds me a bit of Dave’s earlier Australia-inspired works, with a bit of Holt thrown in as well. Summery feelings, a bit of the usual melancholia, and a nice instrumentation featuring, among others, Bean Dolan and Eddie Keenan of Resurrection Fern and The Driftwood Manor, respectively. - Evening of Light

Limited edition 3 inch cd release in miniature handmade sleeve, released on the Irish label Rusted Rail, they put such care and attention into their miniature packaging. The band features mainstay David Colohan along with Bean Dolan, Eddie Keenan, Gary Morrison and Loner Deluxe. A lovely rustic collection of laid back alt-folk sounds with a somewhat dark sombre feel about it. Features lots of gently plucked acoustic instruments, scratchy droning sounds and some truly haunting strings. – Road Records

Agitated Radio Pilot (David Colohan and cohorts) has a limited 3" CD called A Field Day out on Ireland's Rusted Rail label and it's a 6 track EP of earnest singer songwriter gear that straddles a folkish vibe. Our Business Lady is laughing at the lyrics, I heard a mention of watching Withnail and I which is always good. The musicians play piano, melodica, accordian , banjo etc. and it all sounds really quite delicate leaving plenty of space for the songman to do his thing. If were into the Slow Loris disc then give this a whirl. It's no happy ride mind but a goodie to weep into the whisky glass to. - Norman Records

Two years after the monumental double albums "World Winding Down" and "The Rural Arcane" (I have reviews of both published), Rusted Rail records brought us a new release from Ireland's finest folk act, Agitated Radio Pilot. How I've waited! "A Field Day" comes presented as a 3" CDR in a just as small, simple package and it contains 6 tracks, which should label it EP or mini-CD or something. I say EP and you know what I mean.Something I've stated before, but will state again, is that I've not been a very long-time listener of Agitated Radio Pilot. I started right after "World Winding Down". But I have experienced that the project has two sides, easily explained. We have the more straight forward folk side and the more experimental ambient side. And the "A Field Day" material leans more towards the folky side, which fits me and the approaching winter just perfectly. Of course, a review of a 6 track release can't contain as many letters as a review of a 24 track release, but with that said, I do not wish you to believe that a 6 track release can't contain just as much feelings as a 24 track release! "A Field Day" is simply stunning despite the length. which is something that is proven already in the first track, a sweet picking mandolin song that has high replay and sing-along value. As usual, David sings great and delivers especially in the chorus and it's by all means a fine track but "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things" that awaits after it, is certainly my new Agitated Radio Pilot favourite. Oh God. Why are you doing this to me? The combination of simple piano plings and sitar (that actually ain't a sitar at all) is lovely, and the honest, sad vocals are devastating for a romantic heart like mine. The lyrics don't make it any easier for me, and it is something peculiar about David's lyric writing that makes even the most common envisagements sound, and feel, very odd and sad. I played this song on repeat a couple of weeks ago, while waiting for my bus, and I somehow melted into it and just stood there. Fixed my eyes on a dove that went to and fro on the side-walk, and all I could think was "I love that dove, I wish him a happy life". After an unknown amount of minutes the dove flew away and I came to senses again, just to realize that the bus already went by and all people around me went along with it. And I normally hate doves.Yes, "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things" is for sure the most touching dark folk song of the year, and the following tracks here don't really manage to climb the same heights, but I still recommend you to finish your listening session, because you don't want to miss out on killers like "From the Ghost Gum Glades" and the gorgeous instrumental piece called "The Drunken Poet".So, time to summarize. "A Field Day" might not change the course of the world, but it's a confident EP from a project that remains unthreatened on the throne it sits on. It has only 6 tracks, but variation, instruments and moods enough to keep you cradled until the next release comes. When that ever might be. I pray that we don't have to wait another two years to hear from Dave Colohan, aka. Agitated Radio Pilot again. - The Shadows Commence

More unique pseudo-folk brilliance from the Rusted Rail label, this time in the form of Ireland's Agitated Radio Pilot. The group, which encompasses a somewhat rotating group of contributors with David Colohan at its centre, creates music which is unusual yet seamlessly enticing. The lead singer's crisp voice is unmistakeable, a distinct mish-mash of Johnny Cash, Stephin Merritt, and Leonard Cohen, his singing never far off from mere speaking. Instrumentally, A Field Day is based largely around various stringed instruments - including acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, and sitar - but several other instruments help imbue personality to the proceedings. For example, the insanely beautiful title-track would not be quite as sweet if it weren't for the double bass or the subtle addition of accordion and electronics. Meanwhile, marvellously wistful "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things," based around a repeated sitar line, is fitted with a superbly longing piano part; meanwhile, expansive "Far North" features longing solos on melodica and electric guitar. Together, A Field Day is a very strong EP from Colohan and company. Unique delivery, melodic composition, and a knack for atmosphere make these six tracks remarkably unforgettable. - Indieville

"A Field Day", the latest from Agitated Radio Pilot, hits the expected high-climbing mark which David Colohan (also of United Bible Studies) seems unable to avoid. Through a wholesale embrace of the baroque Pop masters the album glories in the simple pleasures of solid songwriting and deft musicianship, void any trace of catholic guilt or precocious insecurity. Though the title track more than ever recalls Magnetic Fields for the somber gait of banjo and baritonic of Colohan’s voice, subsequent “The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things” takes a turn toward the dusky Tragically Hip, with its ringing bouzouki and kitchen percolation, and even a bit of Current 93 in the droning, teetering, Orientalist poetry of “From the Ghost Gum Glades”. For these sessions joined by four pals on a variety of instruments featured more or less soloistically to give maximum sonic wardrobe to these six tracks, each sustaining the same taut song construction and mature even-keel. “Far North” follows this spate of fatless singles with an extended rave-up of deep reverb and grated strings in chamber perfection. “The Drunken Poet” is a briefer outro and (surely, willfully ironic) the only wordless track, a session of picking like analogue switches to codify the entire strand of the discs impossible DNA. Comes in RR’s standard, handmade insert with photo paste-on and heavy sleeve. - Animal Psi

Yawning Chasm "The Shadow is That Hidden"

We've got a couple of 3" cd's from the excellent Rusted Rail label this week. I've been assigned 'The shadow is that hidden' EP from Yawning Chasm, a one man bedroom producer and songwriter (and one half of Mirakil Whip) Aaron M. Coyne. This is beautifully crafted, hypnotic folk of the like you don't hear much nowadays. Simple guitar motifs are punctuated by thoughtful and reflective vocals and executed in short sharp doses. Some of the additional guitar effects and sounds help push these formal sounding tracks into the space zone. This is particularly apparent on opener 'To the void' and 'Tumble River' that have a slight Syd Barrett feel to them. Sort of reminds me of my fave solo artist of the moment, Ducktails sans all the mashed up sound experiments and such. Blissful musings and beautiful melodies, what more could you ask for eh? Not much.... - Norman Records

Yawning Chasm is Aaron Coyne, one half of Irish duo Mirakil Whip. Slow shed-recorded songs accompanied by gorgeous (mandolin/guitar) finger-picking, casio and a haunting use of delay/reverb and shortwave radio that gives the songs the feeling of being beamed in from afar. Dreamy melancholia and a wonderful companion release to the Agitated Radio Pilot 3".
- Boa Melody Bar

Yawning Chasm is the stage name of Galway underground singer-songwriter Aaron Coyne. He is well known to many music heads in the city as one half of electro/guitar band Mirakil Whip, but through Yawning Chasm he explores a modern, ruminative, psychedelic folk-rock. The stand-out track on the EP is 'Tumble River' where Aaron's voice echoes through a sinister, swirling, spindly sound produced by a Yamaha Portosound keyboard fed through several effects pedals. Although I hate pigeon holing things, the song is excellent Goth-psych-folk. The EP's six songs were written, performed, and recorded by Aaron onto 4-track cassette in the cosy confines of a shed in Galway, throughout April, May, and June. It may sound primitive (4-track was the height of technology in 1967!) but "The Shadow Is That Hidden" has a rich, deep, and full sound, more impressive than its humble origins suggest. - Galway Advertiser

Another beautifully presented release from this Irish-based label. The cd features six tracks from Yawning Chasm, which is basically a solo outing from Mirakil Whip member Aaron M Coyne. The album was recorded in early 2009 to four-track cassette in Galway and features a lovely rustic selection of weird folk sounds with hints of early psychfolk and intimate lo-fi bedroom indie folk. - Road Records

It's no secret I've got a major woody for the Rusted Rail label, and with that said, I think Yawning Chasm's distressingly brief EP might be their best release thus far. In just these six brief songs, Aaron M Coyne has crafted a hauntingly exquisite work of personal, idiosyncratic psych-folk. Employing little more than his strummed electric guitar and his sublimely understated, Kozelek-meets-early-Callahan voice, Coyne designs passionate and memorable songs that come off as original despite their minimalist composition. The brief EP reaches its summit with the resplendently longing "Monsters," which weds a radiant yet low-key guitar line to a sweet vocal melody. It's a mesmerizingly pretty work that recalls work by the Red House Painters and C.W. Vrtacek. Yet this four minute bit of perfection is surrounded by an impressive supporting cast, including hypnotic "Your Bones Will Bleach White" and lachrymose "Stars are Going Out." The Shadow That Is Hidden may be frustratingly short, but it's also consistently great, and that helps make it one of the strongest psychedelic folk releases in recent memory. - Indieville

Forthcoming releases on Rusted Rail - Agitated Radio Pilot & Yawning Chasm

October 6th will see the releease of two new ep's on Rusted Rail...

Agitated Radio Pilot
“A Field Day” EP














Rusted Rail is pleased to announce the release of “A Field Day” EP, a 6 track EP by Agitated Radio Pilot. The musical project of David Colohan, this conceptual Australian travelogue documents an expanded and folkier line-up of Agitated Radio Pilot featuring Bean Dolan (Resurrection Fern), Eddie Keenan (The Driftwood Manor) and Gary Morrison (The Hollows) assailing such instruments as accordion, melodica, musical saw, bouzouki, banjo, double bass, piano and all manner of guitars. “A Field Day” was recorded throughout 2008/2009 in various locations around Ireland, in empty theatres, sunny living rooms, on a horse farm and whilst snowed in at the foot of mountains. This 3inch hand-stamped EP of ambling acoustica and fireplace folk is housed in a handmade sleeve.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Agitated Radio Pilot
“A Field Day” EP
1. A Field Day
2. The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
3. Sorrow Finds You
4. From the Ghost Gum Glades
5. Far North
6. The Drunken Poet

Yawning Chasm
“The Shadow is That Hidden” EP

















Rusted Rail is proud to announce the release of “The Shadow is That Hidden” a six song EP by west of Ireland-based home recording artist Yawning Chasm. All songs were written, performed and recorded by Aaron M. Coyne (who is also one half of Rusted Rail act Mirakil Whip) onto cassette 4-track in the cosy confines of a shed in Galway, throughout April, May and June of 2009 . Fingerpicked slo-motion folk stylings and hauntological sonics are coaxed from tenor guitar, mandolin, mandobird, keyboard, guitar pedals, vocals and transistor radio dial: maybe you could call it sci-fi lo-fi. This 3inch hand-stamped EP/mini-album is housed in a handmade sleeve.



Yawning Chasm
“The Shadow is That Hidden” EP
1. To The Void
2. Stars are Going Out
3. Tumble River
4. Monsters
5. Your Bones Will Bleach White
6. Distant Fires

Both releases will be available via mail-order from http://www.rustedrail.com/ on October 6th
and from Road Records, Boa Melody Bar and Norman Records.

To read a feature about the ep's click here - http://www.rustedrail.com/arp%20chasm%20advertiser%20pdf.pdf

Rusted Rail Discography

Rusted Rail Discography

RR1 Agitated Radio Pilot "Your Turn To Go It Alone" Double 3" ep: March 2006

RR2 Plinth "Victorian Machine Music" 3" ep: March 2006 (Out of Print)

RR3 So Cow "Best Vacation Ever" 3" ep: March 2006

RR4 Loner Deluxe "The Plinth Tapes" 3" ep: June 2006

RR5 Mirakil Whip "P.C.P" 3" ep: June 2006

RR6 United Bible Studies "The Northern Lights & The Northern Dark" 3" ep: June 2006

RR7 Autumn Grieve "Terra Infinita" 3"ep: January 2007 (Out of Print)

RR8 Cubs "Stonewater" 3"ep: January 2007

RR9 Plinth "Wintersongs"5" album: January 2007 (Out of Print)

RR10 Phantom Dog Beneath the Moon "Through A Forest Only" 3" ep: May 2007

RR11 Phosphene "Phoenix Trees" 3" ep: May 2007

RR12 Directorsound "Leaving the Moors" 3" ep: October 2007

RR13 The Big Eyes Family Players "Donkeysongs" 5" minialbum: February 2008

RR14 The Declining Winter "Goodbye Minnesota" CD Album: May 2008

RR15 Loner Deluxe "Must Not Sleep, Must Warn Others" Double 3"ep: November 2008

RR16 Music for Dead Birds "And Then It Rained For Seven Days" 3" ep: April 2009

RR17 CWK Joynes "LHR Twins" 3" ep: July 2009

RR18 The Dovetail Consort "East & West" 3" ep: July 2009

Rusted Rail - A Brief History

Rusted Rail rumbled into view in March of 2006.
So far there have been 18 releases.

Here is picture of the full catalogue courtesy of uber-fan Mr. Tom Bristow:



Instead of me describing what its all about here's what some folks have had to say about the label....

"Rusted Rail are a micro-independent record label from Ireland that releases, almost exclusively, 3"CD's in tantalisingly limited runs. Each release is ink-stamped and comes housed in a hand-made, cover slipped into a perfect fit sleeve, often with a little something extra inside too. Their expanding roster confidently encompasses a variety of folk-flavoured sounds, from the glitchy electro-folk of Loner Deluxe and the sombre dub of The Declining Winter, the psychedelic experimental adventures of Phospene and United Bible Studies, through to the more traditional folk sounds of Agitated Radio Pilot, Rusted Rail continue to defy fashionable genres and over-used hyphenated styles to promote a sound all their own. All Rusted Rail releases on that proper tiny 3"CD format feature music from Agitated Radio Pilot, The Big Eyes Family Players, Cubs, The Declining Winter, Directorsound, The Dovetail Consort, CWK Joynes, Loner Deluxe, Mirakil Whip, Music For Dead Birds, Phantom Dog Beneath The Moon, Phosphene, Plinth, So Cow, United Bible Studies... a format that is admittedly way too easy to lose, yet entirely practical if you are short on storage space like yours truly... Rust Never Sleeps..." - Sideways Thru Sound

http://www.sidewaysthroughsound.com/



Broken Face:Thursday, August 31, 2006
Label profile #1: Rusted Rail
In what hopefully will be an on-going series of presenting labels that go out of the way to release some of the most fascinating music that’s around, the turn has come to the eminently titled Rusted Rail imprint out of Ireland. So far this adventurous and creative label has graced us with six goregous 3” CD-Rs but as you’ll notice there’s more in the pipeline. And how can anyone with this motto really go wrong? "The musical canon is not decided by majority opinion but by enthusiasm and passion, and a work that ten people love passionately is more important than one that ten thousand do not mind hearing". We got in touch with them to see what keeps them going and what’s coming around the bend...

Do you remember when music really caught your attention for the first time?
I think I got into music quite late – I was 10 or 11 before I started listening to the radio or buying tapes (!) – it was in Ireland in the mid to late ‘80s - but it would’ve been the usual retro stuff that I got into: Thin Lizzy, Hendrix, The Doors (there was also a Queen phase but the less said about that the better!)…but then as I got older and maybe wiser (?) I hit that rich seam of early ‘90s American music with Sebadoh and Pavement, Slint and Palace and their fellow travellers, and then Rachel’s and Tortoise led me into different worlds…

What lead to the decision to start Rusted Rail? Was there a point at which you thought "I could do this better myself"?
Running a label was something I’d wanted to do for many years it’s just that in recent times with the ease of communication that the net affords it became the right time to get online and start putting the tunes out there. The music of course being the most important thing – I’m blessed to know many very gifted people and it’s their records that you will find on Rusted Rail.

Do you have a set up goal for the label?
Just to keep channeling the music out into the world. The positive side is knowing that people are connecting with the music – that’s what it’s all about.

Are there any particular labels that have inspired you or that you feel somehow spiritually connected with?
Deserted Village, Constellation, Touch & Go - to name but a few - just the uncompromising attitudes and commitment that labels like those exude are very inspiring.

What would you say are the most important factors that decide whether a record will end up on Rusted Rail or not? Is there something that unifies everything that's wearing the Rusted Rail logo?
Whether I think it sounds good is the only factor. I dunno if there’s a manifesto but maybe it’s forward-thinking music? (This is a difficult question to answer without sounding pretentious!)

From afar the musical climate in Ireland seems to be thriving these days. Do you agree?
Maybe things are just more visible now with the interconnectedness of everyone via the Internet. I'm pretty sure there's always been music bubbling away just beneath the surface and now it’s possible to take the music out of the bedroom or living room and get it out there, by whatever means necessary.

Do you have any explanation for the relatively large number of interesting acts that have come out of Ireland the last few years?
I reckon it's a case of people becoming more confident in their musical vision, recording equipment being more affordable, the popularity of a certain music sharing website which will remain nameless (!), and maybe there's a certain hunger for hearing something different. Who knows?

What do you think of the current state of experimental music in general?
If "experimental" means using the old punk ethos of D.I.Y. recordings and releases (no matter what the genre) then I think it’s in a very healthy state. For example the popularity of the "free/freak-folk movement" is interesting and I think it signals that people are harking back to purer forms of musical expression, which are also based on the idea of belonging to a community of likeminded individuals.

As far as I know all Rusted Rail releases are 3” CD-Rs. How come? What is it that makes the 3” format so appealing?
So far all the releases have been on 3", it's just a really dinky format that really appeals to me and allied with the handmade packaging I think it makes for a very visually engaging artifact. Also you can cram about 21 minutes of music onto the little discs so I think it's a cool medium for housing half an albums worth of music. There will be releases on other formats in the future - 5" CD, downloads, DVD - all these are in the pipeline.





Foxy Digitalis Label spotlight: Rusted Rail
(September 2006)

Who started the label and why?
I (Keith) did. It was something I’d wanted to do for years but it only really became viable in the last few years with the ease of access to new music that the internet affords. Of course it’s all about the music and so many people I know were making great music I just thought why not put it out there?

What's the story behind the name?
I’ve always been a little obsessed with old, rusted, empty railway tracks. Digging a little deeper maybe a rusted rail is a symbol for human interconnectedness that has somehow been left behind in an accelerated world. Who knows? They’re two words that work well together and that’s enough for me!

What keeps you inspired to continue doing the label?
The beautiful sounds, the feedback from people who engage with and enjoy the music, the handmade aspect, the sense of there being a community of like-minded individuals out there who are into it.

What's the hardest thing about running an independent label these days?
Just the amount of time it takes to make all the releases, to keep up with orders, correspondence, promotion, all the usual stuff (not to mention keeping the website updated which would be impossible without my web weaving buddy Aaron the Phantom Dog) not that any of this is a complaint - it’s a gift!

If you could work with any one artist, who would it be and why?
Tim Buckley. Because musically you’d never know what he was gonna do next.

What's your demo policy?
I haven’t really been sent anything yet as I tend to commission releases, but my ears are always open. I did get one email form a guy in South America who said he had recorded some “non-commercial indie-alternative rock, and I think it would fit your label very well...” which I took as a compliment!

What's the best record you've heard in the past year?
Besides the Rusted Rail releases by Agitated Radio Pilot, Loner Deluxe, Mirakil Whip, Loner Deluxe, Plinth and United Bible Studies? Probably “Red Hash” by Gary Higgins or Bruce Langhorne’s soundtrack to “The Hired Hand”.

Any closing advice?
"the musical canon is not decided by majority opinion but by enthusiasm and passion, and a work that ten people love passionately is more important than one that ten thousand do not mind hearing"

- Foxy Digitalis

http://www.digitalisindustries.com/foxyd/features.php?whichlh=38


Interview with Rusted Rail & Music for Dead Birds -

http://www.rustedrail.com/dead%20birds%2 0advertiser%20feature.pdf

Interview with Rusted Rail & Agitated Radio Pilot & Yawning Chasm -

http://www.rustedrail.com/arp%20chasm%20 advertiser%20pdf.pdf