 To quote the great Cusack family fest film Grosse Pointe Blank “10 YEARS! 10 Years! tnyrs! 10.Years!” Yes, Leaf Label is 10 years young, the purveyors of the finest chillout/good ambient/jazz & classical infused electronical/whateverthehellelsetheyfeellike music are at the top of the hill (in dog years anyway). Quite an achievement for a label that the ex-4AD press officer, Tony Morley, only started to release one 12”. To celebrate this momentous achievement of longevity and eclecticism the label have released a two CD “greatest hits” compilation of sorts at a bargin price (only £7 y’all). Anyone who’s listened to any of the previous Leaf sampler CDs will know they are the masters of a good mixtape but they’ve definitely smoked some good Granola on this one, Disc one deals with the formative years with select tracks from Susumu Yokota, Luger and that classic first release by Boymerang (aka Graham Sutton) along with early debut releases from the likes of Faultline and Four Tet.
Disc two then shows why it’s impossible to even put an all-encompassing ‘electronica’ tag over Leaf, whilst the first CD is a great mix of soft techno, twangy ambience and almost children’s lullaby-esque electro-pop the newer signings featured on this disc show the strength they have reserve, whilst Island Records, who were once releasing Bob Marley and John Martyn albums, now find themselves salivating over the most boring MOR artists imaginable Leaf’s newer artists are constantly trying to re-invent the proverbial wheel with likes of Nina Nastasia meets Joanna Newsome meets her kitchen utensils type Hanne Hukkelberg, the unique rap stylings of Doseone and this scribes current ‘most fav band EVA!’ Volcano! Even Warp saw the money and started releasing Maximo Park CDs.
A CD like this touches the soul and soothes people, if it were human, it’d walk around like a less hairy Bill Bailey in Black Books, quietening shouting dogs, silencing car alarms, solving arguments, and maybe even gently taking America’s finger off the trigger and giving them a hug at the same time.
It’s not often I can say that there’s not a bad track on these two CDs and still complain about the lack of others such as Asa-Chung & Junray’s Hana, or Susumu Yokota’s Saku. Even so it’s still a great showcase of talent that most labels wouldn’t be able to match in 100 years of releases. Viva Leaf.
Ali Safavi |
| Coding: Darren Burrows