The Mamaleek vinyl finally appeared last weekend, and I’ve been busy getting them packed and ready to ship to everyone who pre-ordered.

The package really came out nice – the vinyl are heavy, very substantial. The jackets are gorgeous, with goild-foil stamping on the front layered over unsettling black and white photos of Native American rituals. It all perfectly mirrors the shamanistic themes of the record, and taken as a whole, the package is a powerful one.

First of all, I wanted to say an honest and intense thank you to everyone who pre-ordered or donated. Your decision to purchase this amazing record helps fund the pressing. You’re doing your part and helping keep music like this available in the physical format we all value. Seriously, it’s a huge help, and THANK YOU.

We will be working on something very cool for pre-orderers in the future, to make sure you know how much it means to the label.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the packing process – both putting vinyl and jackets together and preparing the records for shipment. Also, dogs.
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Since the success of the Mamaleek digital release and vinyl pre-orders, I’ve gotten more than a few emails asking where the records are and how long it’ll be before they’re ready to ship.

A brief answer: I was recently sent the test-presses, which are essentially demo versions of the vinyl records to listen to and approve. Getting test pressings means we have an idea what the records will be like, and can spot errors, bad mixes, etc, before pressing the full run.

In my opinion, the Mamaleek test presses were not satisfactory. Though the audio quality was there, they were very quiet, and lacked “punch” – not an audiophile term, but the best I know. Essentially, the record didn’t represent what the music felt like to me, and listening to the vinyl didn’t give me the same feeling I got when listening to Mamaleek on MP3, which is exactly the reverse of the way things should be.

I did not approve the full run, and asked for a recut at a louder volume. This will lose a bit of audio fidelity, but will also provide a much more enjoyable listening experience – and one much closer to the artist’s original intent.

That’s caused a delay at the plant. Good news, though: the new test presses should be here today or tomorrow, and I’m confident these are going to stand up to scrutiny. Once we OK the full pressing, it shouldn’t be long before we get the actual records and start shipping them out.

Sorry for the delay and radio silence, folks. I have always believed that quality was more important than punctuality, and I’m pretty sure that if you listen to the music we put out you believe the same. Still, not letting everyone know right away was bad form on my part, and I apologize. You guys and girls support us more than you know when you pre-order records, and it’s deeply appreciated.

If you have questions, drop us an email or post a comment.

Our friend Justin Donais (who directed the feature-length documentary “Glastonburykids,” as well as the HAVE A NICE LIFE live DVD – both of which are available as a 20$ package in the store, by the way) filmed this amazing video for the Giles Corey song “A Sleeping Heart.” It’s awesome.

Giles Corey- Sleeping Heart from Justin Donais on Vimeo.

The Giles Corey record will be out soon! It’s going through some minor artwork tweaking. Look for it in April.