If you missed the
Spinning Rune song (or really meant to go back and watch the video I posted last week....) - In answer to a question of mine,
Drew Miller (of the great - dare I say seminal? - Celtic Punk Rock'n'Roots band
Boiled in Lead, etc.) posted a wealth of info in the Comments
here. I re-post here his bit on the history of NorthSide, the company that opened the top of my head to the rich, gorgeous Nordic/Scandinavian folk-rock scene of the 90s - for more details, links, and even a complete NSD catalogue list, head over to the Comments-- and feel free to continue the conversation! And enjoy the music.
Over to Drew:
Now about NorthSide and Nordic music:
It started with the band Garmarna and their album "Vittrad." Heard it, the top of my head was ripped off, and Omnium licensed their first two records for the US (1994-1996).
Beginning in 1997, I had the best job in the world: working at a record company releasing amazing music (including my own).
Part of my job was doing "graphic remixes" -- taking the original European release and giving it a consistent graphic identity for NSD, and adding English translations. We also produced a 10-year run of the Nordic Roots Festival in Minneapolis and helped a lot of the bands to tour in the US.
That business model is now extinct. Around 2002, Rob Simonds (now directing http://thecedar.org) and I developed a "remote control record company" -- the office in downtown Minneapolis closed and I started working as an independent consultant.
Today, you can still purchase anything from our current catalog at http://hearful.com - most CDs are $12 with shipping $2
A couple of years ago, ESD and NorthSide decided to close out all their licensed titles, and the rights have reverted to the artists. You can still find the music on iTunes, via the original European CD releases, and direct with the artists. Unlike the 20th Century when "out of print" was literally a death sentence, all the music that we released is still available to purchase (or steal / "audition") in one form or another.
(Shout-out to Cliff Furnald at http://cdroots.com who continues to bring a dizzying array of Nordic CDs to the US.)
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It started with the band Garmarna and their album "Vittrad." Heard it, the top of my head was ripped off, and Omnium licensed their first two records for the US (1994-1996).
Beginning in 1997, I had the best job in the world: working at a record company releasing amazing music (including my own).
Part of my job was doing "graphic remixes" -- taking the original European release and giving it a consistent graphic identity for NSD, and adding English translations. We also produced a 10-year run of the Nordic Roots Festival in Minneapolis and helped a lot of the bands to tour in the US.
That business model is now extinct. Around 2002, Rob Simonds (now directing http://thecedar.org) and I developed a "remote control record company" -- the office in downtown Minneapolis closed and I started working as an independent consultant.
Today, you can still purchase anything from our current catalog at http://hearful.com - most CDs are $12 with shipping $2
A couple of years ago, ESD and NorthSide decided to close out all their licensed titles, and the rights have reverted to the artists. You can still find the music on iTunes, via the original European CD releases, and direct with the artists. Unlike the 20th Century when "out of print" was literally a death sentence, all the music that we released is still available to purchase (or steal / "audition") in one form or another.
(Shout-out to Cliff Furnald at http://cdroots.com who continues to bring a dizzying array of Nordic CDs to the US.)