When I quit my full time job two years ago and bravely/stupidly went off to face the music industry on my own, my no.1 aim was to cross off as many items as possible on my pop bucket list. I started a live music night, organised industry meetups, wrote my first ebook, and now I’ve achieved another goal: start an independent pop label! I’m collaborating with fellow pop lover Jen Anderson of Euphonios (who knows much more about setting up record labels than me!) and this week we are officially launching the label, POP unLTD, with the announcement of our first three releases.
Giant Fang – Aqualung (19th June)
Our focus with POP unLTD is to release music by up-and-coming artists from all over the world, but we’re starting not too far from home with Glasgow’s Giant Fang. This is the pseudonym of Douglas Wilson, a producer, singer and musician who has attracted a great deal of buzz over the past few months. His first single Kingdom was a big blog hit, with comparisons to indie crossover acts such as The XX and Foster The People. Aqualung is next up and the response so far has been great, with early support from Radio 1 and many tastemaker blogs.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/75297005″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
DENA – Thin Rope (7th July)
Bulgarian (via Berlin) singer DENA made a big splash last year with her brilliantly quirky debut single Cash, Diamond Rings, Swimming Pools, which was accompanied by one of my favourite recent music videos. She is now preparing to release her debut album, but first she has a new single Thin Rope, which will come out via POP unLTD in July. Her music is witty and catchy, and she has a unique artist persona which is refreshing and totally different to any other artist in the world right now.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk-uqr5TOBY]
Kirby Kaiser (28th July)
Fans of retro-pop girlbands The Pipettes and Those Dancing Days will love the sound of American singer Kirby Kaiser. She’s a talented songwriter with a lovely voice, and a classic sound that transcends generations despite her young age. Kirby takes The Ronettes and Amy Winehouse as inspiration, and her dreamy lyrics tell stories of teen romance. Kirby’s first release with POP unLTD will be announced soon, but for now enjoy There’s A Boy from her self-titled 2011 debut EP, recorded when she was just 19.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eukV6DoPfyk]
Show POP unLTD and our new artists some support by liking the label on Facebook and following on Twitter.