Record Store Day

Record Store Day returns right on schedule, as it does every year on the third Saturday of April. It's the global event celebrating music shops and, more broadly, physical music formats (CDs, vinyl, even cassettes) as a counterpoint to the ever-growing spread of mp3s and streaming. Born just a few years ago with fewer than a hundred participating stores, it now brings together more than three thousand shops worldwide. Over time, Record Store Day has also become a prime occasion for releasing new singles, previously unheard recordings, remastered classic albums, special versions of well-known songs, covers by other artists and so on. In the vast majority of cases, these come in extremely limited quantities, precisely to underline the uniqueness of the occasion (and to spur fans into buying). We're talking about 592 titles, often accompanied by dedicated artwork or otherwise worthy of particular attention: in collaboration with the Stampaprint team, we point you towards the most interesting ones coming out on April 18th.

Interpol – "Everything Is Wrong" (Matador) The New York indie-rock band, one of the most beloved acts of the new millennium, has decided to release the new single "Everything Is Wrong" (taken from the recent album "El Pintor") for Record Store Day. And they've entrusted the cover to one of the most important graphic designers around: Shepard Fairey, the American illustrator also known as Obey, who created the iconic four-colour "Hope" poster that became the symbol of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and who had already worked with Interpol on the artwork for "Antics". The cover, on one hand, reworks Fairey's recent exhibition titled "Power & Glory" and, on the other, continues the anagram game started with Interpol-El Pintor, doing the same with the song title "Everything Is Wrong", which becomes "the very growing sin" and "every wrong insight" — messages touching on themes dear to both Fairey and Interpol themselves.

Happy Mondays – "Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches" (Rhino) The 25th anniversary of the release of one of the most important albums of the so-called Madchester scene — the movement that grew up around Manchester's Factory Records between the Eighties and Nineties — will be celebrated for Record Store Day with the release of a 180-gram yellow vinyl on Rhino. The cover artwork, meanwhile, remains the original one (actually the second version, since the first was pulled due to disputes with American companies), and bears the signature of Central Station Design. This is the graphic studio behind numerous releases from that particular music scene, as well as the "Madchester" logo that appeared on the Happy Mondays' own EP released the previous year (1989) and, bringing things full circle, the opening title sequence of the 2002 documentary "24 Hour Party People", dedicated precisely to the Manchester music scene of that era.

Oneothrix Point Never – "Commissions II" (Warp) Experimental composer Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneothrix Point Never, celebrates Record Store Day 2015 by releasing an EP that pays tribute to the video game soundtracks created by Japanese artist Manabu Namiki, a master of the so-called "shoot 'em up" games.

The record includes "Bullet Hell Abstraction", commissioned by Red Bull Academy, and "Suite From Magnetic Rose", a portion of the score made for the anime of the same name by Koji Morimoto.Even the cover layout, created for the occasion by graphic designer Robert Beatty, pays homage to the aesthetic of shoot 'em up video games, making the whole thing a genuine concept album. A truly remarkable operation.

Various Artists – "Furious Hoops vol. 1" (Furious Hooves) The compilation put together by the Furious Hooves label is a truly peculiar one: the American label has assembled a large roster of musicians and visual artists to create a collection dedicated "to the greatest era of basketball in human history: the Nineties". Musically, it features side projects and members of groups such as Wild Nothing, Mac DeMarco, Homeshake, and Sauna Heat. On the artwork side, internationally renowned graphic designers have lent their hand, including Ryan McCardle (among other things, art director of the Captured Tracks label), Tim Cohen, Michael Skattum, Joey Goodwin, John Gagliano, Liz Pavlovic, Jose Ray, and Rachael Perisho. In short, a work of art in every respect.

The White Stripes – “Get Behind Me Satan” (Third Man) To mark the album's tenth anniversary, the ineffable Jack and Meg White seize the chance to reissue their fifth studio album (850,000 copies sold in the US alone) in a new double 12-inch vinyl format: white for the first disc, red for the second, following the colour scheme that has always defined the duo.

The inner artwork has been revamped for the occasion, though it still takes its cue from the 2005 edition, while the cover, identical to the original, is printed as a lenticular image, creating an illusion of depth. An intriguing collector's item for the duo's countless blues-rock fans around the world.

Of Montreal – “Snare Lustrous Doomings” (Polyvinyl) The indie-rock outfit from Athens, Georgia (already home to the legendary R.E.M.) mark Record Store Day with a double 12” vinyl, yellow for the first disc and orange for the second.

It contains nineteen songs recorded by the eclectic American band across various shows in San Francisco and Portland, including a cover of Fairport Convention's Fairport Convention “Time Will Show the Wiser”. The double album comes in a gatefold sleeve and includes a large full-colour booklet featuring stunning photographs taken during the tours. Only three thousand copies have been pressed: it's easy to imagine they'll sell out in no time.

Temples – Mesmerise Live (Fat Possum) Temples were one of the breakout “cases” of the 2014 music scene, thanks to their debut “Sun Structures”, an album that skilfully blends British-flavoured pop with psych-rock. For Record Store Day 2015, the British band release, in a run of just three thousand copies, a 12” vinyl featuring a live version of the single “Mesmerise” and a remix of “Move With The Season” courtesy of another great English band: The Horrors.

The single's cover depicts the band members around the Rushton Triangular Lodge and mirrors the album artwork, created by art directors Abbie Stephens and Thomas Caslin along with photographer Zoe Maxwell: what changes here are the colours, shifted towards reddish tones.

Air – Playground Love (Rhino) The French duo made up of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel reissue the single (featuring Gordon Tracks aka Thomas Mars of Phoenix) originally released in 2000 and taken from the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's “The Virgin Suicides”.

The vinyl, this time in orange and obviously limited edition, comes out with the original cover: as with much of the Air discography, the artwork is by Californian director, video-maker and graphic designer Mike Mills, to whom Air even dedicate an eponymous track on the album “Talkie Walkie”.

Among his other “famous” work in the music world are also the cover of “Moon Safari”, Air's own hugely celebrated debut, “Washing Machine” by Sonic Youth, and Sleater-Kinney's new “No Cities To Love”.

Metallica – No Life Til Leather (Blackened) The Metallica release is shaping up to be the most bizarre offering of Record Store Day 2015, even though the recordings date all the way back to the summer of 1982. These are in fact the very first takes of the songs that would go on to make up the band's celebrated debut album, “Kill 'Em All”.

The tracks have been circulating for a long time, but this marks the first time Metallica have officially released them, properly remastered. What makes this release so distinctive is that it comes out on cassette, faithfully replicating the recordings from thirty-three years ago, right down to the artwork, a carbon copy of the original handwritten note by Lars Ulrich. A nostalgia trip that the millions of fans around the world are sure to love.

Foo Fighters – Songs From The Laundry Room (RCA) Foo Fighters too – speaking of which, Dave Grohl is the official ambassador of Record Store Day 2015 – are releasing a record with artwork inspired by good old cassette tapes for the occasion, even though the release itself is announced on 10-inch vinyl.

The record features two demo versions of the old songs “Alone + Easy Target” and “Big Me”, along with a cover of Kim Wilde's “Kids In America” and one previously unreleased track, “Empty Handed”. The four songs were written by Grohl before Foo Fighters even existed, a band celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, and were recorded at Laundry Studios in Seattle.

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