Fika Recordings is 5!

Back in early 2011, with very modest ambitions, Fika Recordings launched with 4 handmade cassette releases from Lisa Bouvier, Horowitz, Lost Summer Kitten and Moustache Of Insanity. We've certainly grown and learnt faster than we expected, and over the past 5 years we've racked up 50 releases, taken bands to tour in the US and in Europe, heard our tracks on BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music, met many, many wonderful new people in the process. There's plenty more to come over the next year (and hopefully over the next 5 too), but to make some space at Fika HQ (aka known as what's left of my spare room), we're having a little sale. 555 We've selected 5 of our favourite albums, one from each year we've been going, and we're selling them for £5 each, just for the next 5 days. So if there's some back catalogue you've been meaning to pick up, now's your chance to do it on the cheap!

Year One: Moustache Of Insanity - Album Of Death [LP/CD] Just £5!

Year Two: Tigercats - Isle Of Dogs [LP] Just £5!

Year Three: Azure Blue - Beyond The Dreams There's Infinite Doubt [LP/CD] Just £5!

Year Four: Making Marks - A Thousand Half Truths [LP/CD] Just £5!

Year Five: Stanley Brinks and The Wave Pictures - My Ass [LP/CD] Just £5!

Prices go back to normal on Sunday night, so don't hang around...

Making Marks - Like Spinning

We've one more treat from Making Marks' debut album for you: a video for Like Spinning. A version of the track initially appeared on their very first release as Making Marks, as the b-side to the Ticket Machine single, back in 2012. Here, songwriter Ola Innset has filmed and produced a video for the album version of the track, which will give you an insight into the side of Oslo he sees within the song...

A Thousand Half-Truths is available to buy now on heavyweight 12" vinyl and as a digipack CD; also available as a digital download. We have a few copies left of their first 7" singles, Ticket Machine and Barcodes, and a few copies of their Norwegian single Uten En Tråd.

They'll be touring Europe in May, catch them here: 22.05.14 – Ohibo, Milano (IT) 23.05.14 – Café Kairo, Bern (CH) 24.05.14 – Ostpol, Dresden (DE) 25.05.14 – Theatron Festival, München (DE) 26.05.14 – Konrad, Luxembourg (LX) 27.05.14 – Astra Stube, Hamburg (DE) 28.05.14 – Antje Øklesund, Berlin (DE) 29.05.14 – Feinkost Lampe, Hannover (DE)

Making Marks - A Thousand Half-Truths [12"/CD]

We're finally releasing the debut LP from Norway's Making Marks! It comes on beautiful heavyweight 180g vinyl with a printed inner sleeve of lyrics and pictures and download code, and on a 6 panel CD digipack with full lyrics booklet too. Or you can simply download it from our webshop, iTunes etc.

“There’s a trace of Saint Etienne’s suburban romance to be heard in the superior pop of Making Marks, a Norwegian four-piece whose debut album puts a winning finish of wit and longing on the belts-and-braces indiepop undercoat.” Uncut

“It’s an effective blend, especially with the sad but beautiful vocals of singers Ola Innset and Nina Bø as well as the country twang of Innset’s picking style of electric guitar playing.” Neon Filler

“classic heartwarming indiepop” SoundsXP

“a strong contender for indie-pop album of the year” Inforty

“a summery album to brighten up the current wintery outlook” Scottish Express

“The consistently excellent male/female vocals on show make A Thousand Half-Truths less a smack in the face than a warming, gentle arm around the shoulder. Perfect for these cold winter nights.” Shout4Music

Buy heavyweight LP / digipack CD / download

We've also got all three of their earlier 7" singles available for you to buy alongside the album: Ticket Machine [their debut 7", includes Suburban Kids With Biblical Names remix] Barcodes [their follow up, includes Erik Skantze remix] Uten En Tråd [their Norwegian single, includes a b-side recorded and produced by Darren Hayman]

Making Marks "Bruises" free download

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We're revealing another track from the upcoming Making Marks album "A Thousand Half-Truths". And, for one week only, you'll be able to download Bruises for free.

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Pre-order A Thousand Half-Truths on 12" heavyweight vinyl, digipack CD or digital download.

Barcodes video from Making Marks

Here's the new video from Making Marks, recorded during their summer North American tour with Tigercats and The Smittens. See if you can spot members of both dancing throughout the video... It was recorded on the drive from a wonderful Richmond, Virginia house show on the way to a hectic show in Washington DC (and just before we blew a tyre on the interstate and limped the hire car back home).

The single comes out on the 5th of August on 7" vinyl - both tracks are exclusive versions that won't feature on their upcoming album, due out early 2014. There's also a banging remix from Skantze on the download. Pre-order here (and pick up their debut 7", Ticket Machine, at the same time).

25th July: Secret Garden Party, Cambridgeshire, UK (Django Django, Soulwax, Regina Spektor...) 28th July: Indietracks, Derbyshire, UK (The Pastels, Camera Obscura, Helen Love...) 30th July: The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, UK (with The Ballet & The Felt Tips) 31st July: The Maze, Nottingham, UK (with The Ballet & We Show Up On Radar) 1st August: The Lexington, London, UK (with The Ballet & Without Feathers) 22nd August: Cafeteatret, Oslo, Norway

Fika Recordings 'Barely Legal' North American Tour 2013

We've been back in the UK for a few days now from our 8 day tour around the East Coast of Canada and the USA with The Smittens, Tigercats and Making Marks. Readjusting to normal life has been somewhat tricky - I'm seriously missing getting on the road and venturing to a new city, stopping off a swim in a river on the way, or just chilling outside the motel until 5am with 14 of the best people I've had the pleasure to work with on Fika. Thankfully, Jørgen, drumer for Making Marks, filmed much of the trip and edited it down to the wonderful video below. Have a look and see what you missed out on. See you stateside in 2014 maybe?

Distro

We're starting to do a little bit of distribution. Currently, it'll mainly be releases from artists working with Fika Recordings, who've released records previously/simultaneously on other labels. We want to help you explore their back catalogue, save on postage costs and enjoy more excellent music!So far, we've got the debut 7" single from Victoria and Jacob. We've just a handful of copies left of their single With No Certainty / There's A War - once they're gone, they're gone forever. And when they do, you'll need to keep your eyes peeled for their next digital single on Fika in April and their 7" single in May. As well as that, we've an LP and a CD from My Little Pony, who went on to become Making Marks having lost a member of the original band. Pick up a copy of their debut 12" LP Think Too Much, which features one of my favourite songs, and favourite lines:

And she said.. "Your love is like nuclear energy- it leaves a lot of stuff I don't know what to do with. And do you really love me or am I just in your network?"

We've also got a handful of copies of their second album, called Making Marks, available on CD.

Making Marks on tour

Making Marks are off on tour around Germany and France supporting Allo Darlin'. Catch them at the dates below below! 17.11.12 – Lido, Berlin (DE) 18.11.12 – TBA, Jena (DE) 19.11.12 - Blaue Fabrik, Dresden (DE) 20.11.12 – Astra Stube, Hamburg (DE) 21.11.12 - Die hängende Gärten, Köln (DE) 22.11.12 - Workshop of Dorian Rollin, Ribeauville (FR) 23.11.12 - L’Internationale, Paris (FR) 24.11.12 - Le Rouge, Lille (FR)

You can buy their debut 7" single Ticket Machine from the Fika Recordings webshop.

Johan Hedberg (Suburban Kids With Biblical Names) remix

So the 'debut' 7" single from Making Marks is out on Monday the 15th, and not content with two wonderful tracks on the vinyl, we've added a bonus remix track to the download. It comes courtesy of Johan Hedberg, ed half of Sweden's Suburban Kids With Biblical Names [Labrador Records]. Johan describes it as "sample based laid-back"; it makes us think of Ace of Base! With such a great remix, it only seemed fitting that we made a video for it too! http://vimeo.com/fikarecordings/ticketmachineremix

You can buy the Ticket Machine 7" now from http://shop.fikarecordings.com/album/ticket-machine and get an immediate download of Ticket Machine, Like Spinning and Johan's remix.

Making Marks - Ticket Machine

Making Marks start their UK tour tomorrow and we've released the video for their 7" single Ticket Machine to celebrate! It was filmed in Oslo and features archive footage from the 1946 short film, The Bus Driver. http://vimeo.com/fikarecordings/ticketmachine

Making Marks UK Tour Sep 2012 Thursday 13th: Undertone, Cardiff Friday 14th: Zanzibar, Liverpool Saturday 15th: The Victoria, Birmingham (w/ Tigercats) Sunday 16th: The Lexington (free afternoon show as part of The Hangover Lounge, w/ White Town) Wednesday 19th: Underbelly, Hoxton, London (w/ The Rosie Taylor Project and Owl & Mouse) Thursday 20th: Caboose Cafe, Ramsgate

The 7" is now available to pre-order. It'll be available in the shops on the 15th October, as well as on iTunes, Spotify etc. Buy from us and there'll be a very special bonus track remix of Ticket Machine from another Scandinavian Fika Recordings favourite...