Math and Physics Club - In This Together

It's an absolute pleasure to announce that we're releasing In This Together, a compilation of EPs, b-sides and rarities from Math and Physics Club. It's the first time on vinyl for all of these tracks, and we've rolled the boat out to make it something truly special: heavyweight cream 12" vinyl wrapped up in a lovely gatefold sleeve, crammed full of release notes, credits and some wonderful liner notes from Tullycraft's Sean Tollefson.

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Longtime fans know that Math and Physics Club have never been ones to stash away their lesser material on EPs and b-sides. Some would argue that many of their best songs over the past decade have appeared on exclusive EPs and vinyl-only singles, which is why this collection of non-album tracks plays like one of the band’s finest full length albums, and works equally well for completists and as a starting point for new fans.

The songs here are carefully presented in reverse chronological order, starting with the stunning new track “Coastal California, 1985” that finds the band still in fine form with its chiming guitars and swelling harmonies. Side one continues without missing a beat, winding through several unreleased and hard-to-find tracks from recent years, including a soft and sweet acoustic arrangement of “Do You Keep a Diary” that turns the tables on the electropop version that appeared on their 2007 EP.

Side two features their beloved and previously out-of-print first two EPs, with the classic jangle of “Movie Ending Romance” kicking off a relentlessly cracking set of pop that, when presented together this way, serves to highlight the band’s remarkable first year.

You can pre-order the vinyl from us now - we'll be shipping these out shortly to ensure you get your copy by the release date on the 24th of June. If CDs are more your bag, then you're in luck too: our friends over at Matinee Recordings are putting the CD out from the USA - pre-order that from Matinee here.

Stanley Brinks and the Kaniks - Turtle Dove [12"/CD]

Artist: Stanley Brinks and The Kaniks
Title: Turtle Dove
Format: 12" album on blue vinyl in gatefold seelve | CD in digifile sleeve
Cat#: Fika051LP | Fika051CD
Release date: 5th May 2016
Bandcamp | Spotify

Following the albums Gin and My Ass recorded with The Wave Pictures in un-gentrified East London, Stanley Brinks (aka André Herman Dune) returns with a new collaborative album, this time with the Norwegian folk collective The Kaniks as his backing band.

Eschewing a traditional recording studio,  André took The Kaniks to a remote island outside the small town of Egersund in south west Norway. Over the course of week of midnight sun, midnight swims and midnight beers on their isolated rocky island, living and recording in the only building on the island, the (now un-manned) mid 19th century Vibberodden lighthouse at the invitation of the town’s mayor, Stanley Brinks and The Kaniks recorded three albums of material; Turtle Dove is the first of those three to be released.

Brinks is renowned for his unique antifolk style: both playful and suggestive, insightful and entertaining.  His fondness for calypso and the unusual provide the perfect foil to The Kaniks’, whose folk instrumentation and country and bluegrass influences take these 12 songs to a joyous place Brinks hasn’t been before in his extensive back catalogue.

Turtle Dove comes on blue vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with full download and bonus download of 2 track single “Too Much Women”. It is a Record Store Day exclusive release, on 16th April 2016.

Stanley Brinks was born in Paris, France, in 1973. He studied a bit of biology and worked as a nurse for a while. Half Swedish, half Moroccan, strongly inclined to travel the world, he soon began spending most of his life on the road and developed a strong relationship with New York. By the late 90s he’d become a full time singer-songwriter – André Herman Düne – as part of three piece indie-rock band, Herman Düne. Several albums and Peel sessions  later and after a decade of touring Europe, mostly with American songwriters such as Jeffrey Lewis, Calvin Johnson and early Arcade Fire he settled in Berlin. The early carnival music of Trinidad became a passion, and in the early 21st century he became the unquestioned master of European calypso, changing his name to Stanley Brinks. Under this moniker he has recorded more than 100 albums, collaborated with the New York Antifolk scene on several occasions, recorded and toured with traditional Norwegian musicians, and played a lot with The Wave Pictures.  

The word "kanik" first came about when some people in the church choir realized how out of tune they were, and decided to call themselves the "cannots" (Norwegian "kan ikke”): those who can not sing.

The Kaniks are all traditional Norwegian musicians, and they actually are good singers. Brinks met them partying in the harbor of Egersund, a fishing town in the wild Southwest of Norway.  They were all in different bands of all kinds, playing Cajun music, Johnny Cash covers, Norwegian folk songs, modern jazz, communist anthems, and West African instrumentals.

Press

"Joyous jugband songs" Uncut

“Turtle Dove is a welcome addition to Stanley Brinks’ back catalogue; he’s one of the most imaginative and accomplished songwriters around today with an unerring instinct for creating atmospheric and engaging albums. Along with his collaborators, The Kaniks, Stanley Brinks has made yet another glorious album which celebrates the individuality of us all at the same time as it reminds us we’re not all that different, really, under the skin. I can see it becoming an indispensable part of my summer soundtrack and am very much looking forward to hearing the other two albums in this trilogy of Nordic antifolk. Great stuff!” Folk Radio

Sally Shapiro - If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind [7"]

Here's the video for Sally Shapiro's new and final single, If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind. Check out Stereogum's beautiful words over at their video premiere. The video comes courtesy of Jarett Sitter, the genius behind Sally Shapiro's previous video What Can I Do and Johan's You Passed Through.

The single is out today - you can buy a copy on 7" white vinyl (limited to 500), with a b-side of David Guetta's Dangerous. The download comes with two bonus remixes from Tommy '86 and Ben Macklin.

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<a href="http://shop.fikarecordings.com/album/if-you-ever-wanna-change-your-mind">If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind by Sally Shapiro</a>

Buy "If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind" on 7" vinyl or download: BandcampSpotifyiTunesGoogle Play

New Sally Shapiro release on Fika Recordings

We've long been a fan of the Sally Shapiro project - so it's with a heavy heart to say that Sally Shapiro are calling it a day with the release of their new single If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind. It'll be released ten years to the day since their first ever release, I'll Be By Your Side. A retrospective compilation is in the pipeline for later in the year on Paper Bag Records.

This is it. Thanks for everything. We did the best we could. Everything came from the heart. Everything was in stereo.

Sally Shapiro

The name “Sally Shapiro” refers to both the Swedish duo, consisting of the producer Johan Agebjörn and an anonymous singer, as well as the pseudonym of the singer herself. In December 2004 Johan discovered Shapiro’s gentle and beautiful voice while the two were singing Christmas carols together. Their first track, I'll Be By Your Side, was released as a 12" single on May 12th, 2006, on the Austrian label Diskokaine (run by DJ/producer Wolfram Eckert).

Sally Shapiro’s debut album, Disco Romance, was a nostalgic trip back to romantic italo disco of 1984. The album was revered by the press, nominated as “dance/electronic album of the year” at the U.S. Plug Awards and was given a spot in Pitchfork’s Top 50 albums of 2007. The tracks on the album were subsequently remixed by Lindstrøm, Tensnake, Junior Boys, CFCF, and Juan MacLean.

Sally Shapiro is known for her shyness: she does not reveal her real name, will not even let Johan into the studio when she sings, and has never performed her songs live. After a handful of DJ dates in 2008, she decided to never ever stand on stage again. However, the duo released two more studio albums, My Guilty Pleasure in 2009 and Somewhere Else in 2013.

Apart from a collaboration single with Tommy '86 - Why Did I Say Goodbye - and a few appearances on Johan's solo album Notes in 2015, Sally Shapiro has been silent since the last album. The new two-track single is scheduled for a release on the 10th anniversary of I'll Be By Your Side - May 12th - and will be the last recorded piece of music by Sally Shapiro.

They explain why: ”Our musical tastes don't overlap that much anymore. Johan is more into 90s-style electronica these days, and Sally is into non-electronic pop. In three years, we've only managed to record these two songs as Sally Shapiro, so with this single we have decided to call our musical project a day, and we would like to thank everyone who followed us on this journey.”

The A-side, If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind, was co-written by longtime collaborator Roger Gunnarsson and co-produced by Mitch Murder (Kung Fury OST). The B-side, Dangerous, is an acoustic interpretation of the David Guetta hit, with guitar played by Johan's cousin, Jonas Agebjörn. The digital editions of the single come with two remixes by French synthwave artist Tommy '86 as well as UK nu-disco producer Ben Macklin.

Pre-order the white 7" single from the Fika Recordings shop.

Stanley Brinks and The Kaniks - Too Much Women [Digital]

Unfortunately due to some delays with manufacture, Turtle Dove won't be available for Record Store Day on Saturday. We're very disappointed and have tried everything we can to find a solution, but without any luck. As such, we've had to put the release of Turtle Dove back to the 5th of May. The good news is that you can now pre-order the record from us here - we'll be shipping these out in advance of the official release date.

In the mean time, settle back and enjoy the two track digital single Too Much Women / For The Road...

Stanley Brinks and The Kaniks - Turtle Dove

For the first time ever, Fika Recordings is getting involved in Record Store Day!Record shops, and the people who own and work in them, are wonderful. Before Fika got going (back when I had 'free time'!), there'd be nothing better than spending lazy afternoons in Selectadisc in Nottingham, or Zulu in Vancouver, or Soundclash in Norwich, simply browsing, chatting and listening to records... buying a record I'd been meaning to pick up, and coming out with a few other treats that were completely new to me, many of which have gone on to become some of my favourite albums, and which still take me back to that very shop, listening to it for the very first time, all off the back of a recommendation from someone who really cared. That's what record shops mean to Fika, and that's what Fika wants Record Store Day to be about - a celebration of great music, great people and great shops. So here we are, our first RSD release - here hopes we can all crowd out yet another over-priced deluxe re-issue double vinyl package of an album your Dad bought and never really liked anyway...

Following the albums Gin and My Ass recorded with The Wave Pictures in un-gentrified East London, Stanley Brinks (aka André Herman Dune) returns with a new collaborative album, this time with the Norwegian folk collective The Kaniks as his backing band. Eschewing a traditional recording studio, André took The Kaniks to a remote island outside the small town of Egersund in south west Norway. Over the course of week of midnight sun, midnight swims and midnight beers on their isolated rocky island, living and recording in the only building on the island, the (now un-manned) mid 19th century Vibberodden lighthouse at the invitation of the town’s mayor, Stanley Brinks and The Kaniks recorded three albums of material; Turtle Dove is the first of those three to be released. Brinks is renowned for his unique antifolk style: both playful and suggestive, insightful and entertaining. His fondness for calypso and the unusual provide the perfect foil to The Kaniks’, whose folk instrumentation and country and bluegrass influences take these 12 songs to a joyous place Brinks hasn’t been before in his extensive back catalogue.

Turtle Dove comes on blue vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with full download and bonus download of 2 track single “Too Much Women”. It is a Record Store Day exclusive release, on 16th April 2016. It is released digitally on the 22nd of April, from when any remaining copies will be available to order from the Fika Recordings online shop. It is preceded by the two track digital single Too Much Women on the 8th of April.

Stanley Brinks and The Kaniks

Stanley Brinks was born in Paris, France, in 1973. He studied a bit of biology and worked as a nurse for a while. Half Swedish, half Moroccan, strongly inclined to travel the world, he soon began spending most of his life on the road and developed a strong relationship with New York. By the late 90s he’d become a full time singer-songwriter – André Herman Düne – as part of three piece indie-rock band, Herman Düne. Several albums and Peel sessions later and after a decade of touring Europe, mostly with American songwriters such as Jeffrey Lewis, Calvin Johnson and early Arcade Fire he settled in Berlin. The early carnival music of Trinidad became a passion, and in the early 21st century he became the unquestioned master of European calypso, changing his name to Stanley Brinks. Under this moniker he has recorded more than 100 albums, collaborated with the New York Antifolk scene on several occasions, recorded and toured with traditional Norwegian musicians, and played a lot with The Wave Pictures.

The word "kanik" first came about when some people in the church choir realized how out of tune they were, and decided to call themselves the "cannots" (Norwegian "kan ikke”): those who can not sing. The Kaniks are all traditional Norwegian musicians, and they actually are good singers. Brinks met them partying in the harbor of Egersund, a fishing town in the wild Southwest of Norway. They were all in different bands of all kinds, playing Cajun music, Johnny Cash covers, Norwegian folk songs, modern jazz, communist anthems, and West African instrumentals.

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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...

Bill Botting & The Two Drink Minimums - It's Not Christmas Anymore [Cass]

Artist: Bill Botting & The Two Drink Minimums
Title: It’s Not Christmas Anymore
Format: Cassette (handmade numbered sleeve)
Cat#: Fika050
Release date: 11th Dec 2015
Bandcamp | Spotify

It's Not Christmas Anymore - the new release from Allo Darlin's Bill Botting, ably joined by an all star line up featuring Darren Hayman, Dave and Jonny from The Wave Pictures, Paul from Allo Darlin'/Tigercats and Owl & Mouse's Hannah, is out now! We've a very limited, and very lovely, handmade cassette with download available from the Fika Recordings shop, or you can line it up on the stereo via Spotify, iTunes etc to soundtrack your Christmas this year. We're a little bit in love with these 4 songs, and can't wait to hear more from Bill backed up by this line up...

Buy It's Not Christmas Anymore

... and if you're in London, you'll be able to do just that at the Duke of Uke Christmas party on Wednesday 16th Dec, at the Bethnal Green Working Mens Club, with live sets from Bill Botting & The Two Drink Minimums, and from Owl & Mouse. And it's free! More details available via Facebook.

City, Town and Country: a three day residency with Darren Hayman

We're very excited to announce a three day residency with Darren Hayman at the The Betsey Trotwood in January - we'll be announcing special guests shortly for each night, who will all be incorporating the evening's theme in to their set.

City, Town and Country A three day themed residency with Darren Hayman.

Monday 18th: City with Dearbhla Minogue and one more TBA City themed songs from "We Love The City" and others

Tuesday 19th: Town with Deerful and one more TBA Town themed songs from "Local Information". "Pram Town" and others

Wednesday 20th: Country with Maia Sofia and one more TBA Country themed songs from "Essex Arms", "Great British Holiday EPs" and others

Tickets are available from WeGotTickets

We'll be announcing the final support for each evening in January - we're very excited and know you'll be in for a treat...

In the meantime, here's a wonderful video review of Darren's Florence record from The Guardian's Alexis Petridis.

Sunturns - new video and advent calendar

With Christmas fast approaching, here's the second video from Sunturns' new record Christmas II, "Sunni".

Buy Christmas I & II on double vinyl or download.

We've also launched an advent calendar, curated by Sunturns, who'll be guiding you through their favourite Norwegian acts every day in the run up to Christmas. So if you're on the look out for some more Scandinavian sounds, head over to the Sunturns Christmas advent calendar here.