new releases, special editions, festivals, cancellations, deliberate mistakes, apologies - whenever we have something vaguely interesting to share, we'll probably post it here (and we'll just make something up when we don't)
FEBRUARY RELEASES
Gird your loins - and your bank manager - we've got a new LP and two double CD sets lined up for Feb '25 - more news soon
MORE LATHE-CUTS IN 2025?
Oh yes, and I'll explain why....
- the sound quality of lathe-cuts is getting better all the time, thanks to Phil at 345rpm
- Sam Giles, who designs and makes our 'Introduction to' CDs, can also hand-make 7" sleeves, and they real are top-quality
- the minimum run for a full pressing of a 7" is 300 (you can get less but the cost for 100 is not far short of that for 300)
- disappointingly few magazines are interested in singles, same with shops, and FdM followers seem to be inceasingly focussed on albums - promoting a 7" can feel a bit like pushing water uphill
- Phil can cut 50-100 singles and turn the job round pretty quickly - it just feels cruel asking him to cut more than 100 as he has to listen to every one of them in real time!
...so my apologies for the rigmaroll of lucky draws and disappointed customers but at the moment it's that or very few FdM singles
NICK'S YEAR-END PICKS
Nick Leese's 'pick of the year' blog when he ran Heyday Mail Order was a must-read - Nick's now writing a blog for FdM and you can see what grabbed his attention in 2024 HERE
LA NOUVELLE MUSIQUE
FdM will hit 2025 running with a super-limited lathe-cut 7" taster from a new duo - La Nouvelle Musique - who will be gracing our grooves in style later on in the year.
NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION
Who says CDs are dead? Probably the same person who declared the death of vinyl 20 years ago. Anyway, never ones to miss out on an endangered species, FdM's 'Introduction to' series is coming along rather nicely - with more to come in 2025.
INDEPENDENTS DAY
FdM's UK stockists will be getting very limited supplies of an exclusive compilation CD that will be free to anyone buying an Fruits de Mer vinyl release from the shop; hopefully they will be availble around mid-December.
Hopefully, a little incentive to you to check out your nearest store, next time you're in Solihull, Mold, Walsall, Swansea, Banstable, Whitstable, Chester, Twickenham, Cardigan, Frodsham, Llanelli, Salisbury, Aberdeen or Poole.
The CD includes tracks by some artists who will be making their first appearances on FdM - namely Behind The Sun Collective, Fifth Daughter, Hippi Jonni and Optica, as well as a number of FdM 'regulars'.
