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Early Works Vol​.​2: Music From The Archives

by ATA Records

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Early Works Vol.2: Music From The Archives via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      £24 GBP or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Early Works Vol1 & Vol2 at a special winter sale discount price

    Includes unlimited streaming of Early Works Vol.2: Music From The Archives via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      £42 GBP or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Early Works Vol.2: Music From The Archives via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      £26 GBP or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £7 GBP  or more

     

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about

2020 was a time of fear as Covid blew through the world, shutting countries down and isolating friends and family alike.

In a space of a few short months the world seemed a scarier and smaller place as many experienced isolation and a diffuse uncertainty for the first time.

For those lucky enough not to be touched by tragedy during the pandemic, or having to battle the illness personally, the lockdown certainly created a space and time to crack open a book, get square eyed over a boxset or gorge yourself with music.

Some decided to complicate their lives further with gargantuan tasks, tasks so big they only really existed in concept as there was never, surely in all probability, going to be enough downtime to get them done.

But then, of course, we all got handed a big lump of time to play with, time to put your money where your mouth is.

That being the case Neil Innes of ATA took on a monster of a task that year.

He decided to kill the studio he had spent 14-years building.

Luckily, for all of us, his plan went further than that, ATA was going to rise up bigger, stronger and, thank goodness, cleaner than it was before.

Over many backbreaking and expensive months the beating heart of ATA records was stripped, monolithic bits of kit were pulled from dusty corners and into the light to learn their fate: resettlement in the new ATA or sold off, to pay for the studio’s rejuvenation.

Tough decisions were made but the end product was worth the sacrifice.

ATA now has natural light, some very swish carpeting, new soundproofing and even a sofa, surprisingly tasteful, in the, now, spacious, control room. No more sitting on rickety stools and balancing a coffee on your knee.

While there were obvious aesthetic and practical benefits to rebuilding the studio, for Neil, who has been hands-on throughout the whole process, it was also cathartic.

A time for reflection over the past 14-years, the slow building of ATA, piece by hard won piece punctuated by refreshing periods of doubt and fear, surely the case with so many labours of love.

Once the studio began to take shape again and Neil was finally able to take a breath he began rooting through the label’s archives, pulling out reels that had been propping up tables, holding open doors and generally lurking in nooks and crannies for years.

“I just wanted to draw a line under the old studio, I suppose you could say I’ve killed it off, but it was a killing for good reason, because look at it now.

“The last few months felt like a perfect time to dig into the archive…take a look back at some of the early recordings.

“Some of these I didn’t even remember working on… so they’ve been a very pleasant surprise,” explained Neil.

He went on to add: “I spent so much time working with the artists in the early days, crafting everything in minute detail…working with them to get the best out of them.

“I think, if I’m being honest, I was scared to revisit them, I can be heavily critical of my own work and must have tainted my own memory of the recordings.”

It didn’t take long for Neil to realise how special some of these snippets of the past were, especially some of the vocal outings with his former Love of the Brave band mate Fuzzy Jones.

As he wandered down memory lane he started to pair some of these rediscovered treasures with tracks by more recent artists, such as The Magnificent Tape Band and The Sorcerers, and the compilation began to take shape.

Studio favourites The Mandatory Eight make another appearance, as do Ivan Von Engleberger’s Asteroid.

There is finally an opportunity to own Bang Bang Boogaloo by The Joe Tatton Trio on vinyl, a stone cold mover that only came out on 7” and now changes hands for serious money.

Also included is a track by long-time ATA collaborator Chris Dawkins, an artist Neil is effusive about.

“It feels like the label is in a place now where we can get behind musicians who have been with us from the start, people like Chris. He’s an amazing talent, always quick to help out with a session.

“I want to use the label to put him on the radar,” Neil said.

In this particular case Chris is recording under the name Earl Dawkins, a conscious move to separate his jazz output from his other work (it's also his first name).

Looking over the new comp, Neil said: “What I can’t get my head around is why didn’t I release these tunes at the time? They’ve not changed but in my head it only feels like they came together years later.”

As ATA studio moves into its next phase it seems only fitting to celebrate the music birthed from the early days of its first incarnation.

Old music to celebrate a new dawn.

credits

released June 24, 2022

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ATA Records Leeds, UK

ATA records was set up by Leeds based musicians Pete Williams and Neil Innes in 2014. They are based out of Neil Innes's ATA studios, a disused garage on the outskirts of town, ATA studios is an aladdin's cave of vintage 1960s recording equipment. Recording exclusively to 2” tape and adopting mid-century recording techniques has resulted in their distinctive sound. ... more

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