Kavus Torabi (pictured in 2022) started Believers Roast to release his own recordings.
Kavus Torabi set up Believers Roast in 2009.[3] The label was initially conceived to only release recordings relating to Torabi and his band Knifeworld,[3] which started out as a solo project.[15] The label released the first Knifeworld single, "Pissed Up on Brake Fluid", on 13 July, and debut album Buried Alone: Tales of Crushing Defeat in August.[16] The label expanded upon its second major release,[3]Leader of the Starry Skies, a tribute album by various artists to Cardiacs founder and frontman Tim Smith which aimed to raise funds towards his care.[17][18] Released on 13 December 2010,[18] Torabi was also among those who helped assemble the musicians for the album,[19] which features contributions from the Magic Numbers, Oceansize, Andy Partridge of XTC and Julianne Regan of All About Eve among others.[17][18] Released through Believers Roast as no other labels were willing to take 0%,[15][20] the endeavour raised the band's profile further.[21]
Believers Roast released the Knifeworld EP Dear Lord, No Deal on 4 July 2011,[15] the first recording to feature a full band line-up.[22] With the label, Torabi planned to release a boxset of studio recordings by his former band the Monsoon Bassoon that summer.[15] In 2012, the album Sleep Furiously by art rock quartet Thumpermonkey was released through Believers Roast.[23] In 2013, the label announced the collaborative album The Exquisite Corpse Game, where each artist contributed a one to four minute-long instrumental passage called a "fold" after hearing the end of the preceding track, in reference to the Surrealist technique Exquisite Corpse.[24][4] The album was released on 2 September, recorded by a cast of collaborators including JG Thirlwell, Appleblim and Max Tundra.[24] Other players assembled by Torabi include the left-field artists Weasel Walter, Khyam Allami and Bob Drake.[25]
It's the most bizarre label – I don't make a penny out of it. To release stuff on the label, it's me saying, 'Yep, I really like this, I'd like to put it out.' Everything on it is in a different genre – there's no one sound.[26]
The Gasman, an alias of Portsmouth resident Christopher Reeves, released the albums Hiding Place and Hiding Place #2 on Believers Roast in 2012 and 2014 respectively, which feature complex digital piano compositions.[27] He has also released albums on the other Cardiacs-adjacent label Onomatopoeia.[28] Torabi allowed German label Inside Out Music to release Knifeworld's second album The Unravelling (2014) rather than Believers Roast.[26][1][29] In 2015, Believers Roast released the album Strange Relations by Karda Estra, a project of composer and multi-instrumentalist Richard Wileman,[30] and folk group Admirals Hard's album Upon a Painted Ocean in 2016.[31] Torabi released the three track EP Solar Divination through the label in 2018,[32] followed by the solo album Hip to the Jag on 22 May 2020.[33][34][2]Arch Garrison's third record The Bitter Lay was released on the label on 18 September.[35]
Believers Roast released Knifeworld bassoonist Chlöe Herington's first solo album Silent Reflux in 2021,[36] and Thumpermonkey singer and guitarist Michael Woodman's solo album Psithurism on 6 August.[6][7] Baber Wileman, a collaboration between Sanguine Hum's Matt Baber and Richard Wileman, released their self-titled debut album through Believers Roast on 10 January 2022.[9]North Sea Radio Orchestra's Craig Fortnam released his second solo album Instrumental Music 1 through the label on 17 June,[10] followed by the loose concept album Lunar One.[11] Torabi collaborated with Wileman for the album Heaven's Sun which was released through Believers Roast on 2 June 2023.[37] Wileman released the solo album The Forked Road through Believers Roast on 17 January 2024.[38] Torabi's second solo album The Banishing, which he recorded during lockdown, was released through Believers Roast on May 3, preceded by the singles "Snake Humanis" on March 6 and "Heart the Same" on April 5.[12][13] Baber and Wileman released their second album, Baber / Wileman 2, through Believers Roast on 3 June 2024.[14]
Discography
Adapted from the liner notes of each release and the Genepool website.
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