Dewdrops Records

Last updated
Dewdrops Records
Founded1993 (1993)
FounderBrant Nelson
Pat Mannion
Defunct2002 (2002)
StatusInactive
Distributor(s)Plan Eleven (Canada)
GenreAlternative rock
Country of originUnited States
Location Los Angeles, California

Dewdrops Records, an outgrowth of an "uncommon music" fanzine run by members of a Cocteau Twins fanclub, was an alternative-rock record label active from 1993 until 2002. [1] [2] It was the joint project of Brant Nelson and Pat Mannion. [3]

Contents

History

Dewdrops Records' first release was Thurtene (1993), a tribute to the British record label 4AD featuring 13 bands and 13 covers. [4] [5] Unsigned bands such as Hover, Red Zoo, and Orange appeared on the CD with covers of well-known 4AD songs like "Gigantic," "I Melt with You," and "Where Is My Mind?" [6] [7] Splashed With Many a Speck (1997) came not long after and was a second tribute album, this one featuring Faith & Disease, Lanterna, Love Spirals Downwards, The Curtain Society, and Chicklet. [8] [9] This compilation was notable in that it featured the exclusive US release of a Cocteau Twins track "Touch Upon Touch" that had previously only been included on British compilation Volume 5. [10] The label's final release was Half Gifts: A Tribute to the Cocteau Twins, released in 2003. [11] [6]

Discography

Related Research Articles

Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocteau Twins</span> Scottish rock band

Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often eschew any recognisable language. They pioneered the 1980s alternative subgenre of dream pop and helped define what would become shoegaze.

<i>Head over Heels</i> (Cocteau Twins album) 1983 album by the Cocteau Twins

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<i>Heaven or Las Vegas</i> 1990 studio album by Cocteau Twins

Heaven or Las Vegas is the sixth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. It was released on 17 September 1990 by 4AD. It is the band's second major-label release, following Blue Bell Knoll in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4AD</span> British record label

4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of the label's first four singles. Later that year, Watts-Russell and Kent purchased the label from Beggars Banquet to become an independent record label, and Kent sold his share to Watts-Russell a year later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Fraser</span> Scottish singer and member of the Cocteau Twins (born 1963)

Elizabeth Davidson Fraser is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins who achieved success in the UK primarily during the fifteen years from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums Victorialand (1986) and Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) both reached the top ten of the UK Album Charts, as well as other albums including Blue Bell Knoll (1988), Four-Calendar Café (1993) and Milk & Kisses (1996) charting on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States as well as the top 20 in the UK. She also performed as part of the 4AD group This Mortal Coil, including the successful 1983 single "Song to the Siren", and as a guest with Massive Attack on their 1998 hit single "Teardrop".

This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom were otherwise associated with 4AD, including members of Cocteau Twins, Pixies and Dead Can Dance. The project became known for its gothic, dream pop sound, and released three full albums, beginning in 1984 with It'll End in Tears.

<i>Garlands</i> (album) 1982 album by the Cocteau Twins

Garlands is the debut studio album by the Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. It was released on 10 July 1982 through the record label 4AD. It peaked in the Top 5 of the UK Independent Albums Chart and received support from BBC Radio 1 radio host John Peel.

Vaughan Oliver was a British graphic designer based in Epsom, Surrey. Oliver was best known for his work with graphic design studios 23 Envelope and v23. Both studios maintained a close relationship with record label 4AD between 1982 and 1998 and gave distinct visual identities for the 4AD releases by many bands, including Mojave 3, Lush, Cocteau Twins, The Breeders, This Mortal Coil, Pale Saints, Pixies, and Throwing Muses. Oliver also designed record sleeves for such artists as David Sylvian, The Golden Palominos, and Bush.

<i>Four-Calendar Café</i> 1993 studio album by Cocteau Twins

Four-Calendar Café is the seventh studio album by Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released on 18 October 1993 by Fontana Records. It marks their first release since leaving their former record label, 4AD, and the first album since their 1990 critically acclaimed sixth album Heaven or Las Vegas. Two singles were released to promote the album, "Evangeline" and "Bluebeard". A performance to promote "Bluebeard" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno marked their debut performance on American television.

<i>Stars and Topsoil</i> 2000 compilation album by the Cocteau Twins

Stars and Topsoil – A Collection (1982–1990) is a compilation album by the Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released on the 4AD label on October 16, 2000. The album featured tracks released during the group's time on 4AD between 1982 and 1990, covering every Cocteau Twins album from Garlands through Heaven or Las Vegas. The collection reached number sixty-three on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>Tiny Dynamine</i> 1985 EP by Cocteau Twins

Tiny Dynamine is an EP by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 4AD Records. The EP featured four non-album tracks. It was issued on 15 November 1985, two weeks prior to another EP, Echoes in a Shallow Bay. The two EP sets, which featured complementary artwork, were also released as a combined double EP in a gatefold cover and as an eight-track CD. The EP was later included in its entirety on the 1991 compilation The Box Set and the 2005 singles/EP collection Lullabies to Violaine.

<i>Blue Bell Knoll</i> 1988 studio album by Cocteau Twins

Blue Bell Knoll is the fifth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, released on 19 September 1988 by 4AD. This was the band's first album to receive major-label distribution in the United States, as it was originally licensed by Capitol Records from 4AD for North American release. After a period of being out of print while 4AD reclaimed the American distribution rights for their back catalogue, the album was remastered by guitarist Robin Guthrie and reissued in 2003. Vocalist Elizabeth Fraser named the album after a peak in southern Utah called Bluebell Knoll.

Ethereal wave, also called ethereal darkwave, ethereal goth or simply ethereal, is a subgenre of dark wave music that is variously described as "gothic", "romantic", and "otherworldly". Developed in the early 1980s in the UK as an outgrowth of gothic rock, ethereal wave was mainly represented by 4AD bands such as Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and early guitar-driven Dead Can Dance.

<i>The Spangle Maker</i> 1984 EP by Cocteau Twins

The Spangle Maker is an EP by Scottish band Cocteau Twins, released on 4AD in April 1984. It was the first recording to be issued after bassist Simon Raymonde joined the band. The EP featured two versions of "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops", and two B-sides. All three songs appeared in the band's live set.

<i>The Pink Opaque</i> 1986 compilation album by the Cocteau Twins

The Pink Opaque is a 1986 compilation album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, composed of tracks recorded between 1982 and 1985. A joint release by the UK-based 4AD and the American Relativity Records, it was their first official U.S. release.

<i>Loves Easy Tears</i> 1986 EP by Cocteau Twins

Love's Easy Tears is an EP by Scottish dream pop band Cocteau Twins. It was released by 4AD in September 1986 as a 12" single, and was later re-released as a CD single with a fourth track, Orange Appled, included. The U.S. vinyl release also had four tracks but a different running order. It was the eighth EP released by the band, their last EP for 4AD, and their last EP until 1993's Snow.

<i>Lullabies to Violaine</i> Compilation album by Cocteau Twins

Lullabies to Violaine is a Cocteau Twins box set released in limited quantities by 4AD Records in November 2005. Comprising four CDs, the box set collects the tracks from every Cocteau Twins EP and single from Lullabies to Violaine, except the 1990 "Heaven or Las Vegas" single and the four songs on the 1991 EPs and Singles & Box Set bonus disc. It was also released as two separate double CD packs titled Lullabies to Violaine: Volume 1 and Lullabies to Violaine: Volume 2 the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violaine</span> 1996 single by Cocteau Twins

"Violaine" is a single by Cocteau Twins. It was released by Fontana Records in July 1996. It was the second single to be released from the Milk & Kisses album, and their last single to be released from a non-compilation album. It reached No. 56 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops</span> 1984 single by the Cocteau Twins

"Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" is a single by Scottish band Cocteau Twins, taken from their 1984 EP The Spangle Maker. The song was written by Cocteau Twins, and recorded at Rooster Studios in London. It was their highest-charting single, peaking at No. 29 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on the UK Indie Chart.

References

  1. "What is Dewdrops?". Dewdrops. n.d. Archived from the original on 19 August 2000. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  2. "Dedrops Records". Music Brainz. n.d. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  3. "Status Of Fanzine". Dewdrops. 2000-07-14. Archived from the original on 19 September 2000. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  4. "dew 001 Thurtene - A Tribute to 4AD [Ordering Information]". Dewdrops. n.d. Archived from the original on 25 September 2000. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  5. Nelson, Brant (1998-08-29). "Subject: Orange Dewdrops clearance". EVO. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Dewdrops Records" . Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  7. "Various Artists, Thurtene: A Tribute to 4AD". ThroTTle Magazine. No. 112. Virginia Chronicle. 1993. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  8. "Sordid Reviews Archive May 1998". Sorted Magazine. 1998. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  9. "Splashed With Many a Speck". MusicBrainz. n.d. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  10. "Discography". deardarkhead. n.d. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  11. "NEWS: CALIFORNIA SHOEGAZERS BETHANY CURVE RETURN FROM 15-YEAR HIATUS - "FRONTIER" DIGITAL SINGLE – OUT NOW". Rock Out Stand Out. 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  12. Nelson, Brant (1997-01-17). "Subject: Dewdrops update 1/97". Eyesore. Retrieved 2022-03-15.