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.
Camera Obscura are a Scottish indie pop band from Glasgow. The group formed in 1996, and have released six studio albums to date. Led by primary singer and songwriter Tracyanne Campbell, the band consists of guitarist/vocalist Kenny McKeeve, bassist Gavin Dunbar, and drummer Lee Thomson. Following the death of long-serving keyboardist Carey Lander, the band went on hiatus from 2015 to 2018. After reuniting in 2019 and adding Donna Maciocia as a permanent member, Camera Obscura released their first new album in 11 years, Look to the East, Look to the West, to critical acclaim.
The Bear Quartet was a cult indie rock band from Luleå in northern Sweden. They were formed in the summer of 1989 with the original roster of Mattias Alkberg on guitar and vocals, Jari Haapalainen and Johan Forsling on guitar, Peter Nuottaniemi on bass, and Magnus Olsson on drums. However, the band's lineup changed significantly before eventually settling on Mattias Alkberg on vocals and guitar, Jari Haapalainen on guitar, Peter Nuottaniemi on bass, Jejo Perkovic on drums, and Calle Olsson on keyboards. Their name is a reference to the novel Gentlemen by Klas Östergren. Although they were formed in 1989, they didn't garner the attention of a record label until 1992. They made records at a steady rate from 1992, with their debut album, Penny Century, to 2010 with their final album Monty Python. Their albums were often received favorably, but they never resulted in large sales, usually only selling between 1,000 and 10,000 units per disc. The band is very obscure across the world, although they are much better known in Sweden.
Let's Get Out of This Country is the third studio record by the Scottish indie pop band Camera Obscura, released by Elefant Records on 6 June 2006. It was recorded in Sweden with the producer Jari Haapalainen, and arranged by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John.
Underachievers Please Try Harder is the second LP from the indie band Camera Obscura, released in 2003. The album was released in Australia by Popfrenzy.
Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie pop/rock band formed in Stockholm in 1999, named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén, Björn Yttling and John Eriksson, known in his solo work as Hortlax Cobra. Yttling also worked as producer for the band's first four albums.
Writer's Block is the third album by Peter Bjorn and John. It was released in the UK on 14 August 2006 and in the US on 6 February 2007. Taking a departure from the production of their first two albums, Writer's Block is an experimental, semi-concept album based around themes of the highs and lows of romance.
The Beautiful Lie is the fourth album by British singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt, released in 2006. Ed's wife, Gita Harcourt, plays violin throughout the album and sings vocals on "Braille," and The Magic Numbers guest as backing vocalists on "Revolution in the Heart." Ed was dropped by Astralwerks Records/EMI in the US, the label which released his previous three albums. The album finally got a US release via Dovecote Records on 3 June 2008, nearly 2 years after its original release.
Split is the second studio album by English rock band Lush, released on 4AD on 13 June 1994 in the United Kingdom and a day later in the US. Unusually, the two singles from the album, "Desire Lines" and "Hypocrite", were both released on the same day: 30 May 1994. Split was reissued by 4AD on CD in July 2001.
Lovelife is the third and final studio album by English rock band Lush. It was released on 5 March 1996 by 4AD. On Lovelife, the band moved away from their earlier dream pop and shoegazing style and embraced a more Britpop-oriented sound. The album was produced by Pete Bartlett and the band at Protocol Studios in London, and engineered by Giles Hall. Three songs were released as singles: "Single Girl", "Ladykillers", and "500 ", all of which achieved moderate success on the UK Singles Chart, reaching the top 30 positions. On release, Lovelife reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart.
Open Field is the debut album by the Swedish solo act Taken By Trees. It is the first studio album to be released by Victoria Bergsman after shedding her duties as the lead singer of The Concretes. It was released on June 18, 2007 on Rough Trade Records.
Jari Haapalainen is a Finnish-Swedish musician, songwriter and producer. He was born to Finnish immigrant parents. Haapalainen resides in Berlin, Germany. He played lead guitar for The Bear Quartet, and used to be a member in the pop combo Heikki.
Peter Andreas Morén is a Swedish musician. He is the guitarist and vocalist of the indie rock trio Peter Bjorn and John. He is also a founding member of the Stockholm-based artist collective INGRID.
Tracyanne Campbell is a Scottish singer and musician who is the lead vocalist of the Glasgow-based indie pop band Camera Obscura.
Youth Novels is the debut studio album by Swedish singer and songwriter Lykke Li, released on 30 January 2008 on her own label, the EMI-distributed LL Recordings. The album was entirely produced by Björn Yttling of Swedish indie pop band Peter Bjorn and John and co-produced by Lasse Mårtén. Youth Novels spawned four singles: "Little Bit", "I'm Good, I'm Gone", "Breaking It Up" and "Tonight".
Zomby is a British electronic musician who began releasing music in 2007. He has released music on several labels, including Hyperdub, Werk Discs, and 4AD. Zomby's influences include oldschool jungle music and Wiley's eskibeat sound.
John Eriksson is a Swedish musician and composer best known as a founding member of Peter Bjorn and John.
Desire Lines is the fifth album released by Scottish indie pop band Camera Obscura. The album was released on 3 June 2013 on the 4AD record label. It was recorded in Portland, Oregon with producer Tucker Martine, and features guest vocals from Neko Case and My Morning Jacket's Jim James. It is the last album recorded with keyboardist Carey Lander, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma during the early stages of the album's creation in 2011. Though lead singer Tracyanne Campbell found it difficult to write songs during Lander's illness, the latter insisted that the album be finished. After completing the album and touring with the band in support of it, Lander died on 11 October 2015.
I Never Learn is the third studio album by Swedish singer Lykke Li, released on 2 May 2014 by LL Recordings and Atlantic Records. The album was produced by Li, Björn Yttling and Greg Kurstin. It spawned the singles "No Rest for the Wicked", "Gunshot" and "Never Gonna Love Again".
Look to the East, Look to the West is the sixth studio album by the Scottish indie pop band Camera Obscura, released on 3 May 2024 via Merge Records. It is their first album in 11 years and the first since the death of keyboardist and backing vocalist Carey Lander in 2015; Donna Maciocia, who joined the band as a permanent member in 2023, fills out her role. The album is produced by Jari Haapalainen, who previously worked on Let's Get Out of This Country (2006) and My Maudlin Career (2009).
