Designer Labels: Type
InterviewSince 2003, Type has been a worthy arbiter of quality. Releasing everything from soundscapes to soundtracks by artists working with anything from electronics to classically trained ensembles.
Posted 16th February 2012, 11:13am in Features, by Digby Bodenham
Grouper - Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill
Every time I listen to this album, it takes my breath away. It’s Liz Harris’s (Grouper) most accessible record but still sounds like haunted folk music channeled from a dream state. Guitar and vocal reverb hypnotizes you while Harris’s half heard lyrics cast a spell you’re all too happy to fall under. The songs make an instant impression, even though they feel so personal to Harris and the hazy arcadian landscape she is lost in. And like so many of the records released by Type, it is stunningly beautiful.
A record label becomes more than an outlet for bands or an association with a genre when you start to see it as a mark of quality. When you see its logo or name on an unfamiliar sleeve and know the music is worth a listen. Since 2003, Type has been a worthy arbiter of quality. Releasing everything from soundscapes to soundtracks by artists working with anything from electronics to classically trained ensembles.
John Twells launched Type when he was living in Birmingham. Now based in Boston, US, he is still at the helm of the label and recently put out its 100th release. And he’s always had one goal in mind: “I just wanted to release music I liked, whatever genre that might be – hence the name of the label. I think I’m doing that right now, so the goal is just to keep doing it.”
While the albums he releases defy genre classification, there are some common traits to be found in the Type back catalogue. Many of the records come from a heritage that can be traced back to Brian Eno’s ambient recordings, they also often feel physically expansive and yet seem to come from personal place. And they always have the power to move you.
One word that frequently crops up in descriptions of the Type sound is ‘cinematic’. Twells says: “I don’t really look for a specific sound any more, but certainly in the early days of the label I was actively tracking down music that sounded cinematic to me. I’m a huge film fan and a soundtrack collector, so that was clearly leaking into my choices.”
Interestingly, the first release on Type was planned to be a tribute album to the director and soundtrack composer John Carpenter, with artists doing renditions of his classic themes. Unfortunately, it never came to be.
But with artists such as Peter Broderick, Sylvain Chauveau, Deaf Centre and Jóhann Jóhannsson making the cut, it’s no surprise that another term that has come to be associated with the label is modern classical. However, it’s not a description that sits well with Twells: “I think the term is pretty useless in describing most things on Type. People use it to describe Deaf Center, for example, and those guys wouldn’t use it – they’re making music in totally non-classical ways, and people honestly only label it like that because they can hear a piano or some strings. It’s pretty lazy I think. While Jóhann Jóhannsson certainly has the most to do with the ‘classical’ form, I don’t think he would necessarily think of himself in that way either.”
And he is right. Although modern classical might be an easy shorthand to point you in the direction of what you can expect from the label, the Type roster is far too diverse for such a classification.
What Twells hopes to achieve is something that is not based on a singular style, hype or the ‘if you like that, you’ll like this’ culture many other labels tap into. He wants to share the music he loves with those who are willing to listen to a sound they might not have heard before. There’s no bravado or attempt to gain credit for discovering an artist. Asked whether there was a celebration for the 100th release, he says: “I find big lavish celebrations a bit pointless, I figured it was more interesting to celebrate it with the release itself – Porter Ricks’ ‘Biokinetics’ was pretty much the best 100th release I could have hoped for.” Even his involvement with the evocative sleeve designs is informed by the albums they are tied to: “The artwork always comes after hearing the music, I don't ever try to shoehorn a specific idea into a record because it 'looks cool'. I'd probably hate myself forever if I did that.”
Where he does assert his influence is in making sure the music is accessible to all. When asked about the very reasonable price of Type LPs, he says: “Growing up where I did, the price of records was always a big concern for me, and the last thing I’d want to do would be to price out someone like me. I release weird music, I’m aware of that, and I want to make it as available as possible to people, so they’re willing to take a chance on it.”
While most of the albums are available on CD and MP3, vinyl is still important to the label. “I collect vinyl, and have done for many years. We’ve been putting out vinyl since the very first release and the quality of the mastering, cutting process and pressing is something very near and dear to my heart. I think some people still appreciate that,” Twells says.
It’s this commitment to quality that makes Type such a consistent and engaging label.
And what does the future hold for Type? As well as an upcoming vinyl release of ‘808s and Dark Grapes II’, an album that was put out as a free download last year by Bay Area rappers and Clams Casino collaborators Main Attrakionz, Twells says on the release schedule is “an LP from Dominick Fernow’s Vatican Shadow project, a new LP from Type mainstays Zelienople, a double LP from Pye Corner Audio, and a bunch of other stuff I probably shouldn’t talk about yet”.
And with the Type logo on all of their releases' sleeves, you know they’re worth a shot.
John Twells launched Type when he was living in Birmingham. Now based in Boston, US, he is still at the helm of the label and recently put out its 100th release. And he’s always had one goal in mind: “I just wanted to release music I liked, whatever genre that might be – hence the name of the label. I think I’m doing that right now, so the goal is just to keep doing it.”
While the albums he releases defy genre classification, there are some common traits to be found in the Type back catalogue. Many of the records come from a heritage that can be traced back to Brian Eno’s ambient recordings, they also often feel physically expansive and yet seem to come from personal place. And they always have the power to move you.
One word that frequently crops up in descriptions of the Type sound is ‘cinematic’. Twells says: “I don’t really look for a specific sound any more, but certainly in the early days of the label I was actively tracking down music that sounded cinematic to me. I’m a huge film fan and a soundtrack collector, so that was clearly leaking into my choices.”
Interestingly, the first release on Type was planned to be a tribute album to the director and soundtrack composer John Carpenter, with artists doing renditions of his classic themes. Unfortunately, it never came to be.
But with artists such as Peter Broderick, Sylvain Chauveau, Deaf Centre and Jóhann Jóhannsson making the cut, it’s no surprise that another term that has come to be associated with the label is modern classical. However, it’s not a description that sits well with Twells: “I think the term is pretty useless in describing most things on Type. People use it to describe Deaf Center, for example, and those guys wouldn’t use it – they’re making music in totally non-classical ways, and people honestly only label it like that because they can hear a piano or some strings. It’s pretty lazy I think. While Jóhann Jóhannsson certainly has the most to do with the ‘classical’ form, I don’t think he would necessarily think of himself in that way either.”
And he is right. Although modern classical might be an easy shorthand to point you in the direction of what you can expect from the label, the Type roster is far too diverse for such a classification.
What Twells hopes to achieve is something that is not based on a singular style, hype or the ‘if you like that, you’ll like this’ culture many other labels tap into. He wants to share the music he loves with those who are willing to listen to a sound they might not have heard before. There’s no bravado or attempt to gain credit for discovering an artist. Asked whether there was a celebration for the 100th release, he says: “I find big lavish celebrations a bit pointless, I figured it was more interesting to celebrate it with the release itself – Porter Ricks’ ‘Biokinetics’ was pretty much the best 100th release I could have hoped for.” Even his involvement with the evocative sleeve designs is informed by the albums they are tied to: “The artwork always comes after hearing the music, I don't ever try to shoehorn a specific idea into a record because it 'looks cool'. I'd probably hate myself forever if I did that.”
Where he does assert his influence is in making sure the music is accessible to all. When asked about the very reasonable price of Type LPs, he says: “Growing up where I did, the price of records was always a big concern for me, and the last thing I’d want to do would be to price out someone like me. I release weird music, I’m aware of that, and I want to make it as available as possible to people, so they’re willing to take a chance on it.”
While most of the albums are available on CD and MP3, vinyl is still important to the label. “I collect vinyl, and have done for many years. We’ve been putting out vinyl since the very first release and the quality of the mastering, cutting process and pressing is something very near and dear to my heart. I think some people still appreciate that,” Twells says.
It’s this commitment to quality that makes Type such a consistent and engaging label.
And what does the future hold for Type? As well as an upcoming vinyl release of ‘808s and Dark Grapes II’, an album that was put out as a free download last year by Bay Area rappers and Clams Casino collaborators Main Attrakionz, Twells says on the release schedule is “an LP from Dominick Fernow’s Vatican Shadow project, a new LP from Type mainstays Zelienople, a double LP from Pye Corner Audio, and a bunch of other stuff I probably shouldn’t talk about yet”.
And with the Type logo on all of their releases' sleeves, you know they’re worth a shot.
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