sarramkrop

Well, there we go – all good things come to an end: Five years of strangely named clubnights (To Amy With Love, Genetic, La Residence etc), some fairly excessive electro/guitar/pop/noise mucking about – and a fair bit of glitter and glamour along the way. From the acerbic rock dynamic of Chevron (who’s exclamatory guitarist Whiskas now plies his trade with the mighty iForward Russia!) to the electro-pop of local media darlings Performance – Valentine has never been about taking the easy route – we were plugging Palo Alto way before nu-gazing swung back into fashion, while DoubleJohnGrey have to be one of THE slowest-burning success stories Manchester has ever seen. Still, in both cases these bands seem to be finally getting the credit they deserve… About time too!

So – here’s the facts and figures - Valentine was a small, independent record label specialising in future rock, electro-pop, putting on gigs and having parties (usually under the influence of cheap vodka and fizzy cola bottles). We released 20 'proper' records during our tenure, 12 download-only singles and had lots of fun nights out along the way. …

This farewell compilation is Valentine Records’ tribute up one of 1992’s best international rock albums: Sonic Youth’s Dirty recorded for no other reason that “we felt like it”.

Highlights? I-Node’s princely electronic mash up of 100%? Cartwheel’s Australian Outback redux of Swimsuit Issue? and Shirokuma’s (has to be heard to be believed) assault on Sugar Kane? This retarded rock Muzak with liberal helpings of 303s and filthy beats – five years of Valentine Plc in an MP3 nutshell.

Label Veteran’s Five Years Later and Extinguish Her (the class of 2001) throw up sterling versions of Wish Fulfilment and Drunken Butterfly respectively, while more recent friends like Red Martian (from Seattle), Loser Superhero (from Barcelona) and Ultrafoetus (from the outer reaches of the cosmos) turn in unique and sparkly takes on three more Thurston/Kim/Lee and Steve originals.

Fool Am I, Babyslave and The Librarians are all new and exciting acts we’ve discovered (and supported) during recent months – we hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

All the MP3s on the right are full-length, high quality downloads. Thankyou for listening!

Valentine 020 - Dirty Valentine (front sleeve)
Valentine 020 - Dirty Valentine (traycard)



1. I-Node - 100% (mp3)
2. Cartwheel - Swimsuit Issue (mp3)
3. Loser Superhero - Theresa's Soundworld (mp3)
4. Extinguish Her - Drunken Butterfly (mp3)
5. Lynskey - Shoot (mp3)
6. Five Years Later - Wish Fulfilment (mp3)
7. Shirokuma - Sugar Kane (mp3)
8. Babyslave - Orange Rolls Angels Spit (mp3)
9. Performance - Youth Against Fascism (mp3)
10. Ultrafoetus (w/Schoolboy Eric) - Nic Fit (mp3)
11. Fool am I - On The Strip (mp3)
12. Red Martian - Chapel Hill (mp3)
13. Joe Ladyboy (w/Mary Chain) - JC (mp3)
14. The Librarians - Purr (mp3)
15. The Mijinko Youth Allstars - Créme Brûlèe (mp3)

http://www.valentinerecords.co.uk/di...entine020.html