Sure, iTunes has millions of tracks, but don't go looking there for obscure or out-of-print treasures like, say, the seminal stoner-rock stylings of Sir Lord Baltimore. Fortunately for music geeks, help is on the way. Keith Abrahamsson, an A&R rep for New York-based indie label Kemado Records, recently launched the first all-digital reissues label. At prices similar to those of Apple's square mass-market store, Anthology Recordings offers high-fidelity (320 Kbps), DRM-free rips of supercool, ultrarare titles — from late-'60s Swedish psych-rock to British postpunk and early-'80s dub.
Most online music sites give the bands short shrift when slicing up the revenue pie. Not Anthology. Its catalog consists mainly of recordings for which the copyrights have reverted to the artists (or which were never released in the first place), so Abrahamsson is able to strike deals directly with musicians and secure exclusive distribution arrangements. "Some artists still have their original tapes, but sometimes we have to take an old vinyl record, copy it into Pro Tools, and clean it up with audio-mastering software," Abrahamsson says. "We do whatever it takes to get this stuff back in circulation."
With Anthology's minimal production costs, long-forgotten acts can finally make some dough. "I've been making music for 30 years," says John Garner of the pioneering heavy metal band Sir Lord Baltimore. "And I recently got my first royalty check ever — it was from Anthology."
Seven lost (and awesome) albums found only on Anthology
Space Art: Onyx Groovy French synth music from the '70s — long before those two Daft Punks ever touched a keyboard.
Moody: The Gentle Rain Early instrumental funk from composer Nick Ingman, who has since worked with Radiohead, David Bowie, and Björk.
Soft Machine: Spaced Abrahamsson unearthed these previously unknown recordings by the influential English prog band. Lots of tripped-out tape-loop weirdness.
Tim Rice: That's My Story The very best of the famed lyricist's early endeavors as a producer of sunny '60s pop — never before released.
The Suicide Commandos: The Commandos Commit Suicide Dance Concert Originally issued in 1979, a raucous, raw recording of several live sets by this seminal — and tragically overlooked — punk rock trio from Minneapolis.
Sir Lord Baltimore: Kingdom Come Slow, fuzzy, anvil-heavy metal circa 1970 from the New York band cited as the inventors of "stoner rock."
Anonymous: Inside the Shadow Beautiful melodic rock dosed with country and psychedelia from a mid-'70s Indianapolis studio project.
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