V/a / Check The Water

Leaf

Celebrating the anniversary of any record labelcan be strange, as the quality of releases is more a function of the bands the label chooses to work with. Still, ten years feels like a bit of a milestone. That’s especially true for The Leaf Label, which was launched by ex-4AD press officer Tony Morley in 1995 with no explicit intent to even exist beyond the first 12-inch; moreover, Leaf’s 100 releases have little in common beside a united focus of artistry and innovation, in and around the intersection of electronic, jazz, classical, rock, folk and pop music. Leaf has continually offered up some of the most interesting music from across the planet, always celebrating artistic individuality, and was recently honored by XLR8R as one of the 25 best independent labels in the world.  A double CD retrospective compilation available at a special price, Check The Water is a celebration of The Leaf Label, featuring many of the musicians who have molded the label’s sound. Sequenced broadly chronologically, the album includes a stack of unabashed classics from the recent catalogue, a taste of what’s to come from the label’s latest signings, and a few long-deleted gems from the vaults. Twenty-nine tracks in two and a half hours.

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