Aural Pleasure Records: The Official Release Announcement/Discussion Thread *

Hey everyone!



Many of you may recognize me from our online interactions on social media, online discussion forums or subreddits, if you don’t already know me from various shows, studios, or record stores I’ve frequented over the years. Suffice to say, music and audio have been lifelong passions of mine - no exaggeration. From personal discussions I’ve had with several of you, as well as the occasional mention I’ve made in my postings here, I’m sure many of you may be aware that I’ve been planning on starting up an independent record label and have spent the past few years getting my ducks in a row in order to make that possible. Being that it has not been an easy journey to get to this point, it is with great honor and excitement that I can finally say the wheels are truly in motion for this endeavor.





This is not without great thanks to one band. In a move sure to shake up the independent side of the recording industry, Australian psych/prog band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have planned to provide the masters for their latest album “Polygondwanaland” to those wishing to establish their own record labels, allowing them to release the album on their own.



Although I can’t say that this was a record I intended to release prior to their announcement, the timing of it all is rather serendipitous. I do think this is a great opportunity to show everyone exactly what Aural Pleasure Records will be about while also helping to build a devoted base of potential customers and finance future releases.



I intend to apply my own intimate knowledge of the mastering and pressing process to produce top quality records for every project I manage to work on. This will be no exception. I believe I can provide a superior product relative to any other labels who attempt to release their own version of this album, and I know I will be able to provide something all of you will be proud to have in your collections - not just for this album, but for every record I put out.




Aural Pleasure Records will be produced to the highest quality standards, employing renowned mastering engineers and studios as deemed appropriate for each particular project. Aural Pleasure Records will be aggressively priced, as I strive to provide an incredible value for the money spent.



Aural Pleasure Records will maintain a strong focus on producing AAA audiophile-grade vinyl records, featuring all-analog mastering cut directly from the original master tapes. Complete transparency will be maintained in regards to sourcing and every step of production. This is unfortunately an absolute rarity and luxury in the current market, but I believe it should be the standard for how new records and reissues are produced.



Aural Pleasure Records will also maintain a strong focus on High-Resolution lossless digital, including FLAC downloads with vinyl purchases whenever possible.



Last, but not least… Aural Pleasure Records plans to cater to those who demand the ultimate in no-compromise analog performance by manufacturing limited releases on 15 IPS 1/4” reel to reel tape whenever possible.




Aural Pleasure Records will not be bound to any particular genre. Pop, classic rock, punk, classical, jazz, country, r&b, hip hop, soundtracks… The best record collections are eclectic collections. If I enjoy it, and I think it’s something you will enjoy, then it is something I will make an effort to release.




Aural Pleasure Records will not only focus on licensed recordings from established artists but will also work to showcase and support up and coming artists by providing an outlet for new releases.




Aural Pleasure Records will be proudly made in the USA, with each release supporting local economies and dozens of American manufacturing jobs.



Most importantly, I intend to maintain the close relationship I’ve built with the record collecting community over the years, not to mention the many studios, engineers and other labels I wish to maintain a close working relationship with. I believe this direct link of communication and interaction will be of great benefit to all of us.





Very shortly, I will be putting up a Kickstarter for the Aural Pleasure Records release of “Polygondwanaland”


This will released as a deluxe 45 rpm colored vinyl 2xLP in a limited run of 500 copies. Colored variants will be available, and full details will be provided through the Kickstarter page.



While there will be certainly be other options for you to choose from if you are interested in purchasing this album on vinyl, I have no doubts that the Aural Pleasure Release will be the best of the bunch, and your purchase will go a long way in helping to bring future releases to market. I have already begun working on other titles, in fact, licenses/masters for several releases have already been obtained and are at this point in time ready to go into production.




My hope is that we can all build up something great for record collectors and music lovers everywhere to enjoy for years to come.







Thank you for taking the time to read this. Your comments are appreciated and your questions are always very welcome.




- Dave
Aural Pleasure Records

 

Best of luck!

 

Good luck on your new venture.

 

Good luck with the new label! When will you be able to tell us about the other titles?

 

That’s amazing, I have my own business and always like to see other people taking a risk and following their passions. When you work for yourself a day’s work never feels like work because you’re building something for yourself. Best of luck with it!

 

Interesting. Will definitely be looking at your Kickstarter when it is up.

 

Good luck!!!

 

This. Finally. Best of luck. I really hope you're successful in this.

 

Thank you so much for the kind wishes everyone! Really can’t stress how much it’s appreciated

I have a bad tendency of getting overexcited and somehow jinxing things into getting massively delayed, so I will refrain from announcing any specifics as of this time being that this will be my first release, and also doing this as a 1-person operation, I don’t think I want to immediately overload myself by having multiple things in production at once. So I am aiming for the 1st quarter of 2018 for the next thing to be announced and go up for sale, if all goes well with this Kickstarter. Once I can finally step away from the King Gizzard record and breathe for a bit I’ll be able to put some more attention on what’s next.

 

Congratulations Mr.Rom92!
I like the name of the label.
Has the label artwork been done?

I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing some pics of the pressing process.
Have you chosen a plant?

Please keep us up to date - this is the first time I've read of anyone here doing this.
Very exciting.

Good luck!

 

King Gizzard recorded to tape? Surprised and happy to hear.

 

Hold on Dave !
I was planning to start a band called King Lizard & The Wizard Gizzard, name our first album Gondpolylandwana and release it on Anusral Pleasure Records, could you change your plans to accommodate me ?

 

Thank you! I have a “house” label design that I’ve worked on with a couple of graphic designers I hired, however the King Gizzard release will have custom labels based on the album artwork. I haven’t chosen a plant yet for this one yet, but I will only go with one that I have had positive experiences with as a customer myself. Which perhaps narrows it down a bit for many of you hahah. Quality and the ability to produce the color variants I have in mind are considerations I have at the moment.

This one wasn’t recorded to tape as far as I’m aware, however they provided high resolution digital masters for the album. The lacquers will be cut somewhere with not only a great lathe but top notch converters as well.


(They have also provided pre-prepared “vinyl masters” with some mastering moves already applied however I’m not convinced that I can’t do better by providing a good engineer with the untouched files. I’ll have to give them a solid look over and see exactly what I’ve got to work with.)

I’ll gladly comply, but good luck convincing the other 40+ attempted pressings to do the same

 

Transparency and all analog are always nice. I will be watching this thread for future announcements. Good luck!

 

Wishing you all the best, Dave!

You had me at AAA...

 

I’d like to thank everyone once again for all the incredibly kind wishes! They all really mean a lot to me. I have a lot of faith that this will turn into the “by the people-for the people” label I’ve always dreamed about.


So, the people… I’ve come to give you a quick update on the status of this project.


I’ve been in the process of finalizing all the particular little details and have run down the project with several other parties by this point in order to receive quotes and get a more accurate idea of how much this will run me in total. They are all on board and assuming the campaign is successful, the record is officially ready to go into production.


The quotes and info I’ve been receiving over the past few days are being used to put the finishing touches on the Kickstarter page - which I would have liked to have up last week but I didn’t feel it would be right to put up an estimate without being able to break it down and explain the costs involved. I feel much more comfortable having a more accurate idea of exactly how much is needed for each part of the process. I’m coordinating the mastering, plating, and pressing processes between 3 separate companies in different locations - no one-stop-shop solution here to deliver the product I have in mind. The easy way isn’t much fun anyhow!



So I plan on having the page up within the next few days. One more tidbit I will reveal for now... retail cost of this deluxe 45RPM 2xLP will be $25, and shipping will be free within the US.



Thanks again everyone. Stay tuned for the next update

 

Right on schedule. The Kickstarter for the Aural Pleasure Records 45RPM pressing of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's "Polygondwanaland" is now live!




The Kickstarter can be viewed here.


This thread will be continually updated with official news pertaining to the label. Discussion specific to this record can be found here.

Thanks again everyone!

 

Never heard of this band, but the clip sounds good. I want to support your venture (and I hope the rest of this community will too) so I ordered the LP even though I do not currently own a turntable. Good luck!!!

 

Thank you so much! Very appreciated. You’re gonna love the included download, and if you don’t plan on getting a turntable in the future you’ll at least have a very nice looking record to admire

 

This is very cool, I can see your passion come through in spades. Awesome stuff!

 

Money's very tight right now, but I do want to express my admiration for what you're doing & I hope to be a customer in the near future. Congratulations & good luck!

 

Does colored* vinyl have the same or better SQ° as black wax?

Good luck!

* all vinyl is "colored"; cept for clear.
° surface noise in particular.

 

OUTSTANDING!
Congratulations on a fantastic label/cover/vinyl design.
And finally, someone got the vinyl colors match the label and cover colors.
Unlike other labels' lesser attempts.
How'd you do it?

 

Very cool and best of luck! Looking at the $46 level...really curious about the 45 and 5 LPs...lol.

 

Caught my attention. The band clip was quite interesting as well. A contribution is certainly warranted.