>
<
HEAD, JOWE - Swell Maps 1972-1980

Sounds On Paper

HEAD, JOWE - Swell Maps 1972-1980

"First-ever official biography of Swell Maps, Swell Maps 1972-1980 penned by band member and co-founder Jowe Head. Swell Maps were formed in Jowe's home town of Solihull, England with various school friends in 1972.The group, also featuring the late Nikki Sudden and Nikki's brother, the late Epic Soundtracks, along with Phones Sportsman, John Cockrill, and Richard Earl emerged in the late 1970s, and are now known as legendary pioneers of what is now referred to as "alternative rock" or "post-punk" with their blend of punk rock mixed with experimental and psychedelic sounds. Together they released four 7" singles, the first in 1977 on their own Rather Records and two critically acclaimed albums in a brief but dramatic career, that led to them topping the UK independent charts, and influencing bands such as Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Blur. After Swell Maps broke up in 1980, Jowe joined the Television Personalities. Ten years with the TVPs saw Jowe making more influential records, touring Europe regularly, and playing in Japan and the USA. Today he still regularly releases recordings, solo and with multiple groups, and is the steward of the Swell Maps legacy. In this 155-page biography of the band, Jowe takes us to each members' formative years and reveals what made them experiment with challenging music and eventually come together to form Swell Maps. Through his own recollections and utilizing interviews with former members, he explores the early days of the band, and details stories that bring the reader into the inner workings of the band as they traveled through the late '70s cultural scene in Europe. The last section of the book updates the whereabouts of all the key players. The book includes dozens of full-color images of band memorabilia from the author's personal collection, including photos, posters, flyers, artwork, original lyrics, and more. Contains 7" with six exclusive never-before-released tracks culled from the band and solo member archives. Packed with full color photos and images of posters, flyers, album art, and other assorted band ephemera. Detailed appendix contains a discography, notes on selected songs, concert dates, and set lists among other items. Full-color 152-page hardcover book, approximately 297mm x 210mm; edition of 1000." - Sounds On Paper.

"The first Swell Maps single I bought still to this day gives me a soul scorched buzz'n'rush... The Swell Maps had a lot to do with my upbringing." --Thurston Moore

"Jowe Head spent time in two of the UK's coolest underground bands: Swell Maps and Television Personalities... a lovably skewed indie-pop tunesmith." --Time Out New York
  • Sale
  • $34.00
>
<
Back to Inventory update (temp)
After nearly a decade of false starts, multiple game plans veering off the rails, and a handful of shattered hopes and/or dreams, the odyssey is finally complete—the new Fusetron site is here.

This is the first phase of a multipart rollout that will span the next few months: the currently browsable stock includes miscellaneous new releases from the past 8+ months (we have a lot of catching up to do), plus approximately a third of our backstock. Note that we’ve reduced/slashed prices on many titles and will continue to do so in order to make room for new stock. We’ll also be expanding / tweaking / improving / debugging the site itself (for example, we still have work to do on the automated international postage system, not to mention the inevitable inventory discrepancies that come with transferring an ancient and massive database to a new system).

Over the next few months, as we take inventory, clean house, and delve into our storage, we will be uploading thousands of additional items, gradually, on a near-daily basis. This will include the majority of the LPs, as well as many titles, in all formats, once thought long-gone. Many currently “sold out” items are likely to resurface.

Finally, once our general backstock is up (probably in the next two or three months) we’ll begin making our extensive stockpile of rarities available online for the first time: tons of random out-of-print titles, "deadstock," warehouse finds, secondhand collectibles, etc., accumulated over the past few decades.

Frequent/returning customers will be getting early access to these items. Details to follow on how this will work (a priority mailing list? a 'frequent flyer'-like program?), but it will not be based on dollars spent. We want to reward those who consistently support us, especially in the discogs marketplace era (to those who show up trying to poach five copies of a one-off rarity, and nothing else, ever… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).

So—we suggest you take some time to dig through the site—even we’ve been surprised by what’s been turning up, and there’s much more to come.
I understand these terms

Sale
View full product details →

Unavailable

Sold Out