Oliver GrabowskiAfter selling out from their last release in just under a week, York DIY label Bad Paintings have now announced the artist known as Xiu Xiu as their second major release. Putting out a double remix from Deerhoof and Miffy of Kid 606 the new release is set for Monday 23 July.
Based in North Carolina, the band has been the plaything of avant-garde singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart since 2002 releasing 8 albums, the last album being ‘Always’ – released in February this year to the critical acclaim that usually surrounds his work. It is from this album that the two tracks ‘I Luv Abortion’ and ‘Joey’s Song’ have been selected.
I got another chance to talk to Jon and Mike from the label to talk about the release and being mentioned on Pitchfork.
O.G. So Xiu Xiu? That’s quite a far cry from the last release!
MH. Yes Xiu Xiu is a very different beast to The Babies but I think it makes sense. Doesn’t it? Jon loves ‘em and I respect that.
JM. “Xiu Xiu has been my favourite artist for many years, to be able to release a record by the band is just total unreality. It sounds cliché but I’m just so grateful for this opportunity and that people care about these silly little things that we do.”
O.G. You managed to sell out the Babies single pretty fast – that must put you in good stead for what’s to come?
MH. The big difference between the Xiu Xiu release and The Babies is not so much selling out quickly but the impact it has had with regards to our distributor. They have already confirmed that they want more than last time so we need to look at how many we need to manufacture for a start…”
O.G. I see you guys were mentioned on Pitchfork!
MH. “Pitchfork? Ha! Yeah it’s really cool Bad Paintings getting a mention. Hopefully they will write nice things about the stuff we put”.
JM. “Hopefully mentions on sites like Pitchfork will put us in a position to try even more exciting things, and allow us to push some of our favourite local artists out into the world. There’s a new Endangered Species record in the works, and we’re hoping to do something with a band called Furrow from Shropshire in the near future – things like the Xiu Xiu release enable us to give these guys more of a platform than we ever dreamed of!
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With two big releases in the space of less than 6 months it is clear that Bad Paintings means business, and I personally cannot wait to see what they have in store for us for the rest of the year.
Keep up to date with Bad Paintings here.
