Avid readers of this blog and all our other propaganda have heard about our 15 year anniversary compilation. It is now sent to production, so we can make a full revelation of the project! ! Here is the coverart by Carl Johan Sennels. Read more below
The following list of amazing artists appear on the record covering Crunchy Frog songs from the first 15 years:
As in RebekkaMaria • Baby Woodrose • Choir of Young Believers • Death to Frank Ziyanak • Decorate Decorate vs Cody • Diefenbach • Figurines • I Am Bones • Maria Timm • Marybell Katastrophy • Money Your Love • Murder • Nikolaj Nørlund • Robert Johnson and Punchdrunks • Slaraffenland • The Asteroid Galaxy Tour • The Blue Van • The Broken Beats • The Fashion • The Kissaway Trail • The Wong Boys • Thee Attacks • Thaae/Ramdas w/Dorthe Gerlach • When Saints Go Machine • Who Made Who
There is so much to say about this totally awesome record, but actually I just wrote the liner notes, so why not just quote myself:
15 YEARS OF CRUNCH...
To people who are not familiar with the Crunchy Frog label there are a few key things to know about us: we are and always have been totally independent, we are and always have been a small homebrew label, we are and always have been a bunch of picky motherfuckers.
We started out as a band called THAU releasing our own records and slowly evolved into a full service label making 50/50 deals with bands that we think the world population need to hear. As we have no dark lords or stockholders hovering over us demanding huge profits we have had the luxury of only signing bands that we really love and respect. Bands that we think are original, special and worth the risk of loosing our hard earned cash.
Over the last 15 years we have made 75 releases all of which we are very proud. Some of the bands and albums have been ahead of their time, some was probably released on the wrong planet and others have hit some special vibe that resonated with the zeitgeist and have made it fairly big. As any Frog mum we love all our 75 tadpoles just the same, and when we sat down and discussed how to celebrate our 15th anniversary the idea came up that we celebrate our artists and their songs rather than ourselves. After all: the Crunchy Frog name and legacy would be nothing without them.
To make this project even more of a feel good experience we decided to give away the profits to Danish Red Cross. We sat down and made lists of all the excellent Danish (and a few Swedish) bands that we dig, know, secretly
worship and would like to participate in this celebration. We ended up with 70 artists that we (totally indie,
homebrew, picky motherfuckers) did not hate for some reason or other – which actually is a fine testament to the high quality of the current music scene. We took a vote and contacted the 30 top names, and the response was amazing. Almost all the artists immediately signed on and we were off and running. A lot of fine artists were never asked as we wanted to limit this to a 2 CD set – so to all the bands not included: you still rule and we love you.
The song selection process involved a whole lot of emailing back and forth as we didn’t want the same song covered twice and didn’t want more than 3 songs from the same original recording artist. Also some of the participating artists started out working on one song and then switched. In the end not all the Crunchy Frog artists were covered, but most were actually selected to begin with. In general it has been a great joy to see that many of our artists have been an inspiration to other bands on the scene and also to hear new versions of Crunchy Classics. Some versions are true to the originals and some are definitely not – but all have been really fun to receive.
What an eclectic and wonderful bunch of tunes.
Much praise is due to all the songwriters and bands – both the salutors and the salutees. A note on the track sequence: as fun as it has been communicating, recording and listening to the artists as much hell has it been trying to sequence these CDs. The standard is really high and there are no fillers. Should we keep the quiet tracks together or go for thematic organization? In the end we ended up just making 2 CDs that we think are well mixed with no other object than to give a nice and varied listening experience. To emphasize that we value all the tracks equally we have written the bands alphabetically on the back and opted for an orange and blue CD – there is no #1 and #2. In the booklet the bands are listed last song first and first song last. This is not done to annoy and irritate the hell out of you, dear consumer, although it is a nice bonus.
For those sad, poor souls that are not familiar with the original Crunchy Frog releases you can find them printed elsewhere in this very booklet. They are available for purchase in physical form on Vibrashop.com and as zeroes and ones – maybe even a few twos - on the world wide web.
A big Crunchy Frog thank you to:
All the bands that made the deadlines and also the ones that didn’t. Thanks to all managers, labels and publishers that helped out and gave permission. Thanks to the studios that donated their time. Special thanks to Tine Birger Christensen & Mikael Kristiansen at Edition Wilhelm Hansen and Connie Skovvart for clearing the Kattejammerrock lyrics in next to no time and Søren Krogh Thompson and Playground Distribution for cutting their fee on this release in order to raise more money for the Red Cross. Thank you Betofon. Thank you Merge Records.
Thanks to all the Crunchy Frog artists and songwriters that we have had the honour and privilege to push to the unsuspecting world population. Big thanks to all the people everywhere – too numerous to count or list here - who have worked with us and supported us in these 15 years – you know who you are. Also a small thanks to the evildoers that gave us hell and toughened us up without pulling us entirely over to the dark side - we know who you are. Praise goes to the wonderful Crunchy staff and interns at CF HQ through the years and also Jan & Co and Shelley holding it down at Crunchy Frog Germany and Crunchy Frog US. It seems we together have succeeded in carving out a small corner in this sordid business where work is fun and the music matters more than the bullshit.
And thank you Monty Python.
CRUNCHY FROG
The 2CD set is going to be released on september 5th. Regular CD price. The releaseparty will be from 5-7pm at UNDER VAND - coincidentally we are having our big party that same place that same day right after... check this. The first 100 guests at the Show will also get "SALUTING THE CRUNCHY FROG-A-LOGUE" for absolutely free!
