{"product_id":"ata-records-early-works-vol-2-music-from-the-archives","title":"ATA Records - Early Works Vol 2: Music From The Archives","description":"\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLabel: ATA Records (UK)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCatalog: ATA026\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYear: 2022\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Jazz\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: LP Black\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e2020 was a time of fear as Covid blew through the world, shutting countries down and isolating friends and family alike.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn a space of a few short months the world seemed a scarier and smaller place as many experienced isolation and a diffuse uncertainty for the first time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFor those lucky enough not to be touched by tragedy during the pandemic, or having to battle the illness personally, the lockdown certainly created a space and time to crack open a book, get square eyed over a boxset or gorge yourself with music.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSome decided to complicate their lives further with gargantuan tasks, tasks so big they only really existed in concept as there was never, surely in all probability, going to be enough downtime to get them done.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut then, of course, we all got handed a big lump of time to play with, time to put your money where your mouth is.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat being the case Neil Innes of ATA took on a monster of a task that year.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe decided to kill the studio he had spent 14-years building.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLuckily, for all of us, his plan went further than that, ATA was going to rise up bigger, stronger and, thank goodness, cleaner\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethan it was before.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOver many backbreaking and expensive months the beating heart of ATA records was stripped, monolithic bits of kit were pulled from dusty corners and into the light to learn their fate: resettlement in the new ATA or sold off, to pay for the studio’s rejuvenation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTough decisions were made but the end product was worth the sacrifice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eATA now has natural light, some very swish carpeting, new soundproofing and even a sofa, surprisingly tasteful, in the, now, spacious, control room. No more sitting on rickety stools and balancing a coffee on your knee.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile there were obvious aesthetic and practical benefits to rebuilding the studio, for Neil, who has been hands-on throughout the whole process, it was also cathartic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA time for reflection over the past 14-years, the slow building of ATA, piece by hard won piece punctuated by refreshing periods of doubt and fear, surely the case with so many labours of love.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce the studio began to take shape again and Neil was finally able to take a breath he began rooting through the label’s archives, pulling out reels that had been propping up tables, holding open doors and generally lurking in nooks and crannies for years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I just wanted to draw a line under the old studio, I suppose you could say I’ve killed it off, but it was a killing for good reason, because look at it now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The last few months felt like a perfect time to dig into the archive…take a look back at some of the early recordings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Some of these I didn’t even remember working on… so they’ve been a very pleasant surprise,” explained Neil.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe went on to add: “I spent so much time working with the artists in the early days, crafting everything in minute detail…working with them to get the best out of them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I think, if I’m being honest, I was scared to revisit them, I can be heavily critical of my own work and must have tainted my own memory of the recordings.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt didn’t take long for Neil to realise how special some of these snippets of the past were, especially some of the vocal outings with his former Love of the Brave band mate Fuzzy Jones.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs he wandered down memory lane he started to pair some of these rediscovered treasures with tracks by more recent artists, such as The Magnificent Tape Band and The Sorcerers, and the compilation began to take shape.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStudio favourites The Mandatory Eight make another appearance, as do Ivan Von Engleberger’s Asteroid.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere is finally an opportunity to own Bang Bang Boogaloo by The Joe Tatton Trio on vinyl, a stone cold mover that only came out on 7” and now changes hands for serious money.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlso included is a track by long-time ATA collaborator Chris Dawkins, an artist Neil is effusive about.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It feels like the label is in a place now where we can get behind musicians who have been with us from the start, people like Chris. He’s an amazing talent, always quick to help out with a session.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I want to use the label to put him on the radar,” Neil said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this particular case Chris is recording under the name Earl Dawkins, a conscious move to separate his jazz output from his other work (it's also his first name).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLooking over the new comp, Neil said: “What I can’t get my head around is why didn’t I release these tunes at the time? They’ve not changed but in my head it only feels like they came together years later.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs ATA studio moves into its next phase it seems only fitting to celebrate the music birthed from the early days of its first incarnation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOld music to celebrate a new dawn.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"credits-label\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/6K9YItE5prDvVnvZy7QHsb?utm_source=generator\u0026amp;si=f373c85018b84013\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ATA Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49834755260644,"sku":null,"price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1070\/3526\/files\/a1394090073_10.jpg?v=1789067247","url":"https:\/\/www.inneroceanrecords.com\/products\/ata-records-early-works-vol-2-music-from-the-archives","provider":"Inner Ocean Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}