The Orchard and Nuclear Blast have been friends a long time, continuously working and innovating together in the Metal genre and New Media for many years. We’re excited to celebrate the label’s 25th milestone this Fall!
Since Nuclear Blast‘s inception in 1987, founder Markus Staiger has developed it into one of the biggest independent labels in the world. Founded in Donzdorf, Germany, Nuclear Blast has launched such artists as Meshuggah, Testament, Nightwish (Europe-only), Children of Bodom, Anthrax (Europe-only), Dimmu Borgir, All Shall Perish, Epica, Exodus and Accept. They are now 150 employees strong and have offices operating in L.A. in addition to their original hometown offices in Donzdorf.
The Orchard began its collaboration with Nuclear Blast in 2006 as their exclusive digital distributor outside of Europe. As our suite of services has expanded, we have been proud to partner with Nuclear Blast to execute some of the most innovative Interactive Marketing campaigns in modern independent music. We’re also thankful that Nuclear Blast is always willing to embark on frontiers that labels of their genre haven’t ventured into before.
Here are some highlights from our solid partnership with Nuclear Blast:
A Mobile Metal First
In May 2009, we launched the first Metal iPhone app with the Nuclear Blast artist Suffocation via our partnership with app developer Mobile Roadie. This was swiftly followed by the Nuclear Blast Radio app, which was the first of its kind in the genre, as well.
The range and diversity of Angèle Dubeau’s artistic journey never ceases to amaze! Her 36th album, A Time for Us, which was devoted to film music, has claimed a well-deserverd spot at the top of the Canadian charts for the last 9 months. Now Angèle Dubeau partners again with La Pietà to launch Game Music, a new recording that features unrivalled performances of works from some of the most popular video games in the world.
To give you some background, Angèle Dubeau is one of the most prominent violin virtuosos in Canada, the only Canadian classical musician to have been awarded gold records, selling over 500,000 albums in her career. Angèle Dubeau founded La Pietà, the all-female string and piano orchestra that accompanies her, in 1997.
Angèle Dubeau and La Pietà’s new Game Music album [Groupe Analekta] features works associated with famous games such as Tetris, Final Fantasy, Halo 3, Splinter Cell (Tom Clancy), Assassin’s Creed and Angry Birds, as well as others heard in Chrono Trigger, Heavy Rain and Secret of Mana – all reinvented to give you a fresh take on the tunes you think you know by heart.
“You’re in for an experience unlike anything you’ve heard in previous video game compilations.” – Gamer Living
The Analekta label has also developed a free app companion for the release for iPhone/iPad. In it, you’ll find exciting trivia about the games as well as music featured on the album.
Angèle Dubeau and La Pietà’s Game Music album was released worldwide digitally on October 23rd. The Game Music iPhone/iPad app is available now in the iTunes App Store.
A few months ago, we told you all about the 12-piece Afrobeat powerhouse that is Antibalas, and how they were cooking up their first release in 5 years. Well, it’s finally here! And it’s sure been a long five years since their last album, Security.
The band’s new self-titled album was released on Daptone Records on August 7th 2012, and reached #2 on the U.S. Current World Albums Chart in its first week. Antibalas has received rave reviews from Billboard, Pitchfork and NME, along with major features in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. In addition, the album was featured in the brand new iTunes “Editor’s Choice” promotion, which helped propel digital sales of the record to a 49% share of the first week’s total scans.
Antibalas are known for their groundbreaking albums and legendary live shows, and I was fortunate to witness the band play a set in the backyard of Daptone Records’ House of Soul Studios in Brooklyn on a sweltering afternoon in July, and the energy, groove and rhythm were indeed amazing. The band’s 30-date U.S. tour began August 10th at Outside Lands in San Francisco, and included a triumphant hometown show in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings this past weekend. Now, the band will embark on a multi-country tour in North America and Europe throughout November. Do not miss the opportunity to see them play live if they are passing through your town. Or you can catch them on your TV when they make their national TV debut on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” this Friday, August 24th.
In the meantime, here’s Antibalas’ first ever music video, for the lead single “Dirty Money:”
Bands and labels generally premiere a track from their upcoming new album via an established music web site, offering exclusive downloads or streaming rights in return for a feature.
The Swedish extreme technical metal band MESHUGGAH took a very different tack when they leaked the first track, titled “Break These Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion,” from their highly anticipated upcoming new album KOLOSS.
MESHUGGAH secured the domain http://iamaleak.com. It was ‘announced’ through a cryptic message that was posted on various metal sites and forums. Here’s the message:
the ophidian whispered those who seek shall be rewarded….
a sonic declaration of spIte And resentMent
its resonAnce grinding to dust our souls
the twine of revenge tightLy strung
its subharmonics thE undoing of Alland for those who asK for my name? / dotcom
Within a matter of minutes, fans had deciphered the thinly veiled IAMALEAKdotcom clue, and word spread quickly across the online metal community. Within hours, influential sites such as got-djent.com, Metal Insider, MetalSucks, and Ultimate Guitar ran the story. As a result, the track has been streamed 120,000 times in just two weeks.
iamaleak by gregoriev_suckalotsky
MESHUGGAH has been active as a band for 25 years, but the mysterious Swedes have demonstrated a new and unique way of connecting with their fans that is as groundbreaking and creative as their amazing new record.
KOLOSS will be released by Nuclear Blast Records, in Europe on March 23rd and in North America on Monday, March 26th.
