With Thanksgiving coming up next week, Christmakwanzakah around the corner, and Hurricane Sandy behind us, we’re all feeling pretty grateful. In that vein, we’ve put together a list 15 moments at The Orchard that stand out fondly in our memory.
Do you remember that time…? Did you retweet when we did this…? What are your favorite Orchard moments you’d like to share?
Before we get started: Thanks to all Orchardites who contributed to this list and the people involved in making these memories special. There were so many (another thing we’re thankful for!), we just couldn’t include everything. Here’s to lots more to come!
1. Moving à la “Orchard”
Between moving from Orchard Street into a shared eMusic office on Park Avenue, from there to our very own floor, and then back to our roots downtown where we took over the TVT space, we experienced a healthy dose of memorable moments. The standout? Losing half of our “Crunk Juice” sign somewhere in the middle. Luckily it was the bottom half, otherwise we would have a giant neon sign on the wall that just says “Juice.”
2. Partying Like It’s Our First Time
Whether it’s welcoming guests to our first midem party; packing the house at our first showcase at The Great Escape in Brighton, U.K.; seeing the line go around the block at our 2011 SXSW showcase featuring Charles Bradley, The Menahan Street Band and The Black Angels among others; putting together an awesome live performance in homage to old school Hip Hop at the legendary Mo Pitkins with Jus Ice and Dres from Blacksheep backed by a live band; or having two Electronic bands — Duologue and Solid Gold — perform their first acoustic set for us and kill it at our first ever CMJ Stairwell Series; these all represent times when everything and everyone came together.
3. Orchard U.N.
Speaking of events and parties… In 2008, our midem summit included 50 Orchardites from locales as exotic as South Africa, Burkina Faso, Argentina and Russia. We all congregated around a very large table that was set up like a U.N. meeting with country flags on our name badges.
4. Work-stationing It
The day we launched The Orchard Workstation definitely stands out. To date it remains one of the many things that sets us apart from our competitors.
5. CD You Later
Along those lines, the day we stopped ingesting Compact Discs with our invention of this tool we now take for granted — Release Builder — was Orchard-defining.
6. Better Together
It’s not just joining forces with IODA, it’s the moment our IODA and Orchard meeting of the minds connected around BBQ and cocktails at SXSW 2012, shortly after we announced our merger. After having been archenemies for years, we were now on the same side of the table at Moonshine.
Fifteen is a big year, right? You’re starting to take driving lessons (if you’re in the U.S., at least) and you feel a sense of pride and confidence in this new responsibility of ALMOST being able to drive. I can’t remember my 15th birthday party but I’m sure it was full of nerds. Needless to say, I’m sure it was also fun. When The Orchard turned 15 this year, we decided not to have just one birthday party but 5.
“Why 5?” you say. Yes, we really like cake and parties but it was mainly to share this celebration with as many of our clients and friends as possible. If we could have, we would have had one in every territory but unfortunately, time and logistics kept us from it. This year, we’re celebrating in the following cities:
Click here to see pics from our NYC party and keep an eye out on our Facebook Page to see pics from London, Hamburg, Nashville and San Francisco.
We think we’ve done pretty darn good so far in our 15 years and look forward to the next 15 — wonder where digital music will have ventured to by then?
September is no fun, is it? It’s right after the warm summer months… Summer Fridays are over… Leaves begin to fall and the Autumn kicks in… WRONG! First of all, it’s really not that cold and quite lovely actually. But mostly, because September is so invigorating that we came up with this very awesome (and very random) list.
Up for the challenge this month were Matt Houser and Blake Russell, who put together 15 of the Most Unusual Albums from the Depths of our Catalogue. Dot dot dot. Sounds freaky. And it sure is… Without further ado, ladies and gents, here are 15 albums you’ve never seen put together in one place before! (We recommend you listen to the playlist while reading.)
1. The Chattering Of Monkeys (Paroles De Singes) by Nature Sounds – Sons de la nature [Fonda-Mental S.A.]
All the monkey noises you could ever want, collected on one disc. Our favorite is the siren song of Madagascar’s Indris, which sound exactly like balloons being slowly deflated. Be sure to also check out The Howling Of Wolves (Le Chant Des Loups) and The Belling Of The Stag (Le Brame Du Cerf).
2. Seeking Major Tom by William Shatner [Cleopatra Records]
An 80-year-old Captain Kirk delivers dramatic spoken-word readings of space-related hits in a freaky 2011 echo of his 1968 classic The Transformed Man.
3. Hello Lucille… Are You A Lesbian? by T. Valentine [Norton Records]
This hilariously offensive 1985 novelty classic from outside R&B auteur T. Valentine was purportedly inspired by Josie Cotton’s new wave hit “Johnny Are You Queer?” as well as his wife leaving him for another man. Spanning nearly forty years, Norton’s complete anthology of his work proves that Mr. Valentine’s unhinged genius was certainly not limited to this one song.
4. Take U To Da Movies by Bangs [HSM Entertainment]
The most polite Rap anthem ever from a Sudanese rapper; its video filled millions of email inboxes in 2009 like an overflowing jumbo popcorn.
5. Black Music For White People by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins [BizarrePlanet Entertainment]
The late great Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was responsible for some doozies (“Constipation Blues” anyone?) but this 1991 album might be the goofiest one in his entire discography. It includes a “dance” version of “I Put A Spell On You” featuring three rap verses, a lengthy, virtually incomprehensible talking blues diatribe titled “Ignant And Shit,” and a completely bonkers cover of “Ol’ Man River” that quickly devolves into… well screamin’.
6. Spooky Farts For Halloween by The Wet Ones [Pennrose Media LLC]
Weirdest. Sound. Effects. Concept. Ever. WE NEED A DUBSTEP REMIX ASAP.
When Richard Gottehrer and Scott Cohen first founded The Orchard back in 1997, they did it because they could see the potential of digital way before its prime — before iTunes, YouTube and Facebook had even launched.
In 15 years, the industry has certainly come a long way, and while we pride ourselves in continually staying on top of the fold and up-to-date on the most recent and budding trends, we thought it’d be fun to go back and see some of the things we didn’t see coming — back in 1997.
Looking back at this list gets us pretty excited at how much the industry has evolved, and that we work in a field that is so versatile and innovative. So bring it on! We’re ready to roll for another 15 years!
We may have only started distributing video in 2008, but that doesn’t diminish the influence that the films we’ve worked on have had on us.
In honor of our 15th anniversary, our video team’s Brendan Nunn and Danielle DiGiacomo have put together a selection of 15 films that have shocked us with their beauty, truth or extremes. And oh, have we seen some extremes!
From documentaries to dramas, action sports to music… we’ve covered a wide array of genres and styles that have helped us widen our horizons and contribute to our growth.
The Idiots [1998]
Lars Von Trier – controversial? Can’t be! The man who was banned from the Cannes Film Festival for professing to sympathize with Nazis directed The Idiots, his first film made in line with his Dogme 95 manifesto, in 1998. In the film, a group of middle class adults “rebel” against a safe, bourgeois lifestyle by taking up in a house together and acting as if they are developmentally disabled, purportedly for the sake of liberation. A film that polarized critics — many of whom were offended by a salacious group sex scene — this is Von Trier at his best, or worst, depending on your taste for the Danish provocateur.
Jandek on Corwood [2008]
Jandek, a Houston-based recluse, has made 51 records on a label called Corwood Industries. With music that is best described as “free-form experimental,” Jandek has become a cult figure by trying to be the opposite, invisible. Missouri filmmaker Chad Friedrich’s film about Jandek pieces together his subject’s life and art, using an aesthetic that reflects the man and his music, that of a stark and decaying, but eerily beautiful Middle America.
Off The Grid: Life on the Mesa [2008]
Randy and Jeremy Stulberg, a New York-based brother and sister team, proved themselves as filmmaking forces with their first nonfiction feature. Off The Grid, which aired on the Sundance Channel, examines a group of individual outcasts who chose to live outside of government control, haphazardly forming a community in the Mesa, 5 miles from the Rio Grande river. Alcoholic war veterans, teenage runaways and even a pig farmer form a motley crue form bonds and friendships but, at times, erupt in violent conflict. The documentary is currently being adapted into a fiction feature starring Patricia Arquette.
Special When Lit [2009]
Hear the buzzes and bells; see the light o’flashing; play by sense and smell with this groovy look back at the silver ball amusement. Before Xbox, before Pac-Man… there was pinball.
Welcome To Nollywood [2009]
In this film from IndiePix, Director Jamie Meltzer explores the world of self-styled auteurs and producers working in funky Lagos. Home to the third-largest film industry in the world, Nigeria — dubbed “Nollywood” by its inhabitants — has developed into a hot bed of DIY, amateur, shoot-from-the-hip filmmaking. Produced straight to video and sold in markets across the region, these films offer a unique perspective of the political, social and historic life of post-colonial Africa not usually depicted in Western media.
The Nine Lives of Marion Barry [2010]
Few politicians stand in greater opposition to the oft used, and misunderstood, quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald “there are no second acts in American lives” than former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. From student activist to civil rights leader, mayor to criminal, Barry’s life and acts don’t seem to fit the traditional narrative arc of any other political figure. “He May Not Be Perfect, But He’s Perfect for D.C.”
