Kickstarter

So, I am immensely happy to say that the Clubroot record, which is the third in a trilogy of self titled albums, to be known as "III - MMXII' is in the final steps of production! If you are one who has been haunting message boards or paying close attention to our Facebook page, you may have seen that the release date for the album is May 7th. This is the general date, and we will be releasing the vinyl and CD two weeks earlier, on April 17th. With regards to these dates, and as promised, those who backed this campaign at one of the levels which will be receiving a Kickstarter edition pressing (On Red Vinyl) will receive a private link to stream the record prior to the release date. Keep an eye out for a personal message related to this!

 On that note, and with the release imminent, we will be contacting each of you to sort out the shipping expenses for your reward. We sent out the vast majority of these rewards around the time the Swarms LP was finished, but for the rest of you, now is your time.

Thank you once again for making something that now, with how perfectly appointed and flawless the record feels to us in listening to it, seems as though it was destined to happen, yet still in all likelihood would never had occurred without your help.

 After an unforeseen amount of toil, discussion, revision, recreation, formulation, speculation, and every other “...tion” one might imagine, we are happy to say that all aspects of the third Clubroot album are in the bag! More specifically, the mixdown, mastering, & design has been completed (months of false starts on each of those stages right there!). We are moving forward on the pressing as we speak, and will have the 2LP+CD/CD/DL out for general release between the middle of April and the Beginning of May. All the backers who have so patiently waited will receive access to the release at least a couple of weeks prior to the actual release date, and will be hearing from us around the same time to sort out all the details of putting together the shipments for getting you the remaining part of your reward for backing the campaign!

 Putting together a record can be quite an odyssey sometimes, especially when both you and the artist are perfectionists, and each in our own way.

  Typically, when people think of releasing a record, they think the process of producing the tracks is the longest stage, which is likely true in most cases, but there are many other stages that can take just as long. Clubroot was driven to make this record as sonically flawless in his view as possible, and in doing that, each step was committed to with the focus one might associate more with Zen Gardening than garage music production. Yes, it takes a long time, but we all know how beautiful a Zen garden is.....

  Both Clubroot and I can barely contain our anticipation in releasing this album and seeing the worlds reaction to hearing it. This third Clubroot album is an unparallelled epic, stretching over an hour long, not including bonus material.

Once again, a million thanks for helping LoDubs carry on. Not only Swarms and this Clubroot LP, but also the the 12" releases listed below never would have happened without your actions, and for this everything LoDubs adds to the world of music is your doing just as it is ours.

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Here is a quick rundown of the releases we've done the last couple of months:

LoDubs/Mad Decent split 12": Diplo & Oliver Twizt "Go" (Swarms Remix) B/W 6Blocc "Bounce"

Limited edition release with hand screened jackets. Diplo loved the Swarms album, and asked them for a few remixes. They decided it should be released on vinyl, and asked us to arrange a split release with them. We only received a small number of these, as it is a highly anticipated item, both by the Diplo and Swarms fans, and by those who have been looking for this 6Blocc track, which has been a hunted dubplate for some time. You can check it out below:

http://lodubs.bandcamp.com/album/va-lodubs-mad-decent-split-12

Egoless "Rainbow Dub" 12"

We signed this as part of the material we used for our live collaboration with The Scientist July 2009. After some time, we realized it should be released on its own. About the most roots-centric release on LoDubs, next to "Chalice" by DZ, or "Bad Mind" by Hoodz, or "Fully Loaded" by South3rn (Well, I guess their has been a lot of roots driven stuff on the label....):

http://lodubs.bandcamp.com/album/egoless-rainbow-dub

DFRNT "Pacific 212/Passion" RMXS 12"

After having this guy out from Scotland over the summer, we heard some of his remixes, and decided they where so true to the spirit of the originals, yet perfect present day restructurings that they said a lot about the culture circa: now, and should be released. The release was featured on the official 808 State website shortly after release (Here, under the 16:11:11 listing), which was a great nod from the original bleep masters:

http://lodubs.bandcamp.com/album/losbud-1211021

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Thanks again,

Jon AD

LoDubs

www.lodubs.com

 So, Step one, and for many of you, package #1 has been received, containing the Swarms LP (In addition to whatever else your reward included), and where likely shocked to find that opposed to a 2LP with a CD containing 5 bonus tracks, the record that arrived was hand numbered, on white vinyl, and contained a mysterious third white vinyl, white label 12"! This is a track that will only ever be available with this Kickstarter edition, as an added thanks to all of you who helped with the campaign! See below for a picture, sent to us by Martin "Nevy" Nevlaha of Slovakia of his copy.

 Up next is the Clubroot, and it is moving along. Clubroot has been very busy lately, doing tour dates, mostly to lucky fans in eastern Europe, who have been many of the first to hear some of the tracks he is putting the final touches on for the release. He is hell bent on making this album "Perfect", which means although we had an entire album worth of stuff  sketched out before we even started this campaign, that pile is being added to by about double, so we have all the elements and colors in the Clubroot spectrum present to create a full length that is perfectly paced. Much of the other material that is not part of the primary tracklisting will make up various bonuses, much of which will be offered solely to you Kickstarter backers!

These are all in their final stages, so that and sequencing will be done in about a fortnight.  We will continue to add the updates as to the packaging concept and other release details as soon as they are created. Most of this information will likely become clear in short order after the tracklisting is complete.

Thanks again for being the sole reason each of these releases have come to light.

Big Up,

Jon AD

LoDubs

P.S. Swarms just did a remix for Diplo, which will be released next week on Mad Decent:

http://soundcloud.com/diplo/diplo-oliver-twizt-go-preview

So, as many of you know, the process of making a vinyl release at the height of its potential as a format is a process involving a slew of choices, and as many pitfalls. It is a common belief among many that a vinyl record is always superior to other formats, in that it is a physical representation of the sound. This is honestly not the truth. For one, their are many recordings that are of a nature that simply will not translate to a lacquer cut, either due to the nature of the master, or the type of music within. It is equally the case that many recordings out there are simply not prepared in a way that it makes any difference. in these cases, the label or artist making the release is simply transferring a degraded facsimile of the compact disc release on to vinyl, and the final product is a fashion accessory at best. Look to most of the releases sold along with cruddy belt drive turntables at Urban Outfitters for examples of this.

For me, the process of finding the right mastering person to work on the right recording is essential, and once that is determined, getting the prefect mixdown from the artists in order for the mastering person to be able to finesse all those frequencies into a groove which is not reactive to the limitations of the medium, but expansive upon the inherit strengths of a vinyl release is essential , and in the right hands do indeed make it THE BEST FORMAT.

The person whom I consider an artist in his own right, and who works on much of the LoDubs catalog is Sam John at Precise formally of South London, now based in Scotland. He has taken the 11 tracks from the album, and produced a cut that is absolutely stunning in its degree of nuance, while still being as rhythmically sharp/bright and forceful and pronounced with regards to its low frequencies. I honestly believe this record lives a second life in this format, which, like I said above, is not always the case.

We got to work on the master for this release as an LP all the way back in June, and as soon  as we could see that their was a chance for success with the campaign, we kicked in into high gear. It is a good thing we did the mastering work starting back then, as doing a release of this from full stop is a process that can take three months or more. Now we are lining up all the other aspects (high quality matte varnish jackets, center labels, CD to come with the vinyl in our patented Vinyl Plus inner sleeves) all of which are due to converge on the vinyl pressing plant in Detroit in about a week!

Long story short (Or long, if the above bored the hell out of you) the release will be ready toward the beginning of September!

All backers in the campaign will receive a copy of the 2LP+CD on color vinyl. Furthermore, these particular Kickstarter copies will contain something else quite substantial, beyond the 5 track mini LP included on the bundled CD along with the 11 track album. You will just have to wait until you receive the package for that surprise though...

The LP is available for preorder HERE, should you know anyone who didn't get in on the campaign, and would like to order the 2LP+CD on black vinyl.

In the next week I will be sending out a survey for those who have backed at a level for this release, and ask for information for shipping and such.

Thank you again! The next up is the Clubroot! We are putting the utmost care into this release, and believe it will be the crowning achievement of the trilogy of full length works Clubroot will forever be known for. As such, this one will come at some point down the road, as many of these details cannot be rushed. We will update you all as to the progress here as it takes shape!

 We are off and running, thanks to your help! Now comes getting all the details together for the releases. If you are at a backers level that will recieve one of the limited edition T Shirts, I've very likely already sent you an message asking for your size, and these shirts are moving forward as we speak. As the Swarms LP is already mastered, cut and test pressed, this release is quite close to completion. We are planning a last minute surprise for this pressing that will truly blow minds, so getting all this going and ready to go in time for the kickstarter funding to reach us (Which takes like 3 weeks) is what is going on at the moment! Exciting!

Thank you once again. I'll provide more details as they become clear!