As part of our 5th birthday celebrations, during the month of May we’ll be looking back at the history of Hidden Shoal, year by year, casting some light on artists and releases that may have been overlooked. For one week, all releases covered below will be available from the Hidden Shoal Store with a 40% discount. Flavoursome!

In 2007, Hidden Shoal pushed onward with a ridiculously full release schedule and tons of new signings. The label continued its expansion internationally with 2007 seeing releases from a diverse and beautiful spectrum of artists based in Germany (Sankt Otten and Jumpel), France (Beautiful Lunar Landscape), the US (Slow Dancing Society, The Hero Cycle, Iretsu, Wes Willenbring, Monocle), Belgium (Colour Kane) and Japan (Cheekbone, The Retail Sectors).

Locally, 2007 saw releases from ambient duo Moongoat, a new album from Chris Mason and an EP under his My Majestic Star moniker, plus an EP from Melbourne instrumental quartet Bury The Sound (with HSR’s Tim Clarke on guitar).

In May 2007 we were proud to celebrate our first birthday with the release of the second volume in our free download compilation series, The Garden of Forking Paths. And if that wasn’t enough, we saw out the end of the year with the release of a third compilation, Limit of Maps, rounding up tracks from the second half of 2007 and also featuring a sneak preview of a few 2008 releases, too.

However, perhaps the crowning achievement of a busy year was being named one of Textura’s 10 favourite labels of 2007. The feeling’s mutual – Textura is easily one of our favourite music sites. To be just one year in and be acknowledged like that felt like quite an honour.

HSR013:   Moongoat Moongoat EP
HSR014:   My Majestic Star Fining EP
HSR015:   Sankt Otten Wir Koennen Ja Freunde Bleiben
HSR016:   The Hero Cycle Lakes and Ponds EP
HSR017:   Colour Kane A Taste Of
HSR018:   Wes Willenbring Somewhere Someone Else
HSR019:   Various artists The Garden of Forking Paths
HSR020:   Bury The Sound Autumn Magnets EP
HSR021:   Chris Mason Restless
HSR022:   Jumpel Samuel Jason Lies on the Beach
HSR023:   Cheekbone Yesterday EP
HSR024:   Beautiful Lunar Landscape Alone in this Dark Romantic Night EP
HSR025:   Iretsu The Moon and Stars Remain in the Morning Sky
HSR026:   Slow Dancing Society The Slow and Steady Winter
HSR027:   Monocle Outer Sunset
HSR028:   The Retail Sectors Foregone Conclusion
HSR029:   Sankt Otten Wunder Gibt Es Immer Wieder
HSR030:   Various artists Limit of Maps

Throughout the month of May 2011, Hidden Shoal Recordings is celebrating its fifth birthday. The celebrations kick off on Friday 6 May with the release of its latest free sampler album, Hydrozoa, which compiles 18 singles released over the last 18 months. Other delicious surprises will be revealed in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more info.

Since starting up in Perth, Western Australia in 2006, Hidden Shoal has developed an enviable roster of genre-defying global and local recording artists. With 40+ acts from 10+ different countries ranging from the gorgeous neo-classical/minimal ambient of Antonymes through to the genius space-pop of Hotels and beyond the visionary team at Hidden Shoal continues to play an integral role in promoting exciting new independent music.

In 2003 Sankt Otten released a limited run of Zuhause Fuhle ich Mich Wie Ein Tourist [Remixes]. The EP contained remixes by other German artists around 2001/2002. The release was then available in 2003 as a 3″ special edition CD. It’s been sold out for years – until now! The charitable gentlemen of Sankt Otten have now made the songs available via Soundcloud for free! Check it out here.

Sankt Otten – Lustig, lustig, demain encore lustig Sankt Otten – Lustig, lustig, demain encore lustig

Hidden Shoal Recordings today announced the release of the second freely downloadable single from the latest album by German cinematic pop duo Sankt Otten.

‘Mein Freund aus Köln’ soars slowly and elegantly across the night sky like a neon bird. The listener is carried along by hypnotic drum patterns, while majestic synth refrains and guitar drones sing sadly and beautifully. As with so much of Sankt Otten’s work there is something brooding underneath the surface of ‘Mein Freund aus Köln’, something always just out of reach. The single is accompanied by the gorgeous previously unreleased track ‘Melancholie fur Millionen’ which rounds out this wonderful package in true style, proving that everything Sankt Otten touch turns to gold.

‘Mein Freund aus Köln’ is taken from Sankt Otten’s fourth album Morgen wieder lustig which is out now through Hidden Shoal Recordings.

“Sankt Otten continue to defy the German Portishead pigeonhole, by cranking up the tempo, veering into a sort of krautrock by way of Four Tet one minute, whirling pop ambience the next, synthy sprawling blissed out prismatic new age the next, over the course of the record slipping back and forth between these various sounds, sometimes melding several at once, a gorgeous, moody sonic journey, from haunting atmospheric darkness, to sun dappled rhythmic mesmer, to spaced out psychedelic synth, to eighties sounding new wave to hushed dreamlike ambience, to creepy slowcore crawl. Awesome stuff.” – Aquarius Records on Morgen wieder lustig

‘Mein Freund aus Köln / Melancholie fur Millionen’ is available now for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store and Bandcamp. Read a full press release here.

Sankt Otten – Mein Freund aus Köln Sankt Otten – Mein Freund aus Köln