2011 is almost over and 2012 is knocking on the door like a life insurance salesman at the apocalypse (I’ll work on that one). To end the year with some lovin and fantastic music we are having a huge sale over at the Hidden Shoal Store. Over 20 CD & digital releases are on sale from artists such as Slow Dancing Society, Sankt Otten, Markus Mehr, City of Satellites, Apricot Rail, Umpire, Wes Willenbring, Hotels, Rich Bennett, Liam Singer and Salli Lunn to name but a few. All CD purchases include free shipping and an immediate mp3 album download and as special bonus for our wonderful fans, every CD purchase will recieve a free bonus copy of the Hidden Shoal various artists CD A Million Square Miles.

It’s a total win-win so head to the Hidden Shoal Store and check the specials on the front page. The sale ends on the 1st of Jan 2012 and some CD stock is very limited so do be quick.

As part of our 5th birthday celebrations, 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 30% discount. Flavoursome!

In 2009, Hidden Shoal continued to release stunning music from around the world, including debut Hidden Shoal albums from Hotels, HC-B, Tarcutta, Sleeping Me, City Of Satellites and Elisa Luu, sophomore albums from Jumpel and Wes Willenbring, a third album from Sankt Otten, and EPs from Stray Ghost and Down Review (a new collaboration between Arc Lab’s Medard Fischer and Near The Parenthesis’ Tim Arndt).

2009 was also notable for the release of our compilation album A Million Square Miles, a project endeavouring to showcase Western Australian talent to the US (the titular million square miles). After more than three years of sharing independent music far and wide, A Million Square Miles represented a key facet of the Hidden Shoal Recordings story. The album brings together a pair of tracks from each of the then eight WA-based artists on the Hidden Shoal roster: Mukaizake, Apricot Rail, Fall Electric, Glassacre, Toby Richardson, My Majestic Star, The Slow Beings and Tangled Star.

2009 also saw Hidden Shoal join forces with The Caribbean and Scott Solter in a single EP. This not only began a special relationship with the wonderful The Caribbean and created an ongoing avenue for them to release some of their more experimental offerings, but it also began the label’s relationship with Scott Solter, which eventually led us to Boxharp (Scott Solter and Wendy Allen).

HSR046:   Jumpel Deuxieme Bureau
HSR047:   Hotels Where Hearts Go Broke
HSR048:   HC-B Soundcheck For A Missing Movie
HSR049:   The Caribbean Scott Solter Re-Populates The Caribbean EP
HSR050:   Sleeping Me Cradlesongs
HSR051:   Tarcutta Tarcutta
HSR052:   Tangled Star That Time EP
HSR053:   Apricot Rail Apricot Rail
HSR054:   Down Review From Here, For Anyone EP
HSR055:   Sankt Otten Morgen Wieder Lustig
HSR056:   Elisa Luu Chromatic Sigh
HSR057:   Various artists A Million Square Miles
HSR058:   Wes Willenbring Close, But Not Too Close
HSR059:   Stray Ghost Each Paradise Is A Lost Paradise EP
HSR060:   Mukaizake Unknown Knowns
HSR061:   City Of Satellites Machine Is My Animal

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 35% discount. Flavoursome!

2008 saw the release of a fresh new raft of superb albums and EPs, including those by new signings The Slow Beings, Fall Electric and City Of Satellites from Australia, Ghost In The Water and Rich Bennett from the USA, and RL/VL from Ireland. HSR stalwarts Tangled Star, Toby Richardson, My Majestic Star, Iretsu, Slow Dancing Society and Sankt Otten all followed up with some of their most critically acclaimed work. And at the end of the year we released compilation album East–West Section, volume four in our free download series.

As acclaim for our artists spread internationally, we were delighted to hear that prominent New York radio host DJ Mojo dubbed the label “this generation’s 4AD”. As huge fans of the classic label, this was a massive and humbling compliment.

HSR031:   Tangled Star Our Man In Eden Hill EP
HSR032:   Toby Richardson Evergreen
HSR033:   Ghost In The Water Tooth
HSR034:   The Slow Beings We Know Why The Earth Moves
HSR035:   Iretsu Name Our Numbers, Numbers EP
HSR036:   Slow Dancing Society Priest Lake Circa ’88
HSR037:   My Majestic Star Too Late, The Day
HSR038:   Rich Bennett Music For Underwater Supermarkets
HSR039:   Sankt Otten Eine Kleine Traurigkeit
HSR040:   RL/VL Chagrin
HSR041:   Fall Electric Measure And Step
HSR042:   City Of Satellites The Spook EP
HSR043:   Sankt Otten Tiefgang EP
HSR044:   Ghost In The Water Cardinal Red EP
HSR045:   Various artists East–West Section

As part of our 5th birthday celebrations, over the coming weeks 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 from the year covered will be available from the Hidden Shoal Store with a 50% discount. Flavoursome!

Hidden Shoal Recordings began in Perth, Western Australia in May 2006. The motivation behind starting the label was to release music by Hidden Shoal’s very own Cam Merton (Glassacre), Stu Medley (Motor Eye) and Mal Riddoch (Enargeia). Friends Wayne Harriss, Chris Mason, Toby Richardson and Craig Hallsworth (Tangled Star) soon came on board, with the first swathe of Hidden Shoal releases dominated by Perth-based talent.

The first year of operation also saw the signing of our first international artists, Slow Dancing Society – who has since gone on to release four critically acclaimed albums– and Italian math-rockers Dilatazione.

HSR001:  Wayne Harriss Aerospace
HSR002:  My Majestic Star Ideas Are The Answer
HSR003:  Motor Eye Motor Eye
HSR004:  Chris Mason Up Down Up
HSR005:  Glassacre Slow Attack EP
HSR006:  Enargeia UFO: Stryker Force
HSR007:  Toby Richardson Golden Days EP
HSR008:  Various artists The Least Vestige of Land
HSR009:  Enargeia Gulag! 25.9.98
HSR010:  Slow Dancing Society The Sound Of Lights When Dim
HSR011:  Dilatazione Too Emotional For Maths
HSR012:  Tangled Star It’s Now or Later EP

Twelve releases in the first eight months? We started as we meant to continue!