Flightless and ATO Records have announced an exclusive label and distribution partnership for North America which includes catalog releases from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and new releases from Australian bands Amyl and the Sniffers and ORB.
Jon Salter, head of ATO Records, says of the new relationship, “Flightless is such an exciting and switched on label that is always keeping us on our toes We love learning from them, and admire their attitude, commitment to artist development, and of course their incredible vinyl packaging. Partnering with Flightless opens up an extraordinary A&R resource for ATO which is already proven with King Gizzard and Amyl and The Sniffers.”
The initial releases under the new partnership are reissues of the first five titles from King Gizzard’s back catalogue which include reimagined artwork, packaging, liner notes and fresh vinyl colors. Pre-order for those is available now, and more information on the specific titles can be found below. Additionally, a limited edition 7” single from newcomer Melbourne punks Amy and the Sniffers will be available next week.
Flightless Records was started by Eric Moore (drummer and manager of King Gizzard) in Melbourne in 2012 with humble beginnings, originally shipping the early King Gizzard LP in pizza boxes. Flightless Records has released & signed artists such as The Murlocs, ORB, The Babe Rainbow, Stonefield, Amyl & The Sniffers, Leah Senior & Pipe-Eye. Several weeks ago, Flightless released limited edition copies of the highly sought King Gizzard reissues through their webstore to such overwhelming demand that fans crashed the pre-order site within minutes of it going live. After getting the site back online, the label sold over 20,000 LPs across the five titles in 24 hours.
King Gizzard will head to Mexico for their first ever tour there in October, followed by a highly anticipated Saturday night headlining appearance at Desert Daze. The band is currently preparing for Gizzfest as well, their very own yearly festival in Australia. Gizzfest 2018 will take place in Melbourne on December 1, and in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide later in the month. The lineup for the popular event was announced today and details can be found here.
Flightless Records is eager to spread their roster to a new continent. Last week ATO/Flightless announced the signing of Melbourne punks Amyl and the Sniffers and released the new track “Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled)” as well as a limited edition 7” vinyl. The young band was brought to ATO’s attention when they opened for King Gizzard on their 2018 summer tour. Singer Amy Taylor’s stage presence and charisma are undeniable and the band has received early praise from NME, The Guardian, iD and more. The band will release their debut album in early 2019 on ATO/Flightless Records (North America) / Flightless Records (Australia & New Zealand) / Rough Trade (ROW). The band is currently in the midst of a worldwide tour and will hit North America in October for a series of dates in major cities including NYC, LA, Chicago and more (all tour dates below). Tickets are selling fast!
Additionally, the Flightless/ATO partnership will launch with the release of a new album from Geelong, Australia dark guitar rock band ORB. The Space Between is out digitally now and will receive a physical release on October 26, 2018. It’s a progressive heavy metal album dripping in paranoia and escapism… and it couldn’t be better. The Space Between was produced by Stu Mackenzie (King Gizzard) and ORB. Inspired by their youthful enthusiam for hard rock and early metal bands such as Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Club, ORB crafts heavy jams that draw inspiration from doom rock, psychedelia and hard rock.
For more, visit atorecords.com and flightlessrecords.com.
