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Labels of love - Olive Grove Records

Source: The List (Issue 676)
Date: 16 February 2011 (updated 12 Apr 2011)

Scottish blogs Peenko and Glasgow PodcART unite to run label releasing Randolph's Leap and Esperi

You run two of Scottish music’s top web presences. What do you do next? Why, start your own label, of course. Glasgow PodcART’s Halina Rifai and Peenko blogger Lloyd Meredith launched Glasgow based Olive Grove Records last year and two releases in, they are already more than finding their stride. Meredith tells us more

What is the ‘sound’ of Olive Grove Records?
‘I don’t think we have a ‘sound’ as such – I’d like to think that we’ll release a diverse range of artists. That being said, so far the artists that we’ve worked with have been a bit folky – folk-pop outfit Randolph’s Leap , electronic-folk artist Esperi – and our next release will be with another folk influenced band, The Son(s).’

How relevant are Olive Grove’s releases in age where downloading is all the rage?
‘With the advent of the internet, the whole music industry has pretty much been turned on its head. Our plan is also to make our releases that wee bit different – [designer/ crafter] Iona Bruce from ‘i heart …’ has been roped in to help do our merchandise, from hand-knitted sleeves for the Randolph’s Leap EP and handmade Snowman covers for Esperi’s Christmas single.’

What do you think is Olive Grove’s shelf life?
‘We’ll keep going for as long as the passion for it is there. Personally, I have always loved music, so I don’t see this dying out. In an ideal world we’ll be doing this for years to come – I’ve already started telling my four-month-old daughter that she’ll be taking over the reins one day. I don’t think she fully understands yet – she’ll learn though.’

www.olivergroverecords.com