AKARMA Records - Buyers' Guide

The subject of vinyl reissues is a thorny one. I've stated my ambivalence towards them before in these pages, but whatever their shortcomings, there's no escaping the fact that, unless you have bottomless pockets, seeking out original copies of every rare LP on your wishlist is a non-starter. Thankfully there are small, independent labels offering us the chance to get hold of albums (the originals of which were often released in miniscule quantities) in our favoured format, for twenty quid or less. Is it too much to ask that these labels find good quality audio sources for their reissues, put some effort into reproducing the original artwork, and pay the musicians their royalties?

One label whose name crops up regularly in debates over the pros and cons of vinyl reissues is Akarma. Confusion reigns over whether Akarma is a legitimate label, or a shady, money-grabbing enterprise dealing in pirate pressings. Interestingly, Discogs doesn't list Akarma releases as unofficial, but that shouldn't necessarily be taken as proof that the label is whiter than white. From what I understand, because the label is based in Italy, where a quirk of copyright law means that Akarma is not operating illegally by reissuing LPs without the copyright holder's permission, the label is 'legitimate'. However, acting within the law and being morally upstanding are not necessarily the same thing. There are numerous reports of artists complaining that their albums have been re-released without permission or remuneration of royalties. Sadly, the modest quantities of product shifted by small, independent labels makes chasing them through the courts financially unviable, particularly if they are based in another country.

To add to the uncertainty over the true nature of Akarma, Discogs includes a label profile written by Jo-Ann Greene for GOLDMINE, May 12, 2006 (Vol 32. No 10 . Issue 673), which reads more like an Akarma press release than an objective journalistic appraisal of the label. At no point in her piece does Greene address the legitimacy of Akarma's releases or the sources that it uses to master its reissues, preferring to give marketing manager, Guglielmo Pizzinelli, a platform for a spot of unchallenged, self-serving PR.

In a typically gushing statement, Greene asserts that you "can’t appreciate the beauty and the attention to detail involved until you actually encounter Akarma vinyl," and that "the label has gained as many high marks for art work as for the equally high-caliber remasterings, with Akarma’s releases instantly identifiable by their sheer beauty alone." I'm sure Pizzinelli couldn't have said it any better himself. What a bunch of sycophantic guff! No wonder then that record buyers continue to be confused about the legitimacy of Akarma's releases and the quality of their pressings.

Perhaps it's unfair to single out Akarma for criticism, as they are just one of the many players in the dubious reissues field, particularly as, to their credit, the packaging on their LPs is often of a remarkable quality: every nuance of the original artwork faithfully reproduced, right down to textured sleeves and embossed lettering. They put more effort into providing a desirable, tactile product than most of the major labels. It's just a shame that the reproduction of the music rarely matches up to the quality of the packaging.

Although I have every sympathy with musicians who find themselves stiffed by record companies, as a record collector, my overriding concern is for the quality of the product that is offered for sale. If the major labels were more on the ball, and weren't so contemptuous of both artists and customers, they could kill off dodgy reissue labels overnight by putting out legitimate, high-quality pressings of the many obscure albums that music fans are crying out for. A market clearly exists. Whether this would result in a steady stream of royalties for the artists is doubtful, but at least the record-buying public might get to hear reissues mastered from the original analogue tapes or, at the very least, from hi-resolution digital files, instead of from dodgy CDs or via knackered vinyl needledrops.

Buying Akarma releases is a lottery: I own one or two that, in the absence of an original pressing for comparison, are hard to fault; others are borderline unlistenable. Which of Akarma's releases is worth buying, and which should be avoided? With their large and highly desirable catalogue, there's plenty of scope for chucking cash away on a complete turkey. Please, if any owners of Akarma LPs are reading this and could take the time to leave a comment about specific titles, this post might serve as a buyers' guide for the label: a one-stop database for fellow vinyl enthusiasts interested in finding out about Akarma's mastering and pressing quality. I'll start the ball rolling with details of the titles that I own. I hope you find it useful.

Arcadium - Breathe Awhile

Single, heavy card sleeve. A nice clean, quiet pressing, but cut 'hot', so it's a pretty shrill listening experience.

Bodkin - Bodkin

Single sleeve housed in an elaborate and utterly ludicrous six panel cardboard crucifix featuring a burning goat. Plays well enough, but the source used for the master is very noisy, especially on B1. I'd happily forego the over-the-top packaging in exchange for decent sound.

Buffalo - Only Want You For Your Body

Gatefold sleeve with lyric insert. Decent sound reproduction, if a little 'flat' and digital sounding.

Earth and Fire - Earth and Fire

Gatefold sleeve. Sound is very good, but a bit brittle and digital.

Felt - Felt

Single sleeve. The sound quality is great on this LP, but there is a noticeable wow on the second of the four tracks on side one. The stylus sits rocksteady in the groove, so I assume the wow originates in the playback of whatever source Akarma used. Shoddy!

Indian Summer - Indian Summer

Gatefold sleeve. Fantastic sound. If it's a digital source, Akarma have done a good job of warming it up for vinyl. There seems to be a slight bias in output to the left channel in parts. Recommended!

Leaf Hound - Growers of Mushroom

Gatefold sleeve. Decent sound reproduction, if a little 'flat' and digital.

Room - Pre-Flight

Single sleeve. Clear, dynamic, warm airy sound. If it's not from an analogue source then whoever transferred it from digital did an impressive job. Recommended!

Salem Mass - Witch Burning

Textured single sleeve. Despite buying this new and sealed, my copy has noticeable distortion on A2 and A3, and the over all sound is a bit lean.

Still Life - Still Life

Gatefold sleeve. Nice clean pressing and convincingly fat and analogue-esque sound reproduction. Recommended!

Wizard - The Original Wizard

Textured single sleeve with textured band biog insert. Good clear, rich sound reproduction. Recommended!

Writing On The Wall - The Power of the Picts

Textured, silvered single sleeve. Nice, clean pressing. An enjoyable listen, but lacks the depth and warmth you'd expect from vinyl. A digital transfer no doubt! Cautiously recommended.

Zior - Zior

Gatefold sleeve. Sound repro is a bit 'hot' and 'toppy'.

PLEASE share your experiences of Akarma vinyl. Thanks!

Leaf Hound's Mushroom & Eel Pie

I dragged myself to the Eel Pie Club in Twickenham on Thursday night to catch a set by Leaf Hound, a band perhaps better known for the ludicrous price that their debut album sells for on eBay than for the music contained in the grooves. On the rare occasions when the original Decca LP turns up on the auction site, it can fetch in excess of £4,000. Even the Akarma reissue from 2003 can command a sum of £50 with the wind behind it. Having, some time back, conceded that I was never likely to stumble on an original in a charity shop amongst the James Last and Paul Young LPs, I had, myself, plumped for the Akarma reissue.

Leaf Hound: fun guys.

Once the dust has settled after the stampede to proclaim Leaf Hound the greatest band that never made it, it will become clear that Growers of Mushroom, although a superb album with intimations of brilliance, falls somewhat short of the greatness that has been bestowed upon it by those looking for a lost masterpiece to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of Zeppelin or Sabbath. You need to look to Captain Beyond's debut for an album that scales those dizzy heights. By all accounts, vocalist Pete French had already jumped ship to front Atomic Rooster by the time Growers of Mushroom saw a UK release, so perhaps the band members themselves weren't entirely convinced of the LP's ability to launch their careers into the stratosphere. Having said all that, it would be hard for any album to live up to the hype that has surrounded this LP. I'm sure that if I had stumbled on Growers of Mushroom without any prior knowledge of its existence or reputation, I would be considerably more evangelical about its potent, Psych-tinged, Proto-Metal stew of Led Zeppelin and Free.

 

In a live setting, despite looking like a bunch of random blokes who met at a bus stop, the current incarnation of the band does a great deal to convince that maybe, just maybe, the spores of greatness were sown with that debut LP. I've yet to hear the band's 2007 follow-up album, Unleashed, but on the evidence of the band's live symbiosis, it's entirely possible that it builds upon and seamlessly picks up from where the debut LP left off, despite the intervening years. The Eel Pie Club's ambience leaves a lot to be desired, with the stage as bright and unimaginatively illuminated as a branch of Homebase, but good musicians can transcend the limitations of their environment, and so it was with Leaf Hound. Bass player Pete Herbert had me shrugging off my initial reservations (founded purely on his lumbering, grease monkey appearance) and had me singing his praises for the duration of the gig. With a man as dexterous and musically attuned as Herbert on the bass, there is never a moment when the sound needs fleshing out with a second guitarist or a keyboard player. His playing gives Luke Rayner the freedom to weave his Hendrix-inspired magic. Pete French's seasoned-old-pro demeanour suggests a man who doesn't feel the need to showboat, who's happy to share the spotlight with his bandmates. For me, the only weak link musically is drummer Jimmy Rowland whose lack of subtlety grates at times, particularly during the sustained and unimaginative bludgeoning of his crash cymbals. Perhaps he had an off-night as I can't recall singling him out for criticism on the previous occasions that I've seen the band.

I guess Pete French's pre-song chat puts to rest any thoughts that he might have a loft-full of copies of the original LP squirreled away to boost his pension. Careful kicking yourself with those cowboy boots, Pete!