Walnut Tree Records, was a British
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
from Watford which specialised in limited run releases from new and upcoming bands.
History
Walnut Tree Records started life as "The Walnut Tree" in July 2006, a small scale per-zine and CD distribution business. In an interview with AlterThePress.com,
founder Tom Beck stated that he "was working on a different genre of music in his full-time job and was falling out of love with music a little" and wanted to find a way to change that. After reading a positive review of
The Wonder Years
''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age situation comedy, comedy/Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol L. Black, Carol Black. It ran on American Broadcasting Company ...
and
Bangarang
"Bangarang" is a song by American electronic music producer Skrillex. It was released as a single from his EP of the same name. It features guest rap vocals from American hip hop recording artist Sirah. "Bangarang" intersperses Sirah's rap voc ...
split EP on Punktastic.com Beck contacted
The Wonder Years
''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age situation comedy, comedy/Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol L. Black, Carol Black. It ran on American Broadcasting Company ...
directly to ask if he could import their CD and sell it to potential fans in the UK. This was followed by releases from the likes of
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
and
Four Year Strong
Four Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jake Massucco. They have released seven studio al ...
, all of which were without a distribution deal in the UK at the time. The Walnut Tree gained a reputation as somewhere to buy cheap releases from up and coming bands and allowed Beck to build up a small network of frequent buyers.
After complications with a release, Beck decided to focus on helping unsigned UK bands, founding Walnut Tree Records in July 2007. The label initially co-financed releases with Pep Rock Records and No Order Records, before then taking full control of releases from March 2008.
Walnut Tree Records released 27 records over 5 years, distributing a further 15 in the same period.
The label was closed in August 2012.
List of former artists
*
Bayonets
A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustra ...
*
Burn The Fleet
*
Cuba Cuba
Cuba Cuba are a Welsh pop-rock band from Cardiff, South Wales, formed in 2007.
They are currently signed to Walnut Tree Records and are part of the Escape Artist Management roster along with fellow Welsh band Tiger Please. Critics have often ...
*
Drawings
Drawing is a form of Visual arts, visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, ...
*
Gunning For Tamar
*
Indian School
*
Paige
*
Portman
*
Rob Lynch
Rob Lynch (born 1 May 1986) is an English educator and singer-songwriter, formerly known as Lost On Campus. He released three EPs under that name before reverting to his birth name and releasing the EP '' Rob Lynch'' on 3 October 2011, followed ...
*
The Maple State
*
Tiger Please
Tiger Please is a Welsh indie / alternative rock five-piece band from Cardiff, Wales. The band formed in August 2008. The band's influences are U2, Sigur Rós, Kings of Leon, John Mayer and Counting Crows. They signed with Walnut Tree Records i ...
*
Viva Sleep
*
Waiting For Sleep
Release catalogue
This is the release list of Walnut Tree Records in chronological order...
#
Paige – ''(
If You Say So)'' (NOWTR001) (March 2008 (ltd. 1000))
#
Portman – ''
From Here To Your Eyes And Ears'' (PEPWTR002) (March 2008 (ltd. 1000))
#
Waiting For Sirens – ''
Self Titled
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
'' (WTR001) (July 2008 (ltd. 1000))
#
Portman – ''
Remembering Fondly'' (WTR002) (December 2008 (ltd. 100 physical / free download))
#
Portman – ''
Unplugged
Unplugged may refer to:
*Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means
*Unplugged (B.A.P song), "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014
*Unplugged (Modern Family), "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family''
Albums a ...
'' (WTR003) (December 2008 (ltd. 100 physical / free download))
#
Bayonets
A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustra ...
– ''
Wishes & Wishes'' (WTR004) (March 2009 (ltd. 1000))
#
Portman – ''
These Songs Were Written In Bedrooms & Village Halls'' (WTR005) (June 2009 (ltd. 500))
# Various Artists – ''
Punktastic: Un-Scene 5'' (WTR006) (August 2009 (Charity compilation))
#
Tiger Please
Tiger Please is a Welsh indie / alternative rock five-piece band from Cardiff, Wales. The band formed in August 2008. The band's influences are U2, Sigur Rós, Kings of Leon, John Mayer and Counting Crows. They signed with Walnut Tree Records i ...
– ''
They Don't Change Under Moonlight
''They Don't Change Under Moonlight'' is the debut mini album from Welsh people, Welsh rock band Tiger Please which was released 2 November 2009.
Critical reception
Reviews for the album have been generally very positive. The Digital Fix called ...
'' (WTR007) (November 2009 (ltd. 1000))
#
Viva Sleep – ''
The House Of Viva Sleep'' (WTR008) (February 2010 (ltd. 100))
#
Burn The Fleet – ''
Burn The Fleet'' (WTR009) (March 2010 (ltd. 1000))
#
Tiger Please
Tiger Please is a Welsh indie / alternative rock five-piece band from Cardiff, Wales. The band formed in August 2008. The band's influences are U2, Sigur Rós, Kings of Leon, John Mayer and Counting Crows. They signed with Walnut Tree Records i ...
– ''
Seasons
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...
'' (WTR010) (May 2010 (ltd. 1000))
#
Cuba Cuba
Cuba Cuba are a Welsh pop-rock band from Cardiff, South Wales, formed in 2007.
They are currently signed to Walnut Tree Records and are part of the Escape Artist Management roster along with fellow Welsh band Tiger Please. Critics have often ...
– ''
Home Is The Fire'' (WTR011) (May 2010))
# Various Artists – ''
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
'' (WTR012) (July 2010))
#
Burn The Fleet – ''
Black Holes
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can def ...
'' (WTR013) (October 2010))
#
Delta / Alaska – ''
Start With The Cage'' (WTR014) (November 2010))
#
Call Me Ishmael
Ishmael is a character in Herman Melville's ''Moby-Dick'' (1851), which opens with the line, "Call me Ishmael." He is the first person narrator in much of the book. Because Ishmael plays a minor role in the plot, early critics of ''Moby-Dick'' a ...
– ''
I Am Stop, You Are Go'' (WTR015) (November 2010))
#
Day Of Rising – ''
American Professional'' (WTR016) (November 2010))
#
The Maple State – ''
First The Worst'' (WTR017) (November 2010))
#
Newlands
Newlands may refer to:
Places Australia
* Newlands, Queensland, a locality in the Whitsunday Region
New Zealand
* Newlands, Wellington, a suburb of Wellington
South Africa
* Newlands, Cape Town, a suburb of Cape Town
* Newlands, Johannesbur ...
– ''
Say
Say may refer to:
Music
*''Say'' (album), 2008 album by J-pop singer Misono
* "Say" (John Mayer song), 2007
*"Say (All I Need)", 2007 song by American pop rock band OneRepublic
* "Say" (Method Man song), 2006 single by rapper Method Man
* "Say" ( ...
'' (WTR018) (November 2010))
#
Ghostlines – ''
Act Your Innocence'' (WTR019) (December 2010))
#
Drawings
Drawing is a form of Visual arts, visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, ...
– ''
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
'' (WTR020) (March 2011))
#
Gunning For Tamar – ''
Deaf Cow Motel'' (WTR021) (May 2011))
#
Cuba Cuba
Cuba Cuba are a Welsh pop-rock band from Cardiff, South Wales, formed in 2007.
They are currently signed to Walnut Tree Records and are part of the Escape Artist Management roster along with fellow Welsh band Tiger Please. Critics have often ...
– ''
Where Else Is Safe But The Road?'' (WTR022) (June 2011))
#
Rob Lynch
Rob Lynch (born 1 May 1986) is an English educator and singer-songwriter, formerly known as Lost On Campus. He released three EPs under that name before reverting to his birth name and releasing the EP '' Rob Lynch'' on 3 October 2011, followed ...
– ''
The East EP'' (WTR023) (October 2011))
#
Tiger Please
Tiger Please is a Welsh indie / alternative rock five-piece band from Cardiff, Wales. The band formed in August 2008. The band's influences are U2, Sigur Rós, Kings of Leon, John Mayer and Counting Crows. They signed with Walnut Tree Records i ...
– ''
They Don't Change Under Moonlight 12" vinyl'' (WTR024) (April 2012))
#
Indian School – ''
The Cruelest Kind EP'' (WTR025) (April 2012))
Releases distributed by Walnut Tree Records
Walnut Tree Records also offered a CD distribution service. Originally titled The Walnut Tree, the service offered new and hard to reach releases from North American bands to the UK public at cost base prices. The releases were available in a limited run and only through the label's online store. The idea behind this service was that often these releases, at the time of distribution, weren't cost effective when importing single copies and therefore Walnut Tree Records felt that bulk buying them direct from the bands or labels would make it easier for UK fans to buy physical copies.
This was also at a time when music fans would like to own physical copies of smaller releases.
#
The Wonder Years / Bangarang! – ''(
Split EP
A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "var ...
)''
#
Permanent Me – ''{
Dear Virginia EP)''
#
The Consequence - By The Bedside
#
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
– ''
This Could Be a Possibility''
#
Four Year Strong
Four Year Strong is an American pop punk band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O'Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, and drummer Jake Massucco. They have released seven studio al ...
– ''{(
Rise Or Die Trying
''Rise or Die Trying'' is the second studio album from American rock band Four Year Strong. The name "Rise or Die Trying" comes from a lyric to "Go Long Dad", a song from their first album, ''It's Our Time''.
Background and production
The group re ...
))''
#
Stars Hide Fire
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...
– ''(
Shortcut To Loss)''
#
Daggermouth
Daggermouth is a Canadian pop punk band that was formed in 2004 in Vancouver. They started around early 2004 quickly building a solid reputation by touring with bands such as Moneen and SNFU. Their name is a reference to a robotic fish from the ' ...
– ''(Turf Wars)''
#
Daggermouth
Daggermouth is a Canadian pop punk band that was formed in 2004 in Vancouver. They started around early 2004 quickly building a solid reputation by touring with bands such as Moneen and SNFU. Their name is a reference to a robotic fish from the ' ...
– ''(
Stallone
Stallone is a given name and a surname of Italian origin, meaning either "stallion" or "cow stable".
Joseph Guerin Fucilla, ''Our Italian Surnames'' (1949) p. 132/ref> Notable persons with that name include:
Persons with the given name
* Stallone ...
)''
#
Nothing Unexpected – ''(
Nothing Unexpected)''
#
Arden
Arden may refer to:
Places
;Australia
*Arden, an area in North Melbourne, Victoria near the Arden Street Oval
;Canada
* Arden, Ontario
;Denmark
* Arden, Denmark, a town
**Arden Municipality, a former municipality, including the town of Arden
; ...
– ''(
The Big Picture EP)''
#
Olympians – ''(
You Were My Inspiration)''
#
The Lion And The Wolf – ''(
The Lion And The Wolf EP)''
#
The Republic Of Wolves – ''(
His Old Branches EP)''
#
The Republic Of Wolves – ''(
Varuna
Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...
)''
#
Day Of Rising – ''(
Deceivers United)''
#
City Light Thief – ''(
Laviin)''
Bands appearing on Walnut Tree Records releases
The following bands have all featured on at least one Walnut Tree Records release. Those in bold were full releases, those in italics were distributed through the label:
A Broken Robot, A Word Like.Attack, All Or Nothing, ''Arden'', Attention, ''Bangarang!'', Bangers, Bayonets, Brave Citizens, Burn The Fleet, Call Me Ishmael, Canterbury, City Light Thief, Cuba Cuba, Cutting Class, ''Daggermouth'', Danger Is My Middle Name, Day Of Rising, Delta/Alaska, Don Broco, Drawings, Fire In The Attic, Fluid Lines, ''Four Year Strong'', Francesqa, Ghostlines, Great Caesar, Gunning For Tamar, Have You Heard, Indian School, Joey Terrifying, Kidnapper Bell, Liam Clayton, Lonely The Brave, LYU, Mutiny On The Bounty, Mybe, Newlands, ''Nothing Unexpected'', ''Olympians'', Over And Out, Overthrow, Paige, Pareto, ''Permanent Me'', Portman, Samoans, Show It Off!, Taking Chase, The Barent Sea, The Consequence, The Law Among Tigers, ''The Lion And The Wolf'', The Long Haul, The Maple State, ''The Republic Of Wolves'', The Ruined, The Tupolev Ghost, ''The Wonder Years'', The Vanity Score, They Sink Ships, Tiger Please, ''Valencia'', Venice Ahoy, Viva Sleep, We Push Buttons, Wilson Fisk, Wolf Am I.
References
{{Authority control
British record labels
Record labels established in 2007
Rock record labels
Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom