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LP
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RALP 315LP
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There are two previous The Best Of Fra Lippo Lippi releases on CD -- 1995 and 2003 (RACD 102CD) -- but this is the first on vinyl. Only having limited playing time on vinyl, Rune Grammofon had to make some tough decisions, but in the end the song selection very much gave itself. The dark horse here is "Stitches and Burns", an overlooked gem of a song from the final studio album Dreams (1990) that didn't make the previous 15-track collection but has in mysterious ways gained new life through organic streaming, with over 20 million YouTube views. Included is also "Angel" featuring the late, great Walter Becker on guitar and production duties.
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CD
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RACD 116CD
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Over the years both Fra Lippo Lippi and Rune Grammofon have had numerous requests for a compilation like this. A number of recordings have only been available on various vinyl formats in small editions and never on CD or in digital form. So here are the 14 missing pieces, dating all the way back to the debut EP in 1980, and up to the final recording from 1995. Although the tracks have been subject to a mastering process, please note that no further effort has been made to turn it into a coherent artistic whole. It is what it is, through 15 years and four line-ups, from experimental bedroom recordings to full-blown studio workouts.
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7"
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RASI 117EP
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A gem of a track from the final studio album Dreams (1990) that all by itself has gained new life through organic streaming and some hefty YouTube viewing (more than 20 million), making it the most streamed song in the catalog, by far. So to balance it out Rune Grammofon present a vinyl single edition of 500. Here it is backed with the beautiful instrumental "The True Story", previously only available as a B side on the Everytime I See You single from back in 1986.
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LP
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OS 035LP
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OnderStroom present Fra Lippo Lippi's In Silence, originally released in 1981. Fra Lippo Lippi was a gothic post-punk band founded in Nesodden, Norway in 1978. Band members included Rune Kristoffersen (guitar, bass, keyboards, piano) Per Oystein Sorensen (vocals, synthesizer, keyboards), and Morten Sjoberg (drums, keyboards). Their sound was heavily influenced by bands such as Joy Division and The Cure. In 1981, the band recorded and released In Silence, a hard to grasp, dark album with ominous basslines, death-march percussion, pensive keyboards, and sinister, indecipherable vocals. The band had installed a semi-professional four-track recording studio in a small basement. The recording of the album started in June 1981 and it took four months to complete. Rune Kristoffersen on the record: "It took a long time. Our compositions were based on the drums and the bass, which we colored with guitars, voices, and keyboards. The sound was completely natural, both concrete and abstract." It's difficult to hear the vocals; it's as if it was mixed far behind the instruments. It's nearly impossible to understand the lyrics. In that sense, it is not unlike producer Martin Hannett's work for Factory Records in the UK. Rune Kristoffersen continues, "It is made quite conscious: put the voices far back to create a mood music. I also look at In Silence in a certain connection to what Brian Eno did with his ambient music." In 1998, Rune started releasing experimental music on his very own label called Rune Grammofon, where he has highlighted many experimental Norwegian acts such as Arne Nordheim, Supersilent, and Motorpsycho. Remastered by Equus; Layout by Jeroen Wille; Edition of 500.
"In Silence has a more unrefined sound and should have any fan of Joy Division wishing they'd heard of this band sooner. If I were to review Closer or Unknown Pleasures today, they'd obviously receive 5/5. Therefore, since Fra Lippo Lippi is so strangely similar, and In Silence is almost like having a new Joy Division/New Order album, I'd be hard pressed to give it a anything less than a near perfect score. Find out for yourself what you've missed out on for the past twenty years. Wow!" --Tiny Mix Tapes
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4CD BOX
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RACD 105CD
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All of Fra Lippo Lippi's six studio albums had been out-of-print for up to 22 years when Rune Grammofon re-released In Silence and Small Mercies as The Early Years (RACD 101) back in 2003. Songs was released as a limited edition CD in 2005, but Light And Shade, The Colour Album and Dreams have all been unavailable since the mid-'90s. This 4CD box collects the four last studio albums, Songs (1985), Light And Shade (1987), The Colour Album (1989) and Dreams (1992), in a limited edition of 1,000 copies. The 6LP box collects the above 4 albums as well as the first two studio albums, In Silence (1981) and Small Mercies (1983). None of these albums have been available on vinyl since they were new releases and Dreams has never been on vinyl. It comes in a limited edition of 300 numbered copies only. Both box sets come with personal liner notes from Rune Kristoffersen on each album. Both box sets also come with stunning design by internationally-acclaimed designer Magnus Voll Mathiassen and has already been presented in UK design magazine, Grafik. After having released their two first albums In Silence and Small Mercies on the Norwegian indie label Uniton, Fra Lippo Lippi decided to finance and release their next album, Songs, themselves. If the development from the Joy Division-influenced In Silence to the piano-based Small Mercies was a big step, the same can be said about the further development leading up to Songs, the most obvious aspect being a stronger focus on more structured songs. Although the acoustic piano was a key part of Small Mercies, it was even more evident on Songs, especially as the original recording of Songs was completely without guitars (which were added on the international Virgin release). This gave the album a very personal and unique sound in the middle of a period that championed drum machines and the newly-developed digital synths and sequencers.
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CD
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RACD 103CD
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This is definitely the most asked-for product by fans of Norwegian duo Fra Lippo Lippi, the original version of their best known and most popular album Songs, originally released on Easter Productions in 1985, now available for the very first time on CD. After having released their two first albums In Silence and Small Mercies on the Norwegian indie label Uniton in 1981 and 1983, Fra Lippo Lippi decided to finance and release their next album, Songs, themselves. If the development from the Joy Division-influenced In Silence to the piano-based Small Mercies was a big step, the same can be said about the further development leading up to Songs, the most obvious aspect being a stronger focus on more structured sounds. Although the acoustic piano was a key part of Small Mercies, it was even more evident on Songs, especially as the original recording of this album was completely without guitars. This gave the album a very personal and unique sound in the middle of a period that championed drum machines and the newly-developed digital synths and sequencers. Talk Talk was another band that would soon use the piano in much the same way. Songs was later picked up by Virgin UK and some additional recordings were done by Depeche Mode and Cure producer Dave Allen. Songs received great critical acclaim and today, twenty years later, it has frequented various "Best Norwegian Albums" polls, while the track "Shouldn't Have To Be Like That" was recently listed as one of the country's 100 best songs ever. A special and limited 20th anniversary edition, this release comes in a so-called replica mini-LP CD format with the original artwork intact. It has been beautifully manufactured in Japan and is housed in solid, sturdy cardboard. The recording itself has been remastered and the complete live album Crash Of Light is included as bonus tracks, also for the first time on CD.
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CD
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RACD 102CD
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"In 1985 they release their third album Songs, this time on their own label. Here the songs are more structured with stronger melodies and a much better production, recorded and mixed at Abba's Polar Studio in Stockholm. Songs is picked up by Virgin UK and some additional recordings are done by Depeche Mode and Cure producer Dave Allen. The album includes the hit single 'Shouldn't Have To Be Like That' and receives very favourable international reviews. On the basis of Songs and new demos, Virgin UK gets Walter Becker from Steely Dan to produce their next album. Light And Shade is recorded in Los Angeles and released in September 1987. The first single, 'Angel', is sent to selected US radio stations and gets very good feedback. But Virgin US have problems and need to 'trim the roster'. Several acts have to go. Out of nowhere, FLL is suddenly big in the Philippines. Being invited for one concert in Manila, they end up selling out 6 shows at the same venue, 70.000 tickets all in all. In 1989 they release The Colour Album on Record Station, a label under BMG in Sweden. In 1992 they release their last studio album Dreams. The Best Of Fra Lippo Lippi includes tracks from Songs, Light And Shade, The Colour Album and Dreams in addition to one live track and a new track recorded in 1994 and not available elsewhere. For contractual reasons some of the songs have been re-recorded, but the original recording of 'Angel' is included, complete with Walter Becker's guitar playing."
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CD
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RACD 101CD
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Rune Arkiv is a Rune Grammofon sub-label. "The Norwegian duo Fra Lippo Lippi was formed by Rune Kristoffersen in 1980. The name is taken from a poem by Robert Browning, dedicated to the Italian renaissance painter Filippo Lippi. A year later their debut album is released by the Norwegian indie label Uniton. In Silence shows a strong influence by groups such as Joy Division and The Cure. For their next album Small Mercies (1983) they get Per Oystein Sorensen to join as the new singer. The music shows a considerable development towards a more personal style, with the piano as the central instrument. The Early Years includes both In Silence and Small Mercies and 2 instrumental b-sides, all on one CD."
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