Mail Day posts are fun right? So I'm going to do another one. This time it's about one of the best labels around, and from one of the nicest dudes on the internet. Darren Harvey at Dog Knights Productions // Doge Knights has been putting out solid release after solid release fro years. I probably own a good 80% of whatever Darren puts his name to, and the other 20% I'm sure I'll catch up on before too long. Here is a quick snapshot into the last few records I bought from him.
Old Gray - Do I Dare Disturb The Universe - Dog Knights Productions - 1st Press - Brown & White Mix /150
I jumped on this record as soon as I knew the pre-order had gone up. Anyone who has hung with this label for a little while will remember when the An Autobiography preorder landed with the exclusive colour, and things got tense for a quick minute...
This record has been put out in the US by Broken World Media and after a little to and fro, here the EU press stands. The other variant is a clear w/ brown and white splatter /350, but I'm a sucker for a nice mix.
Back Cover // B-Side
The B-Side has been screened with the artwork. Whilst I thought it looked great, I was talking to Darren and apparently the plant reversed the A and B side colour scheme, meaning the screen print was supposed to be on the side that had more of a white mix (the stock image on the bigcartel page shows this). This side also has a blank label to increase the visibility of the screen print. Again, for me this looks great so I'm definitely not complaining! The art is great, the colours match up well and it sounds way better for getting the vinyl treatment.
There was no insert with this one, so on to the next release I guess?
Simmer - Yellow Streak - Dog Knights Productions - 1st Press - Transparent Yellow /150
The rest of the photos I took of this record got lost somewhere in my emails, and I deleted them from my phone when I was transferring them. But one photo is better than none right? There is also a transparent green /150, but Yellow Streak on Yellow just has a nicer ring to it right? 4 songs that show an awful lot of promise; if you like your shoegaze will a little more punch then you won't go far wrong here. 4 tracks cutting in somewhere around the 14 minute mark, and they're all true bangers.
Disembarked - Nothing's Wrong Here - Dog Knights Productions - 1st Press - 180 Gram Black - /100
This record was released too late in 2014 to call it on my AOTY list, but if I had a couple more weeks with it, there's no question it would have been in there. This record has pulled at me in a relentless way, and I can't stop listening.
Back Cover // B-Side
I love how the A/B labels take reference from the respective sides of the cover art. Up until this record came out, I had a full collection from this band and sadly I have fell behind when this LP came out. I'm definitely chasing up the other variants (and hopefully a test press) of this before too long. This band deserve to be absolutely huge off this LP.
Full Album Art
Rodrigo Almanegra has worked on a bunch of Dog Knights releases over the years, and this is definitely my favourite of his work so far. Thankfully, this art is wrapped up in a gatefold sleeve in order to see the full potential of the art. Another thing, this sleeve is super thick and sturdy, definitely worth every penny spent.
Inside Art
Lyrics on the left panel
Thanks on the right
Again, the gatefold packaging really helps gets this art across, and I hope this is a thing happening in more Dog Knights releases. Just as a point of reference on how hard working a dude Darren is, this was released in December of last year, and since then Dog Knights have put out 10 more records and a sampler. We're not even far in to April and he's already surpassed most label's of this size output in a year.
And finally. A Dog Knights order just wouldn't be right without some stickers. As time goes by, the designs for these things just get weirder...
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