European Phonographic is devoted to European artists crossing borders, co-creating, and co-producing new works for worldwide consumption. We believe – as all independent labels should – that our artists are quite special, and it is an honour to introduce you to them:
AKA Neomi: Hailing from Slovenia come indie folk-pop icons Neomi, who outside their own domestic market will take on the artist name AKA Neomi so as to not be confused with other non-Slovenian artists by the same name. AKA Neomi’s first single, “Family”, is out November 8th via European Phonographic’s digital distribution partner, Level:UP. Their new album “Beautiful Disasters” was released in January 2020 just before Eurosonic. The band were scheduled to play Westway LAB Festival in Portugal just as Covid hit Europe…
Lusitanian Ghosts: this artist collective from Portugal is devoted to the rebirth and international promotion of regional traditional Portuguese chordophones, or string instruments. They have introduced us to several of these little guitars, with different sets of strings and tunings, from all over the Portuguese land they call Lusitania. They are the violas Amarantina, Beiroa, Campaniça, Terceira, Toeira and the most well known of them is the Braguesa – that one never went extinct like the others: they are the real Lusitanian Ghosts. Following live showcases at Live at Heart Sweden and Reeperbahn Festival Germany promoting their self-titled debut , their second album, recorded at Clouds Hill in Hamburg, will make itself heard sometime in 2020.
O Gajo: O Gajo is a project of the Portuguese rock’n’roll musician João Morais, with the intention of connecting his music back to Portugal, through his Viola Campaniça. The Viola Campaniça is a Portuguese traditional chordophone used to accompany the traditional chants of the south region of Portugal, Alentejo. It is the largest of the Portuguese chordophones and has 5 orders of strings traditionally played by fingering only with the thumb. O Gajo innovates on this tradition via his very own Campaniça approach, technique and sound. Lisbon Express, his first album out of Lusitanian lands, was released on Friday September 13th 2019 by European Phonographic and distributed by Level: Up (digital) and Broken Silence (CD) ahead of his Reeperbahn Festival showcase. The album also features two brand new, unreleased tracks as well as the two Portuguese EP releases.
Rui Ribeiro: a truly inspired pianist, composer and songwriter, Rui Ribeiro showcases his solo works on his “Miniatures I” & “Miniatures II” albums, that European Phonographic has gathered together in a limited edition 2-CD release. Rui has also contributed compositions to several films, and works internationally between Portugal and China as a composer, arranger, music director and producer for artists in several genres, from pop to contemporary music.
Trees Up North: Out of the sheer will for communicating that is born from solitude and displacement comes Trees Up North, Norwegian musical project led by Hans Stop. Nordic melancholic vibes meets the warmth and organic atmospheres of American and British alt-indie songwriters. A series of singles coming in 2020 will herald the band’s debut album.
