Topic Records announce The Great Big Digital Archive Project 2013

70-years-of-Topic-150px The Great Big Digital Archive Project – 2013 

“Going Forward With Our Past”

From January 2013, the venerable and redoubtable Topic Records (now 74 years old) will be making available another of its ‘gifts to the nation’, in the form of The Great Big Digital Archive Project. Thereafter, a programme of 6 – 10 additional titles will be released every month throughout the year. With the possible exception of Smithsonian Records in the US, this will probably constitute the largest digital project of its kind undertaken by an independent record company anywhere in the world.

Topic has always had the underlying philosophy of making traditional based music as widely available as possible. The ambition of the label is now to make as much of its vast historical catalogue available using the current format – digital. What makes this project distinctive is that at the moment, digital delivery all too often divorces the audio recording from all artwork, documentation and sleeve-notes. The plan at Topic is to restore and include all of the information that accompanied the original releases of the past.

In January 2013, 84 of these albums will be available to download complete with digital booklets. The digital booklets will be available from the Topic website as well as iTunes. There will also be a short YouTube film explaining the project in detail and the content of specific digital booklets.

The first tranche of 84 digital releases will include albums originally released on vinyl LP in the late 1950s, the 60s, 70s and 80s. Many have been out of print for twenty years or more and include titles which were championed by John Peel and other influential broadcasters.

Much of the repertoire on the field recordings included in the Topic archive has fed into the latest British folk revival, whilst many recordings of Irish traditional music are of cultural and political significance and date from a period when there were few domestic labels in Ireland releasing such music.

Example:

TSDL070

The original recording of Davy Graham’s ‘Angi’ was made in Bill Leader’s Camden Town basement flat in 1962 and released on the seminal Topic 7″ vinyl EP – 3/4 AD. The vinyl release appeared in three different sleeves during the early 60s and with slightly different sleeve notes by Alexis Korner. The digital booklet will incorporate all the sleeve notes and illustrate the variant sleeve designs.

‘Angi’ is widely regarded as one of the cornerstone compositions of the sixties’ acoustic guitar movement, famously recorded by Bert Jansch, Paul Simon, Ralph McTell, etc.

And – looking a little further ahead – leading up to Topic’s 75th birthday in 2014, the label also plans to make available digital booklets for all current Topic releases, artist by artist, as well as new “themed” digital collections.

The first 84 TOPIC archive digital releases for January 2013

TSDL035 DOMINIC BEHAN Down By The Liffeyside (Irish Street Songs)

TSDL051 A L LLOYD Outback Ballads

TSDL070 DAVY GRAHAM 3/4 AD

TSDL084 THE WILLETT FAMILY The Roving Journeyman

TSDL093 RAMBLING JACK ELLIOTT Talking Woody Guthrie

TSDL110 VARIOUS ARTISTS Sea Songs & Shanties

TSDL113 PEGGY SEEGER & TOM PALEY Who’s Going To Shoe You’re Pretty Little Foot?

TSDL117 HEDY WEST Old Times and Hard Times

TSDL118 A L LLOYD First Person

TSDL120 THE CAMPBELL FAMILY The Singing Campbells

TSDL125 VARIOUS ARTISTS New Voices

TSDL130 EWAN MacCOLL Bundook Ballads

TSDL134 JESSE FULLER Move On Down The Line

TSDL137 THE FISHER FAMILY Traditional & New Songs From Scotland

TSDL139 PADDY TUNNEY A Wild Bees’ Nest

TSDL147 EWAN MacCOLL The Manchester Angel

TSDL163 HEDY WEST Ballads

TSDL175 WILLIE CLANCY The Minstrel From Clare

TSDL182 MRS. SARAH MAKEM Ulster Ballad Singer

TSDL183 WILLIE SCOTT The Shepherd’s Song

TSDL185 LIZZIE HIGGINS Princess Of The Thistle

TSDL186 THE HIGH LEVEL RANTERS Northumberland Forever

TSDL190 DAVE & TONI ARTHUR The Lark In The Morning

TSDL193 PHOEBE SMITH Once I Had A True Love

TSDL200 PETER BELLAMY The Fox Jumps Over The Parson’s Gate

TSDL203 A L LLOYD The Great Australian Legend

TSDL206 THE OLDHAM TINKERS Oldham’s Burning Sands

TSDL212 OAK Welcome To Our Fair

TSDL214 THE CHEVIOT RANTERS The Sound Of The Cheviots

TSDL216 FRANKIE ARMSTRONG Lovely On The Water

TSDL222 THE CHEVIOT RANTERS The Cheviot Hills

TSDL229 VARIOUS ARTISTS English Country Music From East Anglia

TSDL230 VARIOUS ARTISTS The Lark In The Clear Air

TSDL237 THE OLDHAM TINKERS Best O’ T’ Bunch

TSDL240 VARIOUS ARTISTS Boscastle Breakdown

TSDL247 JOHN KIRKPATRICK & SUE HARRIS The Rose Of Britain’s Isle

TSDL250 SEAMUS ENNIS The Wandering Minstrel

TSDL251 THE RUSSELL FAMILY Of Doolin, County Clare

TSDL253 VARIOUS ARTISTS Songs Of The Open Road

TSDL256 ROY HARRIS Champions Of Folly

TSDL274 BOB DAVENPORT Down The Long Road

TSDL275 BOB CANN West Country Melodeon

TSDL276 THE OLDHAM TINKERS For Old Time’s Sake

TSDL277 ARCHIE FISHER Will Ye Gang, Love

TSDL286 GEORGE MAYNARD Ye Subjects Of England

TSDL295 JOHN KIRKPATRICK & SUE HARRIS Among The Many Attractions At The Show…

TSDL297 THE HIGH LEVEL RANTERS Ranting Lads

TSDL305 THE O’HALLORAN BROTHERS The Men Of The Island

TSDL306 JIMMY POWER Irish Fiddle Player

TSDL307 BELLE STEWART Queen Among The Heather

TSDL315 DICK GAUGHAN Coppers & Brass

TSDL316 ROSE MURPHY Milltown Lass

TSDL318 BOB DAVENPORT Postcards Home

TSDL319 BOB SMITH’S IDEAL BAND Ideal Music

TSDL323 THE OLDHAM TINKERS Sit Thee Down

TSDL335 TOMMY HEALY & JOHN DUFFY Memories Of Sligo

TSDL337 JACK & CHARLIE COEN The Branch Line

TSDL350 BOB DAVENPORT & THE RAKES 1977

TSDL355 JOHN KIRKPATRICK & SUE HARRIS Shreds & Patches

TSDL361 BOB ROBERTS Songs From The Sailing Barges

TSDL362 MARY-ANN CAROLAN Songs From The Irish Tradition

TSDL366 DAN SULLIVAN’S SHAMROCK BAND

TSDL371 ALISTAIR ANDERSON Corby Crag

TSDL378 VIN GARBUTT Eston California

TSDL380 SHIRLEY & DOLLY COLLINS For As Many As Will

TSDL382 NEW VICTORY BAND One More Dance & Then

TSDL385 VIN GARBUTT Tossin A Wobbler

TSDL388 THE HIGH LEVEL RANTERS Four In A Bar

TSDL392 WALTER PARDON A Country Life

TSDL398 JOHN DOHERTY Bundle And Go

TSDL399 THE OLDHAM TINKERS That Lancashire Band

TSDL403 ALISON McMORLAND & PETA WEBB

TSDL405 CILLA FISHER & ARTIE TREZISE Cilla And Artie

TSDL408 JOHN KIRKPATRICK & SUE HARRIS Facing The Music

TSDL416 UMPS AND DUMPS The Moon’s In A Fit

TSDL430 MARTIN SIMPSON Grinning In Your Face

TSDL435 CURLEW Fiddle Music From Shetland & Beyond

TSDL438 MARTIN SIMPSON Sad Or High Kicking!

TSDL441 BILL CADDICK The Wild West Show

TSDL446 MARTIN & JESSICA SIMPSON True Dare Or Promise

TSDL447 ANDREW CRONSHAW Till The Beast’s Returning

TSDL453 JOHN KIRKPATRICK & SUE HARRIS Stolen Ground

TSDL502 EWAN MacCOLL Chorus From The Gallows

TSDL1050 ANDREW CRONSHAW The Language Of Snakes

Further information: http://www.topicrecords.co.uk/category/archive-digital-catalogue/