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em:t records

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it's still an anxious age

i was involved with the new em:t professionally, and also helped run the semi-official fan site, www.emit.cc, so i have inside information and have quite a lot of material with which to play. i'm also in contact with some of the original artists.

i'm not going to cover em:t in any kind of sensible or chronological order i'm afraid! the total picture will build up a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. i'm just going to continue adding bits to this lens as i go along.

why is everything in lower-case? because that's how em:t did it...

newsflash

paul frankland, also known as woob is back on the scene, with a re-release of the classic woob1194 and new material coming soon. Read more on the official woob site (link below).

new to em:t?

in just a few words...

em:t was a ground breaking record label which released experimental and ambient electronic music during the mid-nineties. In its four year lifespan, it created a strong cult following and legendary status, despite being a tiny outfit based in nottingham, england. as well as the unique music and sound, em:t had a very strong brand and culture associated with it.

em:t was re-launched in 2003 under new management and ownership and enjoyed another short run. however, it was clear that the magic had been lost and the label again folded in 2006. since then there have been rumours of another re-launch, but nothing concrete has transpired as yet.

em:t on ebay

there's loads of stuff going at the moment... this is just a selection:
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album design

em:t's visual identity was always one of its main features. it made the series highly collectible and made the albums stand out in a record shop from a mile off. it must have taken real vision to create that style from the outset and stick with it until the end.

album design: the classic series

all the original em:t's design and branding was created by the designers republic, a highly influential design collective from sheffield. they're well known from their work with warp records, but much less so from their work for em:t (the uk's electronic music scene was pretty incestuous in those days, and the warp and em:t guys knew each other fairly well).

strong branding and design often comes from simple rules, and that was especially true for em:t.

All the albums were released in digipaks, mostly with a single sheet cover (a few of the solo artist releases had a fold out with additional artwork inside). the font, positions and style of the logo and text were completely consistent throughout the series, with only minor variations in the first few releases as they got the format down. the cd on-body artwork is consistent across the board. all the inner cd trays were white (with the exception of woob1194, which has a black tray). The list goes on.

the most important feature of the brand was without doubt the cover art. all the covers featured images taken (with permission) from the oxford scientific natural word catalogue and presented in a consistent style, with the album name in the upper right hand corner of the cover. these images gave the series its unique feel. personally, and speaking as a designer, i believe that it took a lot of courage to put a completely unadulterated, abstract image on the cover of all the albums. it was a bold move that paid off well.

the compilation series for em:t all featured frog cover art, mostly of the brightly coloured and unusual variety. not surprisingly, frogs are now strongly associated with the em:t brand. the artists on the individual albums were given the freedom to choose their own image, with the caveat that it couldn't be a frog. the most striking of these is undoubtedly the emperor penguins image which graces the cover of woob1194.

album design: the new series

it was a struggle from the outset with the new em:t to keep the branding on track. the original plans involved ignoring the original brand entirely, starting with a new logo, no consistency in the design, releasing in jewel cases, etcetera. designs were being produced for the cover art that had no thought to creating a consistent design.

this was due in large part to the label's new manager, matt hall, having no experience with branding or running a record label and having no connection at all to the original em:t.

this changed when rob chant of db|practice was brought on board. as a big fan of the original series, rob was determined to keep the branding intact (apart from anything else, it made much better business sense). he persuaded matt to continue releasing in digipaks, again featuring a single strong cover image. changes to the design were agreed, (no one wanted to follow the previous branding entirely), but the new series was still instantly recognisable as em:t.

many of these differences might seem extremely subtle, but to the designer in me, they're extremely important!

¶ cover art became original photography, and no longer continued with the frog/nature theme. the new theme became detailed, abstract photos, and the images were often hard to identify. also, no differentiation was made between solo and compilation releases with the new art.

¶ japanese kanji replaced the cover image on the spine. in the original series, at the top of the spine there was a tiny thumbnail of the cover. these were replaced with a kanji ideogram for each album, on a coloured background. these were not picked at random - rob tried to pick something suitable for each album. the background colours behind these were fixed for each year (although there was only one year in the history of the new em:t where two albums were released in the same year).

¶ album title replaced catalogue number on the spine. the original em:t series all just had the catalogue number on the spines of the cds, whereas in the new series, the album name was used instead. this only made a difference in the case of solo artist releases, as the compilations' all had titles identical to the catalogue numbers anyway.

¶ text on the new albums was ranged right; the classic series had everything centred. the track number, time and name information also had its presentation altered slightly. however, all blocks of text were still full force justified, as with the original series, just positioned to the right of the page rather than centred (full force justification was a real pain with those email and web addresses, believe me!)

¶ the cd on-body artwork was changed. the original series used a consistent design for the on-body artwork; namely a white background, with the em:t shine device and album title in black, with the usual legal text around the outside edge of the disc. the new releases opted for a much more minimal approach. the body was left unprinted, and featured only the album title and its kanji symbol printed in white on opposites side of the hole (this mode was reversed for the solo artist releases, with the body printed in white and the text and symbol left unprinted).

¶ the title of each album was moved from the top right to the bottom right. this was purely an aesthetic change.

buying em:t

lets just say that original em:t cds aren't exactly cheap. actually it might be more accurate to say that they're famously expensive—a copy of strong> went for several hundred dollars on eBay not so long ago, and prices in that region aren't rare either.

so, what to do if you're collecting em:t and don't have very deep pockets?

well, the new series is much easier to come by. they were quite widely distributed on on-line shops selling ambient and electronic music (links below), and there are a fair number to be had on discogs.

looking for the classic series? there is always ebay, and you do occasionally see one going cheap there. likewise on discogs. my main advice is to go off-line though scour your local second-hard record shops and the like.

i'd recommend against buying mp3s for em:t. not only do you loose the great artwork and all the rest, but none of the artists are getting paid for those downloads (no, not even from itunes). dodgy!

album notes

  • em:t0094
    the first em:t album, released in 1994. the design is spot on for the series, with the only exceptions being that the inner blurb is quite a bit shorter than average, and the bar code on the back has slightly more normal proportions compared with the slimmed down versions on later releases.

    the album is still incredibly listenable. stand-out tracks for me are void, part one by woob (void, part two is only available on 12" from beeswax, as far as i know ), earthloop by milan (milan was actually just mat jarvis/gas working with brian horsfield and deep freeze by bad data.
     
  • woob1194
    em:t's second release is an absolute giant of the ambient genre. it is still held, 15 years later, as one of the most seminal ambient albums ever. the stand-out is the first track, on earth a majestic, epic half hour journey to, well, who knows where and back.

    most people consider the album to be a great example of very tribal ambient, and while it certainly does have a lot of ethnic influences, it's always been in a much more cyberpunk/science fiction place for me. it actually really surprised me when i first heard people talk about it as 'tribal ambient'.

    design-wise, the only notable feature of the album is the fact that the digipak has a black tray, as opposed to the white on in all the other em:t releases. oh, and the iconic emperor penguins on the front. can't forget about them.
     
  • qubism2294
    another release, another iconic cover. em:t was on a roll in its first year, and while this release isn't as well known or vaunted as many of em:t's other solo artist releases, it is still strong and unique in its own way. it's beatier and a bit more upbeat than most of the rest of the catalogue, but still retains the chilling em:t vibe.

    ghost of catalonia really stands out for me, with its mystical spanish atmosphere, while anthropomorphic is probably the best known track. a piece of trivia for you - this version of the track is quite a bit longer than the version that appears on em:t0094. it has a moment of silence half way through and then jumps back to earlier in the track (almost as if the cd had skipped). this was a quick and dirty trick to bring the album up to full length (all em:t releases always filled the cd).
     
  • gas0095
    another em:t that really needs no introduction. this is still an absolute classic that many people into ambient and electronic music swear by to this day. many of the tracks are real stand-outs, but the best known is probably microscipics.

    design-wise, there's nothing weird of different about this release, save for a thin black line around the bar-code. i can only think that was a mistake.

    [for those interested, gas0095 has been remastered by the artist himself, and is available in lots of formats from microscopics.co.uk.]
     
  • miasma1195
    miasma1195 is an odd one—it's a very strong solo artist release, with a deep, haunting, melancholy feel to it. unusually for em:t releases, it features singing (although not on all the tracks, and it very subdued), and rich strings and other instruments, all recorded (rather than sampled). the reason i say it's an odd one, however, is that it really doesn't seem to be as well known or celebrated as many of the other solo artist releases. it does completely fit within the oeuvre, however, and is well worth checking out.

    the packaging is unremarkable, apart from a black line around the bar code (a mistake?) and a piece abstract, semi-musical artwork on the inside cover. i think this is the first em:t release to feature custom artwork inside it.
     
  • em:t2295
    another release, another frog and another awesome compilation. there's not a huge amount to say about em:t2295 other than the fact it's strong, deep and dark. the woob, scanner (his only appearance on em:t and gas all stand out, as does the opening track by symetrics. all in all, and excellent release.

    the packaging is standard, with the exception of a more 'ordinary' bar code on the back, as opposed to the slightly customised ones that em:t usually used..
     
  • international peoples gang3395
    i've never been a huge fan of ipg (barring a great track on em:t1197, so i've not listened to this album in a long time and can't really comment on it. having said that, i know that a lot of people like it, so please go out and check it for yourself.

    the packaging on this one is standard em:t, with the exception of a colourful collage of childhood type magazine clippings and the like on the inside cover.
     
  • woob2 4495
    this is another stunning release from woob, with another stunning cover, making woob the only em:t artist who released two albums (this wouldn't have been the case if em:t had continued). this album is often passed over, due to the phenomenal popularity of woob1194—don't make the same mistake, seek this out immediately! maybe not quite up to 1194, but it's still an amazing piece of work.

    packaging-wise, the inside cover flips out to reveal two insanely hallucinogenic paintings—no explanations given.
     

em:t on the web > essentials

em:t on the web

em:t.cc
em:t on discogs
soma.fm
official woob site

em:t on the web > unessentials

things vaguely related to em:t

microscopics
the new record label of highly respected and original em:t artist high skies, formerly known as gas.
part2 records
my own record label, working with a handful of former em:t artists and keeping the spirit alive.
james murray
james had one track on the em:t0004 compilation under the alias 'sub', and is now doing very well for himself, with a full length on ultimae, amongst other things.
selectadisc
cult record shop where i first discovered em:t
the designers republic
the original em:t designers.
db|practice
designers for the new em:t series. db do largely on-line marketing work now, such as SEO and PPC, but are occasionally interested in interesting print design projects.

em:t clothing

the new em:t incarnation released one item of clothing: a t-shirt featuring the em:t0003 kanji. it was released in a fairly limited quantity (about 1,000 of them i think) between the release of em:t0003 and em:t0004.

the shirt was very well received by fans and sold out very quickly. however, it must be pointed out that the real reason for its inception was to generate funds to help produce em:t0004. things were tight! that said, a series of shirts was planned but never came to fruition. this was the only one that was even designed.

the t-shirt was actually misprinted using thermal technology instead of screen printing as originally intended. this meant that the design was printed all the way across the shirt, much larger than specified, and that the print degraded pretty rapidly in the wash.

luckily, it didn't go completely and ended up quite pleasantly distressed. the t-shirt material itself was very good quality. i happen to be wearing mine now and it's still pretty cool.

em:t on amazon

just a few em:t albums available on amazon at the moment...
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instinct re-releases

prolific electronic music label instinct released a number of em:t's cds during the '90s, including the classic woob1194. these releases featured the original cover artwork, but were released in jewel cases rather than digipaks. although not really considered canonical by most em:t fans, they're still an excellent way to get your hands on the music for a lesser price than an original release.

instinct also released three compilations of em:t material -- em:t beat exploration, em:t 2000 and em:t explorer. these drew on various of the original recordings, and are again not canonical. they're best viewed as samplers of the em:t catalogue.

controversy

unpleasent topic it may be, but i don't think an em:t lens would be complete without it. the simple fact is that em:t ceased to trade, twice.

there are a lot of rumours surrounding the collapse of the first incarnation of the label. all i know for certain was that it ceased trading in 1998, that the copyrights and publishing rights of the music reverted back to the original artists and that some of those artists were left with money owed to them. i don't even know how the label ceased to trade. as to why it ceased to trade, well, lack of money is the obvious answer, but i won't repeat any of the rumours i've heard about why they ran out when they should have been doing so well.

the second incarnation of em:t was gracefully wound up, but there had been a long period of inactivity before that [i don't have the dates with me right now, i'll dig them out later]. again, people were left with sometimes large debts unpaid by the label (i know, i was one of them).

i can say for certain in the case of the new em:t that, while the company was wound up very quitely, and, as far as i know, no effort was made to pay anyone final amounts owned, there was no real malfeasance. no one at all walked away rich from it.

having said that, there were mistakes made along the way. the label manager was pretty green at the time and money was wasted when it should have been spent on paying people or on re-printing popular albums. for example, the 302acid's tour was successful, but went way over budget, and in the end, wasn't a good investment.

however, it's important to note that no one gained personally from any of this. all mistakes made were just that—honest mistakes.

a personal note

em:t has long been a waxing and waning passion of mine. i have a complete collection of the cds (minus a certain woob, which has been on loan for a long time... you know who you are!). sometimes i don't listen to them for months, sometimes it's pretty much every day.

i first discovered em:t at the tender age of 17 or so, on a random cd shopping spree in the basement second hand section of selectadisc. the album was em:t1197 (still my favourite of the compilation releases) and, little did i know at the time, we were only a few minutes walk from where the label was based.

over the next few months and years, my friend and i slowly unearth more and more of the releases, either in selectadisc or other underground record shops. let's just say it was hard going. we may found one every six months or so. we didn't realise at the time, but the label had just gone bust and print runs were already on the small side. cult status meant demand was high.

skip a few years, and you find me typing 'em:t' into the newly popular google. the first thing i found was the excellent fan site, em:t.cc, and i immediately offered to get involved. we worked on the design, hunted down original artists, gathered material and did interviews, either remotely or in person. it was a lot of fun, and we learned a lot—the bulk of what is presented below, in fact.

in early 2003 we began to hear rumours of an em:t relaunch, but we didn't think a lot of it to start with. soon enough, however, matt hall appeared on the scene with full details—em:t was indeed being relaunched.

to cut a long story short, i joined the new em:t team working freelance, doing design work, marketing stuff and some a&r.

the point of this long ramble? mainly that as i was involved in the new em:t, most of what i've written about it is fairly hard fact (within the limits of memory and opinion, of course), but behind the scene information on the original label is hazy at best.

as a side note, i've referred to myself as 'i' when talking as me, the author of this lens, and about my non-professional experiences with em:t, and as 'rob' when talking about my professional involvement with the relaunched label.

talk

like the lens? got info on em:t? let me know...

submit
  • Reply
    Music Is My Medicine Sep 17, 2010 @ 10:20 am | delete
    blessed to have found em:t, if there's anyway for us to show support to the original artists, let us know. they should re-release their own works independently, if possible.
    ambient is the way
  • Reply
    cyberpunkdreams Sep 17, 2010 @ 10:36 am | delete
    Many of them have -- check out http://microscopics.co.uk for what Mat Jarvis (aka gas) is up to. He has connections to some of the other people who are re-releasing, such as woob.
  • Reply
    floyd kelley Jan 6, 2010 @ 3:41 pm | delete
    em:t is one of my favorite all-time labels and it's such good news to know that acts like Gas and Woob are becoming active once again. I am quite saddened that the other artists (formerly) on em:t aren't receiving any royalties for their work. I wish that these artists would make their em:t releases available again (maybe through Bandcamp or such) and thus, we could pay them the money they deserve and we have the music that we long for.
  • Reply
    Derek Pierce aka Beatsystem Nov 20, 2009 @ 9:16 am | delete
    The first label was wound up because i as Beatsystem was fed up with excuses from them about non payment,if they had just said they had no money i would have let it go. The second label didnt pay either and are currently receiving royalties that belong to the artists ie me and others.
  • Reply
    cyberpunkdreams Nov 20, 2009 @ 9:21 am | delete
    Hi Derek -- thanks for your comment. I know for a fact that the label isn't receiving royalties though, because the company no longer exists (I checked with Companies House). I think all the retailers who are still selling the albums are just keeping the money for themselves. I know how you feel though -- I didn't get paid about £1.5k for the work I did for them.
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cyberpunkdreams

Ack, what to say? I do lots of things, from painting to cooking, reading to writing, gardening to marketing. So I don't like labels and pigeon holes.... more »

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