Meniscus

[Nate Dorward]

So is this label still going or not? I'm rather put out that they've been promising the first full-length CD by the Sealed Knot Trio (Beins/Davies/Wastell) since 2001 & nothing seems to be happening. (They were also supposed to be doing solo discs by Le Quan Ninh & someone else whose name escapes me at the moment.) Was talking to Rhodri Davies recently & he seemed about as in the dark as me as to the fate of the Sealed Knot disc.

[Sergio Zamora]

Somebody (maybe Jon) told me that disc was postponed because Mr. Meniscus was getting married or something (can't remember - bad memory), but that was a while back. I'm awaiting this one as well.

[Jon Abbey]

yes, that was me, Sergio. Jon Morgan runs Meniscus, Nate, you might know his name, he was a fairly prolific critic before starting the label (and still wrote some afterwards).

anyway, last I talked to him was in late January. not only did he get married, but he bought a house, he was low on capital and a bit dispirited about the indie label biz, but in January, he was gung-ho again, and the Sealed Knot and Ninh discs were both up next. he also was in the midst of redesigning the look of the label for these new releases, maybe that's the holdup, dunno. I do know that the Beins disc I released last November, Lidingö, was recorded well after the Sealed Knot sessions...

[Nate Dorward]

Just got an email from Jon Morgan, whom I'd contacted via the address on the Meniscus website: he says that actually both the Sealed Knot & Le Quan Ninh discs will be out very soon: "my hope is that [they] will be going to the plant either at the end of this week or about a week and a half from now. either way it takes about two weeks once it has gone to the plant." That's great news. I'd been first alerted to the forthcoming Meniscus disc by Will Montgomery, who's very keen on this group in paticular & did a feature on them for The Wire which was originally intended to coincide with the release of the CD. Anyway, I look forward to actually hearing the disc at last! & I'm glad to hear from Rhodri that the band is still going too.

[Sergio Zamora]

Nate,

That Wire article was what made me aware of them, and also made me think the cd release was imminent. Good to hear Morgan's getting back on track with the releases.

[walto]

I wouldn't get too antsy. Jon is pretty notorious for, let's say, "falling behind."

[Jon Abbey]

latest update from Jon is that these are at the plant and will be out in mid-July.

[Meniscus]

After seeing the proofs this afternoon, I was quoted around or on july 11th for the date these are coming back from the factory.

In regards to my notoriety for falling behind.....well yes, these things happen. Maybe I ought to contact Kevin Shields about doing a Meniscus project and he and I can get it together sometime in 2009 after I promise it for several years.

[Jon Abbey]

hey, Jon! welcome, hope you stick around.

and just ignore Walt, all of the rest of us do...

[Martin]

Welcome, Jon!

You remember you wanted to send me e-mail when the new stuff (including the disc by Graewe/Blume) is ready for sale? It would be great if you'll mail also catalogue numbers of those forthcoming releases. Ordering will be made much easier with numbers, and I will order all three of them!

[Jon Abbey]

new Meniscus releases are now available, I got my copies for distribution today.

Lê Quan Ninh-Le Ventre Negative (Meniscus 011) (solo)
The Sealed Knot-Surface/Plane (Meniscus 012) (Burkhard Beins/Rhodri Davies/Mark Wastell)

haven't heard either yet, looking forward to both...

[Sergio Zamora]

Very cool. Being that I'm a Wire-subscribing, hipness-mongering, obscurity-mining charlatan, I gotsta get'em.

(edit: that reminds - I gotta renew my Wire subscription)