The Big Moon have been announced as this year’s official Record Store Day UK ambassadors ahead of the big day on Saturday 18 April. The band will be recording an RSD release live to vinyl at Metropolis Studios on 5 March.
The following day, Long Live Vinyl’s complete guide to all 550+ Record Store Day 2020 releases is released. You can order your copy here.
The band, made up of Juliette, Fern, Soph and Celia will be flying the flag for independent record shops all across the UK. They follow in the footsteps of previous Record Store Day ambassadors: The Mighty Boosh, Rag n Bone Man, Sir Elton John, Kate Tempest and many more.
The Big Moon have played a huge role in supporting the culture independent record shops over the last few years and are the first band to take on the role.
Talking about their role, Celia Archer said “We’re so excited to be ambassadors for Record Store Day! When I was a kid music was still a really tribal thing and if you were into alternative music the record store was a really important space to hang out and spend weekends browsing through things with mates, discovering whole new sounds and genres just because you liked the art work, picking up music magazines and finding out about gigs.
“We’ve played in lots of excellent shops up and down the country and met wonderful people every time, from the people who work there and organise events to the generous souls who have parted with their money and time and bought our records, come to see us play intimate shows and just generally made us feel like what we’re doing is sometimes worthwhile. As we become more and more aware of the toxicity of spending the majority of your life online it’s important that we protect these physical communal spaces and make sure they feel accessible and welcoming to all. Support your local record store!”
The Big Moon will be recording their Record Store Day release live in front of an audience at Metropolis Studios in London. The organisers believe this is the first time, globally, an artist will have recorded three tracks in one take, with a live audience in the studio with them.
Gavin Newman, Brand Director at Metropolis explained “It’s such a privilege to be able to get behind the scenes like this and experience an intimate window into the recording process. To see something cut live to lacquer and then pressed onto a physical product is a rare and exciting opportunity. The live to vinyl experiences incorporate everything we love about music at Metropolis – having access to our favourite bands, being able to feel that sense of creative artistic tension with all of it captured on to the vinyl format which we know and love so well. Metropolis are proud to be on board with Record Store Day to help keep vinyl and independent record shops alive!”
Once the recording is finished, Record Store Day’s manufacturing partner Sound Performance will be taking the lacquer hot off the press (literally!) and fast-track through the pressing plants so that the product will be available in record stores up and down the country on Record Store Day itself.
A limited number of tickets will be available for fans to attend. To apply, enter details via the following link before 23:59 Monday 2 March: https://TheBigMoon.lnk.to/RSD20PR
Natasha Youngs, owner of Resident Music and on the board of the independent record shops who organise the event, said: “We’re delighted to have The Big Moon representing our UK record shops as ambassadors for Record Store Day 2020. They are a band that we have collectively nurtured and championed across their 2 much loved and highly acclaimed albums to date. In return, they have shown immense support for our shops, through limited edition releases and special events to promote their albums. To have such a fast-rising and energetic band highlighting our event – one that celebrates the culture of the shops who help to promote artists like themselves – is a real honour.”
You can find a full list of participating shops on the Record Store Day site here.