Various Artists - Be With 10 Years: Joyride + Labour Of Love *Pre-Order

Release Date Friday 25th October 2024
All pre-orders will be dispatched/made ready for collection on that day.

Housed together in a stunning 380gsm board slipcase with a matt laminate soft touch finish and a UV
spot varnish on the beloved Be With logo, we proudly present the Be With 10 Years record and book
package.
Record contains 10 exclusive never-before-on-vinyl tracks from 10 Be With family members. 310mm
square softcover book printed on a 350gsm woodfree uncoated board. Book block printed on
120gsm Dadong Lucky Bird woodfree uncoated paper. 140gram vinyl with a 380gsm jacket. 1000
copies only for the world, no repress!
Be With Records reaching 10 years feels like a landmark worth celebrating. So we proudly present Joyride
(the record) and Labour Of Love (the book) in one beautiful slipcase. We're not doing this for self-indulgent
reasons. This book and record package was conceived as an opportunity to praise, shine a light on and
above all else show gratitude to all the artists we've worked so closely with over the last 10 years. But not
just the artists - all of the amazing people who form part of the wider Be With family.
Without question, this package represents the most exciting, daunting and rewarding thing that the label has
ever put together. Some time in 2023, we had the idea that 2024 should feature some special releases,
events and, well, "things". The "thing" is the very book and record you're reading about. Thanks to the
brother Jim - writer and editor of the very thing - for suggesting we do a book. (I thought he was joking).
Anyway, how could Be With do a book, shaped like a record sleeve and sized the same, without including a
record inside to complete a very special package of "Be Withness"?
THE RECORD: JOYRIDE
10 tracks for 10 Years of Be With from 10 of our favourite artists we've ever worked with over the past
decade. As a happily "all over the place" label, the music, accordingly, had to be varied in vibe and style.
We start with a gorgeous acoustic folk track from Thomas Almqvist. I first heard this when our dear friend
Andre Allday - who first suggested and then facilitated the Nyanser reissue - played it during our release
party for the record at the amazing Hosoi in Stockholm. As something to grab your attention from the off, it's
a pretty good opener, I reckon - it'll stop you in your tracks.
We move into an almost totally "lost" Lewis Taylor track, known to and beloved by only his hardest of
hardcore fans. Before now, it has only ever seen the light of day on some obscure late 90s CD of "lullabies"
compiled by Joan Armatrading. Us neither!
Mic Murphy from Sass/The Mighty Soulmates/The System (!!!) allowed us to use an unreleased track from
his mysterious late 90s period. He sent over 7 stunning tracks and, over breakfast one winter morning with

my two sons, Rocco and Bruno, the 3 of us selected the track that made us bounce the most while chomping
on our cereal.
In deep fall of 2023, myself and Steven (The Funky Paramedic™) had the great pleasure of visiting Tony
Henry, leader of the legendary Manchester 80s soul-funk act 52nd Street (those who "put the dance into
Factory") to speak some more about a forthcoming retrospective that's been in the works for 5 years now.
Fear not - it's coming! Anyway, we went into Tony's amazing studio and he played us the track you hear,
here. A demo originally meant for Phyllis Hyman (I mean, come on!), he's very kindly let us use it for this
record. A thousand thank yous. It's sensational.
Side A closes out with an elegant exclusive from our favourite Japanese duo, Coastlines, a tropical jazz-
funk-fusion track that only they can so effortlessly craft. Sublime.
Side B opens with another total exclusive, and the title track of this compilation. "Joyride" is like some kind of
swinging, G-Funk library from the Californian master of modern cinematic soul - Maston. We love everything
about this dude. Speaking of California, next up is possibly the coolest ex-pat Manc in all of the Golden
State.
Kenny Dickenson's instant classic "Stupid Rain" knocked me out the first time I heard it. The way it starts as
a beautifully ornate ambient piece before introducing the barest of pulses to then segue into a full slo-mo
cosmic chugger just gets me every time. Man's a genius.
Our great friends from Wilco, Pat and John, comprise The Autumn Defense. Two of the nicest humans in the
game and "Bluebirds Fall" is chiming folk-rock at its finest. What they do best and, beyond a tiny-run CD EP
decades ago, this is the only way to own this majestic stunner.
Stimulator Jones is a Stones Throw artist who we've loved ever since the epochal "Soon Never Comes"
graced our ears. We're putting out his archive beats and when I asked if he had anything fresh that hadn't yet
found a home, he sent over a modern / spiritual jazz movement that just blew me away. It's here.
We round out the compilation with a staccato funk-rock track from a Prince alumnus, the one and only Andre
Cymone. If this track isn't blasting from radio stations from Dublab to Gilles to NTS then there's no justice in
the world.
Of course, as is our way, none of these tracks have ever appeared on vinyl before. This is the only way to
own them on wax. Pretty cool. As ever, all we ever want to hear is music with soul and personality. And
that's what's contained here. We think we've nailed it. We think you'll like it too.
THE BOOK: LABOUR OF LOVE
Created in conjunction with the editor and design team behind Disco Pogo, Labour Of Love is our first ever
book and serves as a brilliantly rich and varied document of Be With's first 10 years. It surveys our entire
catalogue with the artwork for every single release faithfully reproduced in full colour accompanied by Rob's
inimitable reviews.
The book contains fresh, exclusive interviews with Ned Doheny, Leon Ware, Lewis Taylor, Tommy Guerrero,
Wally Badarou, Steve Moore, Pete Fowler, Kimiko Kasai, Tony Henry (52nd Street), The Autumn Defense,
Coastlines and The Mighty Soulmates.
There's also fantastic contributions from a whole host of well regarded fans of the label. We have Gilles
Peterson on Ned, Trevor Jackson on Nucleus, Efficient Space on Steve Hiett and the joy of collaboration in a
competitive industry, Bill Brewster on Marti Caine, Balearic Mike on Kylie and Lou Hayter on her beloved Air.
We explore the development of the Be With logo and also take an insider's look at the journey of a typical Be
With record; from the mastering stage with Simon Francis, cutting it up with Cicely Balston, the artwork
ordeals with Chris Stevenson, pressing matters with Record Industry, slinging product with ace distributors
Word And Sound, stocking product with our favourite London record shop When Spaceships Appear and
even packing records for direct orders with our very own Funky Paramedic.
There's also an irreverent look at the legendary Reissue Request Line over on Facebook, with many hints at
things to come.

Tracklist: A1 Thomas Almqvist - Lullaby For Zak A2 Lewis Taylor - Cherry Blossom A3 Mic Murphy - Salon du Chocolat
A4 52nd Street - I'd Fallen In Love (With The Wrong Kind) A5 Coastlines - Hot Wind B1 Maston - Joyride B2 Kenny
Dickenson - Stupid Rain B3 The Autumn Defense - Bluebirds Fall B4 Stimulator Jones - Aquarius-Pisces Cusp B5 Andre
Cymone - Sex Love Experience

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