Left Ear Records

10/05/2025

LER 1037: Tim Gruchy- Jungles (Original Full-Length Version) / Michael Krilich - Arnhem Land (Extended Version) is officially out today on a split 12”
What started off as a somewhat forgotten soundtrack to an art piece for ironing board dances by Tim Gruchy, and a shared YouTube link to a lost electronic track by Michael Krilich that sampled an obscure Aboriginal Australian recording — which we later discovered was sung by George Morkai in ’57 — led us astray on a 4-year journey that encompassed digitising reels, studying the origins of Aboriginal Australian ceremonial music, and tracking down musicologists and custodians living in remote communities
As always, it was a long and challenging process that took more time and resources than we could have imagined. Fuelled by blind determination and a desire to have these two gems available on vinyl/archived we somehow managed to get this across the line.
Taking this approach not only allowed us to release the music legally and ethically, but also gave us a deeper appreciation of the history of this country and the enduring cultural legacy of its First Nations peoples
That said, we’re extremely excited to be able to share the release with a wider audience and hope that some people will appreciate it as much as us and the artists involved

20/02/2025

Insert for our forthcoming split 12” LER:1037, which featutes Tim Gruchy– Jungles (Original Full-Length Version) an the A-side & Michael Krilich’s – Arnhem Land (Extended Version) on the B-side
The insert also includes detailed liner notes of the ironing board dance performances to which Tim’s track Jungles originally accompanied and the licensing and sample clearing process behind Arnhem Land, which we were somehow magically able to achieve with years of persistance
Images courtesy of , design by

21/01/2025

LER 1037: Tim Gruchy - Jungles (Original Full-Length Version) / Michael Krilich - Arnhem Land (Extended Version)
For our next release we’ll be delivering two previous unreleased Australian ‘experimental’ electronic tracks from the 80’s and honouring them with a split 12” release
Side A: Features an unreleased full-length version of Tim Gruchy’s Jungles, a solo electro-percussive piece recorded in Tim’s Lab D’Avoid studio in Brisbane. The track is emblematic of his style during an era when he worked extensively in music, both as a percussionist and primarily with electronics, including early analog synths
A shorter version was originally released on the Meanjin (Brisbane) art collective ZIP’s Eye Ear EP book package in 1986 and, more recently, on Left Ear’s Antipodean Anomalies 2 compilation
This original version of Jungles was initially part of the soundtrack for the ZIP Performing Group’s infamous Ironing Board Dances. Footage of the performance was treated through a Fairlight synthesizer, mixed with hand-painted slides, and transferred to VHS for various film festivals
.
Side B: Michael Krillich’s Arnhem Land began its journey in 1982, in North Bondi. Inspired by Brian Eno and David Byrne’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, he experimented with tape loops, cut-ups, and samples, incorporating synthesizers, effects pedals, a drum machine, and an unknown sample from an Australian Aboriginal record.
In 2018, via record we were introduced to Michael’s Arnhem Land via record dealer Matt Bowden and instantly decided to pursue a vinyl release. Our search to uncover the sample’s origins led us to Arnhem Land Vol. 1 (1957), recorded by Peter Elkin in the Daly River region
After years of research and through the guidance of Professor Allan Marrett and local custodians, the sample was verified as a “Wangga” ceremonial song sung by George Morkai, an Emmiyangarl man. Rights to the song had passed through generations to Tobias Worumbu, who granted us permission for its use, bringing Arnhem Land full circle
Remastered by: Dan Elleson
Design: Asger Behncke Jacobsen
Distro through Rush Hour or direct in the Antipodes

18/09/2024

Leong Lau’s - ‘Dragon Man’ has officially been re-released back into the wild and will be making its way across the concrete jungles of Melbourne/Naarm to stores today
Get in touch for distro in the antipodes, or hit up for the rest of the globe
🎷🎷🎷

26/08/2024

10 Years of LER !!!

Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since we decided to launch our label/business/passion project, we truly had no idea what we were doing and jumped into it head first
Huge thanks to all the artists for putting their trust in us, witnessing the joy and excitement from seeing their releases reach a new audience/an audience has been a huge sense of accomplishment and what has kept us going
Special thanks to everyone that’s worked with us, we really appreciate it. It’s been amazing to see the amount of people that have believed enough in our projects to invest their time and energy to help us get the releases across the line and without compromise
Big love and shout outs to anyone that has supported us. Whether that’s been through collaborations, distributing, stocking, buying, downloading, listening to, or playing our releases on the radio, or a venue. It’s been sweet to see our little label grow into it’s own
Lastly, nothing quite brings people together like music. We feel really privileged to be able to share music that resonates so deeply with us, and the connections and relationships we’ve established with like-minded people from around the globe has been quite heart-warming to say the least
To everyone, thanks again!

05/07/2024

Self-portrait of the Dragon Man himself. Mr Leong Lau - 1976
Originally included with his quintessential ‘Dragon Man’ LP as a poster with album credits and featuring again in our 2024 reissue
Pre-order Link in bio, due out shortly

20/06/2024

Not much for interviews, but when you get asked by one of your fave music journalists to do an article with two inspiring mates that also started the grind around the same time, it’s hard to say no
That said, we contributed some words to this month’s Rolling Stone magazine article by and despite our lacklustre post we are really appreciative for the continued support
Physical copies available now (only at Coles it appears sadly) and hopefully the digital article will be up shortly
Continued good times ahead!

26/05/2024

Excited to present ‘Celestial Houses’, a semi-cohesive mix of Antipodean religious music predominantly from the 60s & 70s
With a large majority accumulated across various thrift stores, record fairs and trades while travelling the coastlines of Australia, the mix is a somewhat personal journey of literal and metaphorical discovery of music and self
Blessed to have the recording aired tomorrow by one of our most appreciated radio presenters/curators James from and will stream tomorrow night on NTS at 10pm AEDT
Praise be 🙌

08/05/2024

LER 1035: Respuesta Alternativa – Del Silencio LP
After sitting idle in shoeboxes for almost 35 years, a selection of Respuesta Alternativa’s electronic-excursions have finally found their way onto vinyl and are officially hitting local Melbourne/Naarm stores today
Originating in and inspired by the rugged Asturain coastline in Spain, the album highlights the seaside atmosphere, which includes coastal samples, as well as passages that underlines the changing seasons, all reflected in emerging electronic equipment from the era (1987-1990)
Full disclaimer: Despite doing our best to avoid the cliched record promo pic amongst shrubbery, in particular pot plants. We found a nice bush near the office (home). After a few pics and against time constraints and our better judgement, we decided to roll with it
Maybe we’ve turned a new leaf with this release in more ways than one?

11/04/2024

‘Old recording tapes found in a shoebox’. Soon to be released as Respuesta Alternativa’s - Del Silencio
“This is the result of the recovery of some old analog recording tapes in which some tracks composed in the period between 1987-1990 were recorded. The music recorded in those tapes is a compendium of reminiscences of all kinds and not exclusively musical
Music has always been present in my life, either as an avid listener or professionally, performing different tasks. In them interactions with all kinds of people and situations of all kinds were generated. These experiences are the ones that are finally reflected in the music shown here”
- Jesús Mª Catalán (Respuesta Alternativa)

25/03/2024

A couple of additional tracks from our forthcoming Respuesta Alternativa - Del Silencio LP now up on the tube. Thanks to the ever reliable Contain Yr Brain

Previously unreleased archival tracks from newly released compilation EP on Left Ear Records ✨ features recordings from Spain 1987-1990 more info here: https...

21/03/2024

Jesús Mª Catalán aka Respuesta Alternativa, or the Alternative Response. Pictured in a friend’s office in Oviedo, Spain circa 1986
The name of which was born out of the necessity to express other alternative musical forms to which he was typecast
For many around him at the time Jesús was well known and regarded for his work with Asturian synth-pop / new wave band Modas Clandestinas
As Jesús puts it “it is an answer for the people around me and an alternative for me channeling other musical concerns that bullian inside me”
Respuesta Alternativa’s - Del Silencio is now up for pre-order. Link in bio.