May 29th, 2009
You May Now Speak About It Freely: Matador Signs Kurt Vile
We knew it (a Matador Records publicist made us swear not to tell several months ago), you knew it, Dan Gross knew it, and now the “secret” is out: Matador — the venerable indie label that’s home to Pavement, Cat Power, Sonic Youth, Mogwai, Yo La Tengo, and about 497 other ridiculously legendary artists — has signed Philly’s own Kurt Vile to its roster. Of course, Vile himself shared the news with Brian McManus this week, but official is official. Here’s today’s missive from Matador chief Gerard Cosloy:
We’re REALLY pleased to announce — perhaps more than ever before in label history — an addition to the label roster we currently consider to be one of the more important figures in American music circa 2009. Philadelphia guitarist/vocalist Kurt Vile first came to our attention (and possibly yours as well) with the release of the 2008 CD Constant Hitmaker on the Gulcher imprint ( a label whose paw prints extend to dusty genius recordings by the Gizmos and MX80-Sound and contemporary stuff from Home Blitz and Magik Markers). What the homemade Hitmaker (recently reissued on vinyl by Woodsist) lacked in fidelity it more than made for in scope —– to dub the album “psych pop” barely scratches the surface of a work that’s as impossibly catchy as it is wildly experimental.
Subsequent exposure to Kurt’s live shows in a variety of settings, both on his own and with crack ensemble The Violators, made it abundantly clear that we’d either have to sign this guy or find someone else who sounded exactly like him. Since the latter task proved impossible, here we are. Having signed a worldwide, multi-album pact with Matador, Kurt Vile’s first full-length for the label, Childish Prodigy, will be released on LP/CD and digital formats in Autumn 2009.
