Merge Records was started in the summer of 1989, by Laura Ballance & Mac McCaughan, the same summer they formed the band Superchunk in Chapel Hill, NC. The first couple releases were cassettes (remember those?), by WWAX and Bricks, followed by the first Superchunk (then known only as "Chunk") 7" single. The vinyl 7" was the format of choice for the first 3 years of the label, with cash borrowed from friends to finance projects (including singles from Erectus Monotone, Angels of Epistemology, and more Superchunk) and bedrooms serving as Merge HQ until 1992, when the first Merge full-length release, Tossing Seeds by Superchunk, was released on CD, LP, and cassette. With this release Merge also forged a relationship with Touch and Go Records of Chicago, who have done an admirable job manufacturing and distributing the bulk of Merge's full-length releases since then. Since '92 Merge moved from one charming-yet-run-down office to another until 2001, when we finally made the move from Chapel Hill down the road to a fine old building all our own in historic Downtown Durham, NC. In 2004 Merge Records is celebrating its 15th birthday, and while our roster has changed, rotated, permutated and expanded over the last 15 years, the quality we look for in records as fans is still there in the music we put out on Merge. Thanks for listening!
May 24 street date. Mono was an English trip hop duo that scored a hit in 1996 with their first single "Life In Mono". Three singles followed before releasing their debut album, "Formica Blues". The album reached #71 in the UK album charts and reached #137 on the Billboard 200 in the US. The sound of the album is described as to wallow in the sound of television and film theme tunes of the 1960s and 70s, but both to embellish and underpin it with jazzy breakbeats and Massive Attack synthy atmospheres. A logical reference since the album was produced by Mark Virgo, who collaborated with Massive Attack and Björk. Mono's career was brief but powerfu, with "Formica Blues" as their only full-length release. Limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on translucent yellow coloured vinyl and includes an insert.