THE WELL is Independent Project Records’ own take on digging deep and unearthing revelatory treasures from its 45-year history. A trip through the past, present and future of a label that since 1980 has made the most prominent part of its name, that resounding “Independent”, not a trendy epithet but a mission.
The two-album compilation is an invite to join the dots and find out what makes Afterimage – the early '80s band The Los Angeles Times once called “LA’s own Joy Division” – and Alison Clancy – the artist making ethereal ambient dream pop in the basement of New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, where she works as a dancer – kindred spirits. You’re invited to find similarities in the way The Ophelias reclaimed San Francisco’s unfettered psychedelic rock roots at a time (the mid '80s) when the city had consigned itself to the commercial muscle of arena rock, and the way Half String brought a wide-eyed shoegaze revolution outside of '90s indie’s hotspots, heading the Beautiful Noise scene in Arizona.
What all the artists appearing in this decades-spanning, genre-defying compilation seem to have in common is a certain transfixing quality. It may be put in motion by the hypnotic rumble of a post-punk groove or by the celestial peaks of an ambient piece so immersive it seems capable of freezing time. These are musicians with a determination to do things their own way.
VOLUME ONE:
1 AFTERIMAGE “Afterimage”
From the Faces To Hide retrospective album released on IPR
2 LESLIE MEDFORD “Leslie’s Dream”
Previously released as a digital single on IPR, first physical release
3 SHIVA BURLESQUE “Midnight Chapel”
Previously unreleased new recording
4 GREG LISHER “Zen and the Art of Long Distance Driving”
From the Underwater Detection Method album released on IPR
5 THE OPHELIAS “Sleepy Hamlet”
From the Bare Bodkin retrospective album released on IPR
6 SPRINGHOUSE “Sea and Rain”
From the From Now to OK album released on IPR
7 DAVID J “Punishment By Roses”
From the forthcoming Tracks from the Attic Revisited album to be released on IPR
8 HALF STRING “Honeycut”
From the A Fascination With Heights album released on IPR
9 JEFFREY RUNNINGS “Heretofore”
From the Piqued album released on IPR
10 DRIVEWAY CEILING “mr walden”
From the forthcoming death of the walden newspaper co album to be released on IPR
11 ALISON CLANCY “The Valley”
Previously released as a digital single on IPR, first physical release
12 BRUCE LICHER “Tundra”
From the Tape Excavation compilation album released on IPR
13 WOO “The One That Got Away”
From the Xylophonics/Robot X album released on IPR
14 CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN “Vegetables”
Demo recording from 1983
15 FOURWAYCROSS “Halloween”
From the Pendulum archive series release on IPR — forthcoming retrospective release on IPR
16 KOMMUNITY FK “Antipop”
From the The Vision And The Voice album released on IPR in 1983 — forthcoming remastered reissue on IPR
17 JEFFREY CLARK “Sacred”
Previously unreleased recording
18 DECEPTION BAY “It’ll Be My Day”
Previously unreleased live recording
19 SPADRA MOODS “New Colours”
From a very limited band-released cassette tape from the mid-1980’s by this group featuring future members of Savage Republic and Scenic
20 BPEOPLE “Persecution, That’s My Song”
Originally released on the Alternative Tentacles Records compilation Let Them Eat Jellybeans in 1981 — forthcoming retrospective release on IPR
21 SCENIC “Hole in the Wall”
From the Incident At Cima album released on IPR
22 A PRODUCE “Tunnels”
From the The Clearing album released on IPR
23 RED TEMPLE SPIRITS “Dark Spirits”
From the Red Temple Spirits 3-CD set released on IPR
VOLUME TWO:
1 SAVAGE REPUBLIC “Archetype”
From the Customs album originally released in 1989 on the Nate Starkman & Son Greece label
2 BARRY CRAIG “I Woke Up Dreaming”
Previously unreleased recording circa 1989 by Afterimage guitarist and well-known ambient electronic artist A Produce
3 DAVID J “No One Looks Like Christopher Walken”
Previously unreleased demo recording
4 TORN BOYS “Mystery”
Previously unreleased version of a song originally released on the 1983 retrospective album on IPR
5 MIDDLE CLASS “Politic (Body and Soul)”
Originally released on the Munster Records compilation What Have We Wrought? A Mike Atta Benefit in 2013 — forthcoming retrospective release on IPR
6 SCENIC “Raintree Road”
Previously unreleased recording from the sessions for The Long Sun 10” release on St. Ives Records
7 THE INVISIBLE OPERA COMPANY OF TIBET “Here I Am”
Red Temple Spirits offshoot from the very limited band-released cassette tape titled The Alien Host from 1996
8 SNUFFY “Breezy”
Previously unreleased recording from Fourwaycross bassist Steve Gerdes circa the late 1990’s
9 WOO “Tibetan Trains”
Bonus track from the forthcoming expanded reissue of the Whichever Way You Are Going You Are Going Wrong album to be released on IPR
10 EDWARD W. DAHL “A Wink and a Nod”
Previously unreleased instrumental mix from the Louder Than You Think soundtrack album to be released on IPR
11 THE SUNFLOWER CONSPIRACY “Spacetime”
Indiana-based shoegaze/dream pop band — from a very limited band-released cassette tape from the mid-1990’s titled Silver Satin Grey
12 LANTERNA “Aegean”
From a very limited artist-released cassette tape from 1992 titled Of Shapes That Haunt Thought’s Wilderness
13 MIKE WHITE “Hangliders Torn Wing”
Previously unreleased solo recording from the 2nd guitarist in the early 80’s incarnation of San Francisco band The Sleepers
14 JAZZ BEDOUINS “Mingus Mountain”
From a very limited 2007 artist-released CDr from this Sedona, Arizona-based modern jazz trio titled Beautiful Trash
15 NEEF “Radiant Transfer To Non-Grey Walls”
From a very limited artist-released self-titled cassette tape from 1979, the first music release that IPR founder Bruce Licher is featured on
16 SCENIC “Film Music #6”
Previously unreleased recording circa 2001
17 A PRODUCE “Jimbe”
From the expanded edition of the Land of a Thousand Trances album released on IPR
18 BOXHEAD ENSEMBLE “Rank”
From the The Unseen Hand: Music For Documentary Film album released on Jealous Butcher Records, featuring guitar work from Bruce Licher
"The Well works because it is not merely a celebration of the past, but a collection rooted in the present that offers a tantalising portent of things to come. It’s a perfect summation of all three, made even more enticing by the addition of rare and previously unreleased tracks... If you are new to Independent Project Records you’ll spend many happy hours mining its depths, and The Well is a great starting point to explore the backstories of the bands further. If you are already acquainted, then The Well is the best two-and-a-half hours you’ll ever spend."
—The Midlands Rocks
"Championing their bold originality and experimental zeal in IPR’s distinctively lavish letterpress packaging, the special edition double CD version is elegantly augmented with a colorful booklet of photos and illuminating briefings on each handpicked track. Licher’s discerning ear and sense of historical significance yields an extraordinarily diverse collection, The Well winging its way through revelatory exhibits of unexpected beauty and inspired creativity."
—Peter Lindblad, Ink19
"Less a retrospective than a revelation. Spanning over four decades, forty-one tracks, and a dizzying array of genres, it positions IPR not just as a label, but as a laboratory of independent creativity; a place where ambition, idiosyncrasy, and sheer sonic curiosity converge... What makes The Well extraordinary is its coherence despite its eclecticism. Licher’s curation emphasizes the intangible qualities that unite IPR’s artists: a sense of adventure, a commitment to self-determination, and the ability to summon atmosphere from minimal resources... Rare and unreleased tracks, live performances, demos, and archival gems all coexist without ever feeling arbitrary. Each listen yields new textures, hidden harmonies, or rhythmic quirks previously unnoticed. It is as rewarding for those venturing into IPR’s universe for the first time as it is for longtime fans eager to trace the veins of influence and invention threading through the label’s catalog."
—James Broscheid, The Big Takeover
★★★★ "Artist and musician Bruce Licher founded Independent Project Records in 1980 to release the kind of music he wanted to hear, and to create beautiful physical objects into the bargain. The label soon became known for its stylish packaging and distinctive letterpress printing, as well as a catalogue that spanned the darker, artier end of post-punk, nouveau psychedelia and oddball indie like their biggest success Camper Van Beethoven. This sprawling, 41-track celebration includes an early demo by CVB ('Vegetables') alongside the Iggy-like gothic rock of Afterimage, a stately brooding ballad ('Midnight Chapel') by the reformed Shiva Burlesque, and the post-punk talking blues of 'Leslie's Dream' by Leslie Medford of The Ophelias (who also contribute '80s psych classic 'Sleepy Hamlet'). From Bauhaus bassist David J with the typically dark and elegant 'Punishment By Roses' to the classic sunshine-pop of Driveway Ceiling's 'Mr Walden', The Well delivers an embarrassment of riches."
—Ben Graham, Shindig!
"Founded by Bruce Licher, Independent Project Records has been one of the more consistent labels in both sound and design over the last 50 years. For evidence, please look no further than the new 2CD compilation The Well, which offers 41 tracks ranging from well-known acts to deep obscurities... Although difficult to pin down stylistically, Independent Project Records benefited from a focused sensibility... In brief, The Well is a thematically and historically cohesive deep dive."
—Joseph Neff, The Vinyl District
"Some of the interesting twists and turns include a 1983 demo track from Camper Van Beethoven, an unreleased 1989 recording by Barry Craig d/b/a A Produce, a new recording from Shiva Burlesque, an unreleased demo track by David J of Bauhaus/ Love and Rockets, an unheard song by Licher's Sedona-based, post-Savage Republic band Scenic, as well as a tune by Neef, Licher's aforementioned band from 1979... You also get a thick glossy booklet detailing each track, custom cellophane envelopes for each disc, and the kind of lovely hand-letter-pressed outer sleeve that IPR is known (and Grammy-nominated) for. Heck, it even smells nice."
—John Mulhouse, Ugly Things
"Aesthetically perfect in every way (much like any number of IPR releases, really), this numbered, letter-pressed packaging and beautifully laid out cover and booklet design is, dare I say, flawless... Highest recommendation."
—Mark Twistworthy, Razorcake
"Some of the most welcome tracks are from older acts yet to get full reissues or selections from acts new and old fitting with the label’s goals, including Fourwaycross, driveway ceiling, Bpeople, NEEF, Deception Bay and Kommunity FK. Newer acts to the label feature as well, including David J and Alison Clancy, while For Against are represented by a solo selection from Jeffrey Runnings from the album recorded before his tragic passing from cancer. Add to that songs from label stalwarts and standouts like Scenic, Shiva Burlesque, Half String and of course Savage Republic, and the whole is a remarkable portrait of a label and an aesthetic still developing over the years."
—Ned Raggett, THE SHFL
"A hotbed of hectic creativity since its now distant debut, Independent Project Records has no intention of letting its machinery slow down. On the contrary, in recent years it has made a spectacular comeback. The Well, in the finest tradition of independent labels, is a family portrait on a large scale (41 tracks in total) interweaving past and future of Bruce Licher’s label/factory. From the trance of Savage Republic to the post-rock of Scenic, from the offbeat college folk of Camper Van Beethoven to the electronica of WOO, from the psychedelia of the Ophelias to the contemporary indie rock hopefulness brought by the likes of Driveway Ceiling. Among the various rarities and gems, a new song by Shiva Burlesque, reunited together with David J, stands out. A genuine treasure trove."
—Carlo Bardone, Rumore
"This overview of IPR is extensive, typically well put together, features liner notes and ultimately serves as an introduction to the wide range of artists it has helped promote over the years. There’s plenty here to satisfy anybody’s own tastes, too."
—Richard Johnson, Adverse Effect Magazine
