Brian Eno has brought back Opal Records, the label he founded in 1988, marking its first major activity in more than three decades.
The relaunch begins with the reissue of two long-lost albums – 2005’s Another Day on Earth and 2001’s Drawn From Life – both of which have been unavailable outside Japan for nearly 20 years.
To coincide with the announcement, two previously unreleased live videos have been released. Caught Between (from Another Day on Earth) was filmed at Coliseu do Porto during the Porto Festival on June 16, 2001, while Persis (from Drawn From Life) was recorded at Fuji Rock Festival at Naeba Ski Resort on July 29, 2001. The performances feature Eno, J. Peter Schwalm, Nell Catchpole, Leo Abrahams, Christoph Buhse, Tim Harries and Heiko Himmighoffen.
Opal originally operated between 1988 and 1991, releasing music by Roger Eno, Harold Budd, Laraaji, Djivan Gasparyan, Hugo Largo, Zvuki Mu, Daniel Lanois, Jon Hassell and John Cale. Eno paused the label in 1991 to focus on his own projects, with the catalogue later moving to All Saints Records.
Describing Opal in 1988, Eno said: “If someone asks me what the Opal artists have in common I’m hard pressed to find a simple answer. I suppose I could say that each is distinctive, not only from each other, but also from the various mainstreams of modern music: it is a label for outsiders.”
Both reissued albums were originally Opal recordings licensed to other labels – Another Day on Earth via Hannibal Records in 2005 and Drawn From Life via Virgin Records in 2001. Rights reverted to Opal several years later, leaving both titles out of circulation until now.
Drawn From Life continues the collaborative, systems-based work associated with Opal’s early roster, while Another Day on Earth marked Eno’s return to songwriting after more than a decade focused on ambient and production work.
Eno has confirmed that 1 per cent of proceeds from Opal releases will be donated to EarthPercent, the non-profit he co-founded that channels money from artists and music companies into trusted environmental and conservation groups.
