ANNOUNCING: 2 HEADS // a collaborative record label :)

'future cult classics'

Hi friends:

Thrilled to announce a truly exciting piece of news: I’m starting my own record label.

It’s called 2 Heads.

(logo: Sabrina Nichols, photo: Francesca Blanchard)

2 Heads is my attempt to build something truly independent—a space to house my own creative whims, as well as the work of artists I deeply admire with whom I’ve worked with as a producer, writer or instrumentalist.

I am beyond delighted to announce my first release—by my dear friend and bandmate Jacob Ungerleider. It’s called “Congratulations,” and I co-produced it with Jacob.

(photo: Ryan Richter, layout: Daniel Murphy)

What can I say? I absolutely adore this record. I think it’s possible that I have spent more time with these recordings than anyone on earth, and I have yet to tire of them. Jacob’s songs are perfect. Classic. They are wry and funny and heart wrenching. They manage to be wildly sophisticated and utterly un-self-serious at once. They do, for me, what the best songs do—while you are listening to them, they turn the lackluster black and white of your everyday existence into a vivid technicolor dream.

Listen while you watch Otium’s gorgeous, dreamlike video for the first single, Letters of Your Name, and tell me I’m wrong. (I’m not.)

“Congratulations” comes out on June 26th and you can pre-order it on 2 Heads now (!!!) Please pre-order it if you are able, and tell your friends.

A little more about 2H:

My work on Jacob’s record, and belief that it should be heard, was the initial seed of inspiration. But once the possibility had occurred to me, a much broader vision started to take shape.

To be clear: 2 Heads is a fully self-funded labor of love, with extremely minimal resources—so my goal is not to try to compete with the multitude of fully staffed and resourced record labels currently in existence. (Nor is it intended in any way as a critique of the extremely rad and artist-friendly labels I’ve had the honor of working with over the course of my career, all of which are fantastic and are run by a host of lovely and passionate human beings.)

But here’s the thing—not every record belongs on a major label, and not every great artist necessarily wants to wrangle their art into a commodity and become a household name. This dichotomy is responsible for the existence of one of my favorite things on earth—the cult classic. You know what I’m talking about. You probably have a beloved few of your own that you return to—these perfect gems, sparkling in obscurity, known and beloved by only a handful. For those who find them, they inspire a devotion that borders on reverence. These are the records you put on when you want to impress somebody special. The records that remind you that genius can exist in the most unlikely of places.

That’s the kind of music that I love the most. And that’s the kind of music you will find here. Future cult classics.

In accordance with this ethos, the goal of this label is to stay intentionally small. I can promise you that everything I share through these channels will be worthy of your time and reward deep, attentive listening. I can also promise you that any money you spend here will be used in service of creating more music to share with you.

The beauty of this model is that we don’t need to reach all of the people. We just need to find the right people, and hope that they care enough to support and encourage this creative ecosystem to thrive.

What can you do to support? It’s quite simple. If you like the music, go buy it! And—perhaps most importantly—tell your friends! Spread the word. Sure, you can post about it on social media if you want to (and that is appreciated, of course) but might I recommend the word of mouth approach? Personally, I’m always excited to receive a musical recommendation directly from someone I trust. So if you hear a song that you especially like, maybe send it to somebody you know. (Maybe they’ll make out with you! You never know!)

I know there are so many forces competing for your attention, your time, your money. For the handful of folks who made it this far, thank you. I am grateful for your support and excited to see what the future holds.

Now! go listen to “Letters of Your Name” and feel something, while we all still can!

xo

JW