Of all the independent record labels of the 1980s, él was the most singular and exciting. él only existed for a few short years and yet paradoxically - given its modest commercial success - was hugely influential. For writer Jonathan Coe, one of the label’s many devotees, él was ‘Britain's great musical secret’. This ‘best of’ compilation LP, curated by label supremo Mike Alway himself, will remind the world of the greatness of él. The secret is out…

él was created in 1984 by Alway, a mercurial A&R man for Cherry Red signing outstanding artists like Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set and Felt. Alway briefly co-ran Blanco Y Negro (an offshoot of WEA) but was soon constrained by the conservativism of the commercial music sector and left to set up his own label. él was once described as ‘the most innately English record label there has ever been’ and yet the look and the sound of the label achieved global reach.

Alway’s ‘hands on’ approach was to take complete control of the philosophy of the label’s releases and even the titles of songs in the manner of pop impresarios of the past. Alway became a curator, selecting, shaping and overseeing the records issued on él. He employed songwriters proficient in classical pop techniques such as Nicholas Currie (AKA Momus) and Philippe Auclair (AKA Louis Philippe) who issued their own records while writing, arranging and performing for other él artistes. Great musicians such as Simon Turner (AKA The King of Luxembourg), Dean ‘Speedball’ Brodrick and producer Richard Preston completed the picture.

él had a unique musical flavour, eschewing rock music for 1960s bubbelgum, chamber pop, European chanson, Latin rhythms and film scores (see in particular the work of Marden Hill). The label was decidedly un-macho and key artists such as Would Be Goods, Anthony Adverse and Bad Dream Fancy Dress examined the modern world through the female gaze. Alway saw él as a celebration of elegance and beauty: ‘a pop world beyond leather jackets and jeans’.

The fantastic visual style of the label, adopting the aesthetics of high fashion, art photography and pop graphics was created by Alway with photographers Nick Wesolowski and Pete Moss and designer Jim Phelan. The él ‘look’ was so strong that one UK music paper even reviewed the records simply on the basis of the sleeves!

él was critically acclaimed in the UK and popular in America and mainland Europe but in Japan had a profound effect, directly influencing the Shibuya-kei phenomenon that included Pizzicato Five, Kahimi Karie and Cornelius.

The Rubens Room accompanies the book Bright Young Things by Mark Goodall (Ventil) the first publication to tell the fascinating story of the music found on The Rubens Room.

Mike Alway writes in his sleeve notes that ‘él was the joy of my life. It was monumental’.

With The Rubens Room, we can all share that joy.

Tracklisting

A1 Louis Philippe - Anthony Bay

A2 Louis Philippe - Like Nobody Do

A3 Louis Philippe - Guess I'm Dumb

A4 Louis Philippe - Touch Of Evil

A5 Louis Philippe - If You're Missing Someone

A6 Anthony Adverse - Now Listen

A7 Anthony Adverse - Ulysses And The Siren

B1 The King of Luxembourg - A Picture Of Dorian Gray

B2 The King Of Luxembourg - The Rubens Room

B3 The King of Luxembourg - Smash Hit Wonder

B4 Would-Be-Goods - The Camera Loves Me

B5 Would-Be-Goods - Velasquez & I

B6 Would-Be-Goods - Cecil Beaton’s Scrapbook

C1 Marden Hill - Curtain

C2 Marden Hill - Oh Constance

C3 Marden Hill - The Execution Of Emperor Maximillian

C4 Bad Dream Fancy Dress - Choirboys Gas

C5 Bad Dream Fancy Dress - Where Have All the Schoolboys Gone?

C6 Bad Dream Fancy Dress - Lemon Tarts

D1 The Monochrome Set - Jet Set Junta (Single Version)

D2 Always - Thames Valley Leather Club

D3 Always - Park Row

D4 Momus - John The Baptist Jones

D5 Momus - Paper Wraps Rock

D6 Simon Fisher Turner - Umber Wastes