In Sheep's Clothing Record Club

Ghost

Ghost

Original Resident Ghost
ISC-Record-Club-Illustration-web.jpgComing in hot with an obscure record club for you all to consider. So the story of In Sheeps Clothing is an interesting one. I first encountered it in Los Angeles when it was a Japanese Whisky Vinyl Listening Bar located in the most beautiful bar space I have ever seen. They were known for their spectacular record curation. Everytime you walked through the door you were bound to hear something you've never heard before, and you'd often leave with some new records to dive into on your drive home.

COVID happened and shut down the bar for good in LA, but In Sheep's Clothing persevered and became an online listening platform + record store + music blog. They specialized in curating more obscure deep cuts in their online store, less popular reissues, more focus on stuff thats commonly overlooked and under appreciated. They do this to great effect, in the last four years they have oriented me with some of the most beautiful music I've encountered, period.

After the worst of COVID they opened a small record shop in LA's Fairfax district and I became a regular there. My favorite part of going in was that I never knew what I was going to get. I was solemnly familiar with the majority of records in their crates so I got in the habit of just describing a feeling I wanted to feel to whoever was on staff and asking them to make some picks for me. They were always very eager and excited to tackle the challenge. I have gotten dozens of records from them in this manner and I have not once been disappointed. I've gone home from ISC with beautiful neo-jazz, experimental/ambient music, brazilian folk music, field recordings, lithuanian chamber music, neo-classical, reggae, dub and everything in between. Many of these records constantly make the rotation on my turntable.

Anyways, all that to say I recently just signed up for their Monthly Record Club now that I'm no longer an LA native that can drive over to the store. The Record Club does exactly what I had gotten comfortable with. Letting them know what I want to feel, what type of music I love, and trusting them to take care of me. You get 2 records a month for $70 (this also gets you 10% off in their store) and they will hand curate records for you based off information you provide to them around your favorite records, what sort of genres you're trying to explore further, your discogs collection, etc etc. I just received my first shipment from them and they knocked it out of the park with two albums I had never heard before. One record was an incredibly peaceful and joyous ambient/electronic record that's perfect for a sunny morning, the other was a Mongolian vocal jazz album that just knocked my socks off with how well it was recorded and performed, just stunning stuff. Anyways, if you guys want some personal curation and that mystery package feeling for your next record club and want to support a really stellar small business, please consider supporting In Sheeps Clothing.

Sign Up Here

Here are the records I got:

Enji - Ursgal


Loris S. Sarid - Music For Tomato Plants
 
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@MikeH I know you're familiar with ISC, highly recommend! Also they just opened their first bar in NYC and I've been a couple times already. They make great cocktails and have a great little selection of records available for purchase.
 
Ghost said:
@MikeH I know you're familiar with ISC, highly recommend! Also they just opened their first bar in NYC and I've been a couple times already. They make great cocktails and have a great little selection of records available for purchase.
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Nice! Their second release on their own label just came out. Pharoah Sander’s son’s album.
 
I looked into this and considered it but the price seemed a little high for me! The albums people seemed to get worked out to around $50 if you bought them separately. I might give it a go one month though since I do love their curation. I end up buying from them a decent bit now
 
Ghost said:
View attachment 180551Coming in hot with an obscure record club for you all to consider. So the story of In Sheeps Clothing is an interesting one. I first encountered it in Los Angeles when it was a Japanese Whisky Vinyl Listening Bar located in the most beautiful bar space I have ever seen. They were known for their spectacular record curation. Everytime you walked through the door you were bound to hear something you've never heard before, and you'd often leave with some new records to dive into on your drive home.

COVID happened and shut down the bar for good in LA, but In Sheep's Clothing persevered and became an online listening platform + record store + music blog. They specialized in curating more obscure deep cuts in their online store, less popular reissues, more focus on stuff thats commonly overlooked and under appreciated. They do this to great effect, in the last four years they have oriented me with some of the most beautiful music I've encountered, period.

After the worst of COVID they opened a small record shop in LA's Fairfax district and I became a regular there. My favorite part of going in was that I never knew what I was going to get. I was solemnly familiar with the majority of records in their crates so I got in the habit of just describing a feeling I wanted to feel to whoever was on staff and asking them to make some picks for me. They were always very eager and excited to tackle the challenge. I have gotten dozens of records from them in this manner and I have not once been disappointed. I've gone home from ISC with beautiful neo-jazz, experimental/ambient music, brazilian folk music, field recordings, lithuanian chamber music, neo-classical, reggae, dub and everything in between. Many of these records constantly make the rotation on my turntable.

Anyways, all that to say I recently just signed up for their Monthly Record Club now that I'm no longer an LA native that can drive over to the store. The Record Club does exactly what I had gotten comfortable with. Letting them know what I want to feel, what type of music I love, and trusting them to take care of me. You get 2 records a month for $70 (this also gets you 10% off in their store) and they will hand curate records for you based off information you provide to them around your favorite records, what sort of genres you're trying to explore further, your discogs collection, etc etc. I just received my first shipment from them and they knocked it out of the park with two albums I had never heard before. One record was an incredibly peaceful and joyous ambient/electronic record that's perfect for a sunny morning, the other was a Mongolian vocal jazz album that just knocked my socks off with how well it was recorded and performed, just stunning stuff. Anyways, if you guys want some personal curation and that mystery package feeling for your next record club and want to support a really stellar small business, please consider supporting In Sheeps Clothing.

Sign Up Here

Here are the records I got:

Enji - Ursgal


Loris S. Sarid - Music For Tomato Plants
Click to expand...

Site and sign up links don't seem to be working for me.
 
4 Month Update
So I've been a member of the ISC Record Club for 4 months and thought I'd pop back in share thoughts on whether I feel it's been money well spent or not.

Let's start with the records I've received

Month 1

I got some Mongolian vocal jazz that was absolutely stunning. This one has quickly become one of my favorite recent pick ups. The music is sparse, optimistic, and ridiculously well recorded, the pressing is fantastic and it sounds like Enji is in the room with you.


Another record right up my alley that reminded me a lot of Green House. Gentle and bucolic sound scapes that make you feel like a tomato plant rising from the garden on a sunny morning. Thus perhaps why its called "Music for Tomato Plants"


Month 2

Month two I received a Fania pressing from Craft that I had never heard before but I was STOKED to discover just how great this album is. It arrived the same month that I received Ray Barreto's Acid from VMP and also got to see a Buena Vista Social Club tribute in NYC. This is a happy happy album that has brought me a lot of joy in a short amount of time.


I discovered Blue Lake earlier this year through his prior album called Stikling which quickly became a favorite of mine. Imo, this is ambient music that leans on a lot of folky string elements to conjure woody and nordic soundscapes to soothe the soul. I was very excited to receive Sun Arcs in the mail as I was planning on picking it up in the near future.


Month 3

This was the album I was most skeptical of while unboxing it, the label said something about 1970's proto-reggae if I wasn't mistaken and I just wasn't sure what to expect. Fortunately, this one was a delight to discover. It shocked me how contemporary this album sounded, reminded me less of reggae acts and more of acts like Broadcast, Crumb, and Skinshape in a weird way, but also way gentler and sunny than all of those acts, perhaps its Brenda's voice that draws those comparisons?


Perhaps my least favorite of the bunch is Hora Azul, but even still I have spun this 3 times in the last couple months since receiving it. A great addition to my instrumental/ambient collection but I admit I need to spend more time with it, which I'm excited to do! Perfectly enjoyable with a lot of replay-ability even if not immediately striking with its impressions.
Hora Azul, by Pablo Color

Month 4

I just got both of these last two in the door this morning and lets just say they were good enough to get my goofy ass in this chair to write this Record Club Review. I need to spend more time with both of these but both made big impressions on me this morning, perhaps one of the strongest months so far. Spiro World reminded me somewhat of acts like Ludwig AF. I couldn't tell if this was jazz, ambient, or electronic 90's style DNB, perhaps because it was all of those things and more. Excited to get more time in with this one and crank it loud, theres a lot of great stuff going on here.
timewharp.bandcamp.com

Spiro World, by Time Wharp

8 track album
timewharp.bandcamp.com timewharp.bandcamp.com

This one was fucking awesome. The first Neo-classical album I received from them and I'm very impressed and pleased. Piano notes that fall like raindrops, flute passages that lift you out of your seat, field recordings inlaid that transport you to a snowy winter creek, and strange, deeply pitched vocal samples that remind of pieces off of Felicia Atkinson's Image Language.
johnalsobennett.bandcamp.com

Κλίμα (Klima), by CV & JAB

10 track album
johnalsobennett.bandcamp.com johnalsobennett.bandcamp.com

So, clearly I've been very happy with the curation that ISC has provided and have found it to be well worth the $35/m per record that I spend to receive this mystery package every month. Also, I've noticed the not knowing what I'm getting has been one of the funnest and most rewarding processes of being part of the club, I'm far more received to get this package through the door than any VMP shipment because of that, the mystery and intrigue make it feel like Christmas every time, and when the curation is this good, the feeling continues to peak.

Also, I've noticed that all of these records have wonderful replay-ability and in fact I've spun all of these records at least once a month, if not more since receiving them and I continue to return to them time after time. Most of my other subscription experiences have been "oh I can't wait to receive that" and then I spin it once and maybe spin it 1-2 times a year going forward. This stuff is new, exciting, and deeply stimulating.

I can't recommend In Sheep's Clothings Record Club enough, particularly if you're into more experimental, obscure, ambient + left field music. Go go go!
 
I really wanna join this, but the price continues to be a sticking point for me for a mystery club! i really like their curation. gonna check out the records you have received so far. i love that Blue Lake record and keep meaning to pick it up...
 
MikeH said:
I really wanna join this, but the price continues to be a sticking point for me for a mystery club! i really like their curation. gonna check out the records you have received so far. i love that Blue Lake record and keep meaning to pick it up...
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Yeah, they're definitely charging a premium for the curation and I haven't checked every release but you can definitely get most of these for $25 off bandcamp or Cogs, but the picks have been so obscure that I don't think I would've ever discovered 99% of these, so that has felt like a worthy exchange.
 
Ghost said:
Yeah, they're definitely charging a premium for the curation and I haven't checked every release but you can definitely get most of these for $25 off bandcamp or Cogs, but the picks have been so obscure that I don't think I would've ever discovered 99% of these, so that has felt like a worthy exchange.
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they are a very cool shop and i do like their curation a lot.
 
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