VIA PRESS RELEASE | Looper (Stuart and Karn David) have shared details of the 25th Anniversary release of their debut album, Up A Tree. Originally released by Sub Pop in 1999, this anniversary edition will include remixes, reworks, new sleeve notes, and alternative artwork. It will be released digitally on March 8th, 2024 and on transparent green vinyl (accompanied by a Flexi Disc) and double CD on March 22, 2024 in US/CA. Pre-order it HERE.
Up A Tree was completed while Stuart was still working with Belle & Sebastian which he co-founded in 1995. “I wanted to expand on the spoken word style I’d discovered on ‘A Century of Elvis’ and ‘Spaceboy Dream’,” he says, “and technology had just reached a point where I thought it might be possible to make an album entirely on the PC.”
Up A Tree brought Looper instant acclaim (including an 8.1 review in Pitchfork, who credited the album with originating a new genre they dubbed Folk-Hop). It reached #21 on the UK Independent Album chart, #79 on the Scottish Albums Chart and brought in fans such as Ben Folds who recently called Up A Tree “… a gift of a record,” going on to say, “Looper was in my Walkman headphones on a few memorable tours. I just left the CD, Up A Tree, in the player and watched the scenery go by as we traveled. Both burned into my head.”
The 25th Anniversary release launches with a new remix of “Columbo’s Car,” the Peugeot 403 Mix (and yes, that’s the model of Columbo’s infamous car).
The vinyl edition of Up A Tree comes with a Flexi Disc of “Brilliant Paper,” an unreleased track by Looper in collaboration with the visual artist and Life Without Buildings singer, Sue Tompkins, recorded in Glasgow at the turn of the millennium. The double CD includes a remix by Pulp (credited as The Chocolate layers), as well as reimagined instrumentals and acoustic versions by the band themselves.
The anniversary edition also features alternative artwork designed by Karn and includes new sleeve notes by Sub Pop’s Jenny Hayo, who recounts working with Looper on their first records and US tour. Stuart’s sister, Karla Black, takes us back to Glasgow School of Art in 1998, reminiscing about the first Looper show: a multimedia affair incorporating TVs, super 8 film, 35mm slides, and kinetic sculptures to accompany Stuart’s spoken word songs. Since nothing broke down and everybody clapped they decided to keep doing it.
To date, Looper have released six albums via Sub Pop, Jeepster, and Mute, including the 5CD box set, These Things, 2015’s Offgrid:Offline, and 2018’s acoustic collection of classic Looper material, Quiet & Small. Many of their tracks have appeared in film soundtracks, including “Mondo 77” which featured in Cameron Crowe’s 2001 film, Vanilla Sky.
Looper’s most recent album, A Luminous Place, is out now on digital platforms and limited-edition cassette. Looper Up A Tree 25th Anniversary reissue is out digitally on March 8, 2024 and on vinyl and CD March 22, 2024.
