“…the honesty with which David presents his stories along with the stripped down and earnest ‘electronica’ backing them is far fresher than pretty much anything you can hear on the radio today” – Pitchfork
“…a gift of a record.” – Ben Folds (2023)
LOOPER [Stuart and Karn David] today release the 25th Anniversary edition of their debut album, Up A Tree. Originally recorded for the Sub Pop label in 1999, the anniversary edition includes remixes, reworks, new sleeve notes and alternative artwork, and is available on transparent green vinyl (accompanied by a Flexi Disc), double CD, and digitally via Mute.
Listen to the ethereal tones of a new ambient mix of ‘Back to the Treehouse’, the latest reworking that follows one-time Looper member Scott Twynholm’s re-imagining of Dave The Moon Man (Moonbuilding magazine’s Track of the Week), and the Peugeot 403 mix of Columbo’s Car.
Up A Tree was completed while Stuart was still working with Belle & Sebastian, the band 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, and #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 travelled. Both burned into my head.”
The vinyl edition of Up A Tree comes with a Flexi Disc of ‘Brilliant Paper’, an unreleased track by Looper and 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 first US tour, alongside words from Stuart’s sister Karla Black, who takes us back to Glasgow School of Art in 1998, reminiscing about the first Looper show. The performance was an art school fundraiser for Karla – who received a Turner Prize nomination in 2011 – and was a multi-media 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 & 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.
UP A TREE VINYL TRACKLISTING
- The Treehouse
- Impossible Things #2
- Burning Flies
- Festival ’95
- Ballad of Ray Suzuki
- Dave The Moon Man
- Quiet And Small
- Columbo’s Car
- Up A Tree Again
- Back to the Treehouse
+ Brilliant Paper on flexi disc
UP A TREE CD TRACKLISTING
CD1
- The Treehouse
- Impossible Things #2
- Burning Flies
- Festival ’95
- Ballad of Ray Suzuki
- Dave The Moon Man
- Quiet And Small
- Columbo’s Car
- Up A Tree Again
- Back to the Treehouse
CD2
- Back to the Treehouse (Ambient Mix)
- Ray’s Golden Fist (Bananahand Remix)
- Burning Flies (Acoustic)
- Columbo’s Car (Peugeot 403 Mix)
- Blurred Stars
- Up A Tree Again (The Chocolate Layers St. John’s Ambulance Mix)
- Quiet and Small (Acoustic)
- Dave The Moon Man (Scott Twynholm Remix)
- Impossible Things
- Up A Tree Again (Acoustic)
