Right on the back of a mammoth European tour that included almost every summer festival an appearance on BBC’s Later with Jools Holland and then an Uncut ‘Album Of The Year’ Nomination.. we are proud to release the companion EP to ‘To Be Still’ …

‘Alela & Alina’ is released today digitally on iTunes and Amazon and will be available on a limited edition 10″ vinyl in two weeks. You can pre-order the vinyl here.

Side One: 1.Amidst the Movement 2.Bowling Green 3.Crying Wolf
Side Two: 1.Matty Groves 2.I Have Returned 3.Rake

Names Records are proud to announce the birth of Family. This new imprint will concentrate purely on limited edition releases in limited edition formats. It might be a 10”, it might be a CD single, it might be digital only, we’re keeping our options open at the moment.

The very first release on a label is always special – and the very first record on Family is doubly so as it features two beautiful singers and songwriters – both with new recordings and versions of songs they’ve always loved, all recorded in two days earlier this summer in Portland, Oregon.

Alela Diane you’ll probably know. The most startlingly wonderful new folk voice to arrive in the last five years, Alela has toured and charmed the insides out of most of the parts of the world comfortable enough in their own skin to allow themselves to be moved by a person singing about the life they live and the life they might have lived. Here Alela sings two new songs, Amidst the Movement and I Have Returned, while also sharing with Alina versions of the traditional songs, Bowling Green and Matty Groves.

Alina Hardin has been touring with Alela for a while, she also sang harmony vocals on Alela’s To Be Still album. Alina grew up in Nevada City, singing along with her mother and sister to Alan Lomax’s book of American Folk Songs. She bought her first guitar at 18 and her songs are full of stories and poetry and memories. She sings a new song, Crying Wolf, as well as sharing a version of Townes Van Zandt’s Rake – taken from his classic 1971 album, Delta Momma Blues – with Alela.

Out Now!!

What they say:

Line of Best Fit
Inevitably, all boy/girl, guitar/drums duos are compared to the ever present White Stripes. This includes the Brooklyn based newcomers She Keeps Bees. It’s a shame, as such bands should have an identity of their own, and not get immediately, and forevermore, categorised as a “bit like the White Stripes”. In the case of She Keeps Bees such comparisons are only valid to a skin deep level. Like The White Stripes, She Keeps Bees play stripped down blues-rock. But the comparisons should end there; they have none of the energy and raw power of the White Stripes, and have no need of it. She Keeps bees simply made up of the simple, but not forceful (like that of Meg White) percussion of Andy LaPlant, and the gloriously rich, and sexy vocals, and simple guitar playing of Jessica Larrabe. The Guitar playing when used is rarely anything more than basic chords, and in some songs such as the effective opening track Ribbon does not appear at all.

She Keeps Bees are therefore so stripped down, that without the vocals of Jessica Larrabe, there wouldn’t be that much merit present in their music at all. Nests barely stretches out of a fairly basic blues-rock template, but because of the wonderfully soulful voice of Larrabe this is fine, more than fine in fact, excellent. Nests is raw and powerful without having to resort to simply being energetic, and is most of all incredibly sexy. Larrabe’s voice ensures this, creating the kind of blues bar atmosphere, which makes you feel as if she’s in the room with you, transferring all of the emotion in her voice right into you. This sort of atmosphere around the record is helped by the raw, intimate and sparse sound of the album. It’s lazy music, the aforementioned lack of energy means that the deep guitar chords, mellow voice and slow tempo do nothing but lull you into a beautifully relaxed, contemplative state. Exactly how good blues-rock should be.

Nests, unfortunately, could be a lot longer. At only 26 minuets it’s hard to describe it as a great record, as when you’ve really got into it, and been enveloped by it’s atmosphere it’s finished. What there is of Nests is, however, very, very good. There’s enough brilliant tracks to mark this out as a very accomplished, and exciting album.

The Observer
This stripped-down blues-rock duo are an anomaly in their adopted home of Brooklyn. While most of their neighbours are painting alt-pop into kaleidoscopic new colours, this compelling debut cleaves to a version of rock that is sparse, soulful and defiantly retro. White Stripes comparisons are inevitable, not least because of the thrillingly primal way Andy LaPlant thumps the drums, but it is raw emotion akin to Cat Power that comes through most strongly on tracks such as “Release” and the startling “Bones Are Tired”, on which Jessica Larrabee’s unadorned voice is at its most desolate.

The Guardian
Brooklyn has been such a hotbed of arty, left-field rock in recent times that it’s something of a surprise to come across a band from that borough dealing in rather more traditional tropes. She Keeps Bees consists of singer/guitarist Jessica Larrabee and drummer Andy LaPlant, who plough a sultry, dirty-blues furrow not unlike certain other boy-girl duos of our age – although their restrained, sensual songs are neither as extrovert or idiosyncratic as the White Stripes nor as flat-out dull as the Kills. Larrabee’s voice, pitched somewhere between PJ Harvey and Karen O, is terrific: at once sullen and suggestive, and possessed of just enough melodic playfulness to prevent the music – pared back to the barest strums and clatters throughout – from sounding slight. Their peers up the block may have them beaten in the forward-thinking stakes, but as an old-style rock’n'roll honeytrap, She Keeps Bees are hard to resist.

Drowned In Sound
She Keeps Bees. She Keeps Bees. She Keeps Bees. She. Keeps. Bees? Putting their name aside (and perhaps their name is to blame on their location: Brooklyn) She Keeps Bees are one of the keepers (pun intended) from the BK bunch. Having formed in 2006, She of the Bee-keeping would be (on voice and guitar) Jessica Larribee, with her friend/producer/boyfriend Andy LaPlant on drums. The band themselves liken themselves to a bit of Howlin’ Wolf, PJ Harvey and Millie Johnson, but the very nature of SKB (a boy/girl duo) will automatically cast people’s minds to the hallowed White Stripes and the early Kills. You can hear the connection in the sparse, dirty tunes that are more than subconsciously driven by the energy and the tension between Jessica and Andy (or Jamie/Allison, Jack/Meg). They barely emerged from the bedroom long enough to release their first mini-LP, 2006’s Minisink Hotel (available as a bonus disk with the Rough Trade edition), which was actually recorded in a bedroom. Their four-track EP released earlier in the year, Revival, set the stall for their raw, DIY ethos and Nests continues their foray into sinister, powerfully raw blues rock.

At just under 27 minutes, Nests is nothing if not straight to the point. Its most obvious strongpoint is Jessica’s voice. She has amazing control over her vocals, able to simultaneously be fiery and reserved, seductive and vaguely crude – her voice is what breathlessly invites you into their dingy world. She ably plays a lot of similar vocal roles, different enough but all vaguely connected, from the punishing Fiona-Apple-esque siren on ‘My Last Nerve’ to the faux-romantic, drizzly-sweet on the outside, bitter on the inside ballad of a woman scorned on ‘Get Gone’, right through to the sparse, gospel ringleader of ‘Bones are Tired’. She plays ‘em all with ease befitting someone with rather more than an album and a bit to their name.

‘Focus’ begins with a brooding riff that we’ve all heard before, but if it doesn’t command your attention, well, I can’t help you because I fell for this foreboding jam hook, line, and sinker. ‘Gimme’ is the most blatantly sexual song on the album, Jessica at her fiercest, sultry and intriguing as she growls, “Gimme gimme gimme gimme / Give it to me daddy”. Annoying as some couple-bands can be, She Keeps Bees play it fairly cool – letting their chemistry and the inherent intimacy speak through the songs. ‘Wear Red’ is the most old time-y jam, kind of a campfire song – little bit psychy, lot of blues. It would be good for any kind of camping trip, complete with whiskey, to some Joshua Tree-style psychedelic desert. ‘Ribbon’ is as simple as it gets on this album, but the no frills approach mixed with the gospel-garage vocals is gold. It’s the perfect summation of She Keeps Bees: intricate without being unclear, stark without being uninteresting, and ultimately, a band to keep around.
8 / 10

Jon Hopkins is a musical shapeshifter: a composer, pianist and a self-taught studio wizard. He makes affecting, bold electronic music using walls of synths, lustrous melodies and amorphous bass rumbles. As such his two albums have seen him labelled by the likes of ambient patriarch Brian Eno as an electronic innovator while an impressive sweep of artists from Herbie Hancock and David Holmes to King Creosote and Coldplay, have called upon his handiwork as a producer and composer.

Jon contacted the label and asked to work on this beautiful Linda Perhacs song from The Headless Heroes ‘The Silence of Love’  covers album.. the result is a blissed-out electronic ambient classic … Download

Watchout for more Headless Heroes remixes throughout the summer on Names from James Yuill , The Earlies and Tunng.

**** THE GUARDIAN
**** THE OBSERVER
**** THE OBSERVER MUSIC MONTHLY
**** THE TIMES
**** UNCUT
**** MOJO
**** TIME-OUT
***** METRO

‘ You would truly be hard pressed to find a more delicate, unassuming, original, and comforting voice active in folk music today’- Other Music NYC

‘ Alela’s ‘pirates gospel’ was our album of the year for 2007, and it seems that she has surpassed even that with this amazing album’ – Rough Trade Shops

‘ This is a timeless-sounding record and whether you’re a fan or a stranger drawn in by the hype, this is certainly worth a purchase’ – Music Magazine

‘ It’s her purposeful knack of combining melody with her own effortless ability to cultivate a delicious vocal harmony which makes To Be Still so remarkable’-Fact Magazine (8/10)

‘ Alela Diane is a name that should, and no doubt will, be perched high on top of the pack for a long time to come’-Clash Magazine (8/10)

‘ This release is stellar stuff’ -Music Week

‘ Honestly I could probably gush about every song on this album, but for the sake of brevity I’ll just say that it is pretty much all fantastic’- Culture Bully

‘There’s a lot of female singer/songwriters about at the moment, but Alela Diane stands head and shoulders above them all’ – Music OHM

‘She’s a musically literate Scout Niblett, a fledgling Nina Nastasia, a lone rival to Anni Rossi for release of the month. She’s really rather good’ – Subba Cultcha

‘ Alela Diane’s ‘To Be Still’ is a lyrical masterpiece, a body of work that is as restless as the sea’- Pamplemoose

‘White as Diamonds’ is taken from the forthcoming album ‘To Be Still’ (16th Feb), the follow-up to Alela Diane’s critically-acclaimed 2006 debut ‘The Pirates Gospel’ which brought the Nevada City, CA-reared musician a passionate following across the Globe. Download “White As Diamonds” for free here.

Alela Diane UK live dates:
25th March – The Sage, Gateshead
26th March – ABC2, Glasgow
27th March – The Deaf Institue, Manchester
29th March – Howard Assembly Room, Leeds
30th March – St Giles Church, London (SOLD OUT)
17th September – Shepherds Bush Empire, London

A young lady singing (while playing guitar) as her own boyfriend plays drums? It could never work – imagine the arguments! Still, full marks to Brooklyn’s SKB – Jessica Larrabee and Andy LaPlant – for giving it a go. A little like Jack ‘n’ Meg (with the self-regard and general air of grim humourlessness removed) “sitting in with” – it’s what jazz people do, I saw it on the telly – PJ Harvey, even the Breeders, this is, literally, raunchy (”Give it to me daddy, work me like my back ain’t got no bone,” – well, excuse me!), a loosely hammering, bluesy howl that sounds like it was as exciting to make as it is to listen to. I wonder if she really does keep bees?

Rob Fitzpatrick
The Guardian , Saturday 31st January 2009

“White As Diamonds” is taken from the forthcoming album “To Be Still” (16th Feb), the follow-up to Alela Dianes critically-acclaimed 2006 debut The Pirates Gospel which brought the Nevada City, CA-reared musician a passionate following across the Globe especially in europe where Alela has a huge fan base..

Recorded in Nevada City and Portland, Ore., it’s a gorgeous sonic expansion of her sparse debut, featuring pedal steel, violin and rustic percussion, with lyrics tangled up in brambles and foxtails and wind-whipped sea cliffs. From the woozy folk flourishes of opener “Dry Grass & Shadows,” to the heart-shattering final track, “Lady Divine”

“It began in Portland, OR and was finished in scatters between tours at my dad’s home studio in Nevada City, CA,” Alela says. “I wanted to record this collection of songs using arrangements which would represent them in their finest form. These songs requested more instrumental filigree than those on The Pirate’s Gospel. It was challenging to delicately yet purposefully incorporate instrumentation into songs that I was so used to singing by myself. I was determined to make it work, because I wanted percussion! I wanted to hear the lonesome bow of the violin! I heard many harmonies in my head, and so I set out to capture them.”

This fantastic new album comes hot on the heels of the Headless Heroes album The Silence of Love which Alela contributed vocals for and has gained much critical acclaim and thousands of new fans!!