How did you discover Efterklang, and why did you sign them?

RT: Something made me check out the band’s second album, ‘Parades’, and I was fairly stunned – it sounded so imaginative and uncategorizable.  The band’s music occupies the same world as Sufjan Stevens…magical, mystical, supremely ambitious and utterly unique, reasons enough to want to work with Efterklang.

What did you think of Magic Chairs the first time you heard it?

RT: I’d heard 2 or 3 news songs live and they were wonderful. I had very high hopes and expectations for the follow up to Parades and was not disappointed – Magic Chairs is a fantastic album. Parades is more orchestral and Magic Chairs is rather more song-based, more of a live band thing.

What’s next for 4AD and Efterklang?

RT: Efterklang is an artistic collective with four core members. Other musicians with the creative brilliance of Peter and Heather Broderick join them for recording and live performances and artwork and live visuals created by Hvass and Hannibal contribute immensely to the Efterklang experience. A recent venture with French film maker Vincent Moon has resulted in a film entitled ‘An Island’ and the band have just played live shows in Europe screening the film prior to the band’s performance. This has been a phenomenal success and added yet a further dimension to the Magic Chairs campaign, one year on from the original release. The IMPALA European Independent Album Of The Year Award is both well-deserved and timely as the band prepare to take a long break prior to considering where the next album project may take them.

How is being a label different nowadays than it was when 4AD started?

SH: well lots has changed but the fundamentals remain the same.  sign music you love, promote the music to the best of your abilities and hope it connects with people. 4AD’s distribution on worldwide level is much more established now and that comes with 30 years of experience that the beggars organisation has provided.

What advice would you have for labels starting out today?

SH: Sign music you really love and want to work with on a long term basis.