about 20-20-20

after many years of good and bad experiences with record labels, in 2005
damon & naomi decided to form 20-20-20 to release their new album,
the earth is blue.

it might seem that starting a record label was the
last thing they needed to do, as they already had
a book publishing company, exact change,
a music career as damon & naomi, and individual pursuits of writing (damon) and photography, painting and design (naomi).

but evidently, they've made this mistake before.

after releasing "the earth is blue," it seemed like
there might be other possibilities for the label. and
thus the second release, galaxie 500 peel
sessions. together with their former bandmate,
dean wareham, damon & naomi decided it would
make sense to at long last make this last piece of
the galaxie 500 oeuvre available, with the best
possible sound, and naturally in a most attractive
package.

the third release, debuting in fall 2006, is volume one of a new series of compilations: international sad hits | volume one: altaic language group presents four singer-songwriters from Asia -- fikret kizilok (turkey), kim doo soo (korea), tomokawa kazuki (japan), and mikami kan (japan). damon & naomi's enthusiasm for this music begins with their own international tours — always interested in other people’s sad songs, they seek out recommendations wherever they travel. These four singers are among the discoveries closest to their hearts.

in may 2007, 20/20/20 released the solo record
of guitar hero michio kurihara, the "premier
guitarist of the Japanese underground," as
allmusic.com puts it. kurihara has recorded with the bands ghost, boris, yura yura teikoku, white heaven, and the stars; he is also a long-time friend and musical collaborator with damon & naomi, and appears as a featured player on their albums with ghost, song to the siren, the earth is blue, and . . .

within these walls. this latest album from damon & naomi is their most orchestrated -- and darkest -- effort to date. in addition to kurihara, the players include bhob rainey (soprano sax), greg kelley (trumpet), kyle bruckmann (oboe and english horn), helena espvall (cello), margaret wienk (cello), and katt hernandez (violin).

in 2008, damon & naomi received the rights back to their debut album as a duo, 1992's more sad hits, and rereleased it on both lp and cd. nostalgia for this record seems to run deep, especially in the uk where the reissue was greeted with a veritable torrent of high-rock criticism. those guys can really turn a phrase!

continuing the reissue theme, 20/20/20 is repressing the three original galaxie 500 albums on vinyl -- the first time these records have been available as actual records in nearly 20 years. but since we like our ipods as much as the next guy, we have also launched an online store for digital downloads of these recordings. for those of you still stuck on cds, 20/20/20 will release 2-cd versions of these albums, adding a bonus disc to each package, in march 2010.

to complete this retrospective jaunt, 20/20/20 has released the sub pop years, a single disc compilation of damon & naomi's favorite tracks from the four albums they recorded for sub pop records, 1995-2002.

and to bring us all back up to date, in may 2011 damon & naomi will release their latest album of new original songs, false beats and true hearts on vinyl, cd and via download.