New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, Secretly record labels Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar and Secretly Canadian announce
Friends Of, a new project that extends the company's dedication to dynamic and innovative collaboration. Beginning with Pout - a new EP from Ryan Hemsworth out August 28th - and continuing throughout the coming year,
Friends Of is a series of special releases from an array of artists who may otherwise operate outside of the Secretly roster, but have now joined the group's creative community in ways uniquely suited to the current moment.
While the seeds of
Friends Of were planted in 2019, the project came to fruition as a way to address the rapid, drastic changes in how music is created and shared in the pandemic. On the genesis of the series and experimenting with the scale of Secretly, Jon Coombs, Secretly Group VP of A&R, says:
Music and friendship have always been inextricable. Our favorite records and artists are like dependable, empathetic friends themselves: helping us through tough times, cheering us through bright ones, amping us up or calming us down. The right song can remind us that it's only half an inch of water when we think we're going to drown. Across the board, we are better when we surround ourselves with friends that inspire and enrich us, and the artists taking part do exactly that. And so
Friends Of is also an extension of this sentiment. We're happy to call these artists friends, some old and some new, and are excited to help bring their art to the world. We hope you enjoy and make a new friend along the way.
From Bullion's inventive productions, Junglepussy's no-holds-barred rap and Ramy Youssef's groundbreaking comedy, to new offerings from Devendra Banhart & Noah Georgeson, Gia Margaret, Bongeziwe Mabandla, Madison McFerrin, Routine (Annie Truscott & Jay Som), Triathalon, Theophilus London, Kenneth Whalum, Wet,
Julie Byrne & Trayer Tryon and many more still to be announced,
Friends Of provides the platform, infrastructure and services to support the way music is being created right now. Led by Secretly's proven digital marketing strategies, which have backed recent breakthroughs from
Angel Olsen, Bon Iver, Khruangbin, Moses Sumney, Phoebe Bridgers, and Porridge Radio, among others,
Friends Of aims to elevate the voices of future icons.
Each individual single, EP or LP will be released under one of Secretly Group's three labels, and Ryan Hemsworth's first Pout preview, "Keep Touch (Ft. Leland Whitty)," is out now via Jagjaguwar.
On Pout, Ryan Hemsworth adds, "For this EP I was trying to live less in nostalgia and function less off obvious references. I worked on Pout while becoming a dad, sitting a lot in my garden, and trying to kill my ego. Tracks like 'Mountain Access' make me think about driving around Hamilton, Ontario, my home as of a year ago. I hope people can still get a chance to walk around with this on headphones or daydream while listening to this project." Find the full track list below.
With the launch of
Friends Of, Secretly continues to answer the uncertainty of 2020 with an ambitious, artist-first approach to instituting actionable change, and standing firmly by the principle that the most important cultural contributions come from artists and small to medium-sized businesses. Read more about how Secretly has become one of the leading global, independent music ecosystems in co-CEO
Darius Van Arman's At Work interview with Rolling Stone, or head to Billboard to learn about their new strategic partnership with Ghostly International.
Ryan Hemsworth - Pout Tracklist
Hail
All These Dreams
Here I Stand (Ft. Ms. John Soda)
Mountain Access
Keep Touch (Ft. Leland Whitty)
As Secretly Group's VP of A&R, Jon Coombs oversees all A&R endeavors for Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, Secretly Canadian, and Secretly Publishing. He manages a global A&R staff that has signed or released debuts for the likes of Faye Webster, Fenne Lily, Gabriel Garzón Montano, NNAMDI, Okay Kaya, Skullcrusher and more in the last year alone. His A&R work also includes
Angel Olsen's 2019 opus All Mirrors, in addition to releases from
Kevin Morby, Mitski, Whitney and others. Jon previously served as General Manager of Secretly Publishing, establishing it as a premier independent publisher and starting joint venture publishing enterprises with Secretly Distribution affiliated labels Captured Tracks, Awesome Tapes From Africa, Run For Cover, Temporary Residence, and RVNG Intl. He also led the successful Our First 100 Days campaign, which raised over $100,000 for non-profits that aid under-represented groups, the LGBTQ community, reproductive rights, and climate change.
Secretly is a group of affiliated music and culture companies, including Secretly Group, Secretly Distribution, The Numero Group and Ghostly International. Founded in 1996, Secretly has a global team of close to 150 employees with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bloomington, London, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin. Secretly Group, comprised of Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, Secretly Canadian and Secretly Publishing, partners with and facilitates storytelling for a diverse group of artists, writers, filmmakers, producers and comedians, including Bon Iver, Mitski, Whitney, Phoebe Bridgers, Anohni, Jamila Woods,
Angel Olsen, Slowdive, Moses Sumney, Tig Notaro, Khruangbin and Sharon Van Etten, to name a few. In addition to multiple Grammy, Mercury Prize, and Brit Awards nominations, Secretly Group artists have earned over nine Gold and Platinum records. Secretly Distribution is a leading global distribution platform for hundreds of artists and labels, including Captured Tracks, Asthmatic Kitty, Sacred Bones, Run For Cover, Temporary Residence Ltd., Touch and Go Records and more.
