Partisan Records is an independent record label with offices in London , Berlin , and Los Angeles , as well as in New York City , where the company was co-founded in 2007 by Tim Putnam and Ian Wheeler . The label, initially run out of Putnam's South Brooklyn apartment, relocated in 2009 to Williamsburg .
25-714: Jesse Brian Marchant , better known by his stage name JBM , is a Canadian singer-songwriter. In 2011, he signed a recording contract with American label Partisan Records . Marchant was born in Montreal , Quebec. He was classically trained in guitar from the age of seven. As a young man, Marchant lived in his family's home in the American Adirondack Mountains for three years, living mostly in seclusion, to realize songs that he had written earlier in Los Angeles, California. In 2008, he recorded songs in
50-526: A "unique depth of emotion and feeling." Brittney McKenna in American Songwriter magazine wrote that there was a "level of peace and of stillness unique to a church" in Marchant's debut album and that his music "feels like one man's soft, musical prayer for hope in a world that too often has too little," and she compared his style to Thom Yorke and Neil Young. JBM's song "Ambitions & War"
75-471: A better person in the long run – no, not better, but a more productive person." Ultra Mono was recorded throughout 2019 and the band documented the process, intermittently sharing images of themselves on social media in the studio throughout the year, with one post teasing an appearance from Warren Ellis . In an interview with Zane Lowe in December 2019, Talbot confirmed that they had finished recording
100-530: A church studio in Hudson , New York. Marchant has toured with Nathaniel Rateliff , Rogue Wave , Avi Buffalo and Sondre Lerche . He has also performed with St. Vincent , Elvis Perkins , and Swedish singer The Tallest Man on Earth . His musical style has been compared to that of Jim James , Justin Vernon , Nick Drake , Neil Young and M. Ward . Music critic Nick Gunther described JBM's music as instilling
125-544: A digital media outlet and online magazine which he founded in 2015 and shares an office with Partisan. Today, Partisan also releases music on behalf of sister labels Knitting Factory Records , Section1, and Desert Daze Sound, all of which operate under strategic partnerships with Partisan. Grammy-nominated Ultra Mono Ultra Mono is the third studio album by British rock band Idles , released on 25 September 2020 by Partisan Records . Following on from their previous album Joy as an Act of Resistance ,
150-482: A further 6 dates being added, though these dates were later postponed to January 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic . In addition to this, the band performed three "Lock-In" sets at Abbey Road Studios which were livestreamed on 29 and 30 August 2020, during which they played new material from the upcoming album, as well as songs from previous albums Joy and Brutalism and covers of songs by The Beatles , The Strokes and Ramones . On 21 September 2020,
175-522: A new song called "War" during an exclusive show for Dr. Martens . Another new song, "Grounds", was debuted in Glasgow during the band's UK tour in December 2019. Both songs were played at the band's final show of the tour at Alexandra Palace alongside another new track called "Danke". In an interview with DIY following the album's announcement in June 2020, lead singer Joe Talbot opened up about
200-675: The Fela Kuti catalogue and revived their label, Knitting Factory Records , which also includes Grammy Award -nominated members of the Kuti family, Femi Kuti , and Seun Kuti . Partisan has since cultivated a wide variety of genres, prioritizing an artist-friendly philosophy, and achieving international acclaim. In 2019, they earned their first-ever Grammy nomination for Deran by Bombino followed by three more nominations between 2020 and 2023, for A Hero's Death by Fontaines D.C. , Song for Our Daughter by Laura Marling , and I Inside
225-431: The "hysterical urgency" permeating the track listing. Despite finding some of the lyrics to be crude and condescending, Lysnkey eventually stated that the record's "strengths are inseparable from its flaws", concluding that "IDLES' brute-force catharsis neither requires nor rewards subtlety... they are they. Take them or leave them." Tom Hull said that while the early comparisons of Idles to The Clash were "ridiculous" as
250-616: The Old Year Dying by PJ Harvey . In 2020, they achieved a #1 UK album for Ultra Mono by Idles , followed up by further #1 UK albums for Fontaines D.C.'s Skinty Fia and Idles's Tangk . They also won their first Mercury Prize in 2023 for Ezra Collective 's Where I'm Meant to Be . Music Week 's International Woman of the Year award went to Partisan's managing director, Zena White, in 2019. Putnam now serves as President of Partisan, and Wheeler manages Talkhouse ,
275-605: The West ) was the first release on the label, and early success followed shortly thereafter with the signing of the band Deer Tick ( War Elephant ). In 2008, while working as the night manager for the Knitting Factory venue at their Leonard Street location in Manhattan , Putnam was approached by Knitting Factory Entertainment CEO Morgan Margolis to form a strategic partnership with Partisan. Together, they reissued
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#1732801094539300-434: The album an aggregated score of 76 out of 100 based on 22 reviews, 19 of which were positive. Louder Than War ' s John Robb declared Ultra Mono to be "the album of [Idles'] career" in a 10 out of 10 review, praising the album's themes, Launay's production and the band's performances throughout, concluding that "it's a wonderful record. It makes you dance, think, feel wild and gentle, sing and shout and want to change
325-414: The album and that it was being mixed. The band worked with returning Joy producers Nick Launay and Adam ‘Atom’ Greenspan on the album, with additional programming provided by Kenny Beats and additional guest appearances from Jehnny Beth , David Yow and Jamie Cullum . On 19 May 2020, Idles released "Mr. Motivator" as a promotional single from the album. This was preceded by a light-hearted post on
350-403: The album further explores themes established in the band's previous works such as critique of capitalism, revolution, class struggle, mental health and toxic masculinity, as well as the positive and negative aspects of the band's newfound fame. The record was supported by five singles prior to its release, the first of which was the promotional single "Mr. Motivator", released on 19 May 2020. This
375-625: The band announced plans for a tour of intimate instore performances in support of the album across the UK beginning in April 2021, which was later pushed back to September 2021. Ultra Mono was released on 25 September 2020, accompanied by the music video for "War", the opening track on the album. Following the album's release, "Kill Them With Kindness" was released as a single alongside its music video on 3 December 2020. Ultra Mono received generally positive reviews upon release, with Metacritic awarding
400-412: The band's Instagram account on 15 May which invited their audience to "get physical with Dev," featuring bassist Adam Devonshire working out and quoting lyrics from the song. In keeping with the announcement's theme, the song's music video featured a montage of fan-submitted workout clips. On 16 June 2020, Joe Talbot announced Ultra Mono and its release date on Steve Lamacq’s Radio 6 show, alongside
425-717: The debut album as "heartfelt compositions" reflecting "a meticulous and carefully crafted sound" from a "handcrafted talent." Steven Mansmith in Slowcoustic described the album as "a fantastic album" of 2010 and noted that the video by Brody Baker accompanying JBM's song Not Even in July , with "images of strewn lawn chairs, sunsets and searching through a dark forest" was a "great video for a great song." As of 2011, he lived in Brooklyn , New York; Los Angeles; and Upstate New York . Partisan Records Holy Sons ( Decline of
450-402: The former lacks "both the early punk fury and the later pop knack", the band nonetheless achieves "a middle line, which supports today's fire and fury." Writing for AllMusic , Liam Martin was more reserved when appraising the album. Comparing it unfavourably to the band's previous albums, Martin stated that "there is much to enjoy here; their raucous energy shines just as bright, but underneath
475-399: The new song or wait for the album. Ultimately, it was decided that the band would not release any more tracks ahead of the album, with the song's music video eventually being released on 12 January 2021. On 24 August 2020, the band announced an 11 date tour of the UK and Ireland in support of the album, set to take place from May to June 2021. The tour was met with huge demand, resulting in
500-461: The premiere of its lead single "Grounds". Following this, the band released a further two singles, "A Hymn" and "Model Village" on 14 July 2020 and 11 August 2020 respectively. A fifth single, "Reigns", was initially scheduled to be released on 8 September. However, a poll was conducted by a member of the band's management in the Facebook fan group, the "AF Gang", asking whether fans wanted to hear
525-438: The surface Ultra Mono lacks the sparkle that made their first two records truly special." Conversely, JR Moores was much less favourable in his review for The Quietus , criticising the lyrics and a perceived misuse of the guest musicians featured on the record, classifying it as a "by-numbers rock plod", before rounding out his review with "three albums in and the hype has died down. The ideas are drying up. The lack of substance
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#1732801094539550-437: The themes and inspiration behind the album, saying: "Emotionally I'm not healed, I'm healing and that's what's on the record. So this one is about processing and finding pragmatic ways of moving forward, and from your reaction to that trauma, you build something concise and beautiful (...) the songs are all projections of inner workings, I'm not preaching or telling anyone else what to do. I'm showing people what I'm doing to become
575-542: The world whilst embracing everyone you can in a physically socially distanced but mentally very socially attached kind of way." Jordan Bassett of NME was similarly impressed with the album, describing it as "a breakneck ride that roars through sarcasm, defiance, compassion and controversy." Q ' s Dorian Lynskey wrote that the album was "the sound of a band becoming ever more defiantly themselves", finding it "more adamantly political" and complimenting its "bludgeoning drums, scowling bass... great, slab like riffs" and
600-523: Was described as a "honey-of-a-song" in Future Sounds magazine, with lyrics about a person who is losing their mind in Los Angeles. Clubdistrict.com described the album as "exquisitely crafted" which feels "as weathered and wise as an old home" and which is a "mostly acoustic venture" with "atmospheric arrangements, lyrical purity and unaffected baritone." Mikela Floyd in Filter magazine described
625-580: Was followed by the lead single "Grounds" on 16 June 2020, "A Hymn" on 14 July 2020, "Model Village" on 11 August 2020 and "War" which coincided with the release of the album on 25 September 2020. Following the release and success of their 2018 album Joy as an Act of Resistance , Idles received mainstream attention and toured extensively in support of it. The band confirmed in an Instagram post in January 2019 that they were writing new music and in March, debuted
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