Harald Are Lund 1946-2020

Today is a very sad day. We just got the message that our friend Harald Are Lund passed away age 74. Harald Are was a Norwegian radio legend who was on Norwegian national radio from 1968 to 2016, presenting the music that we all love, from Albert Ayler to Amphethamine Reptile to Autechre to Robert Wyatt. He was a major influence on Smalltown Supersound with his radioshow in the early 90s. When we put out the first 7", out of the blue one night he just called and said he had heard the 7" and he was interested to know more and wanted me to come to his studio and talk and play music. When you put out a 7" with no thoughts, and all of the sudden one of your main influences call and want to play it on national radio, one can understand that this was of extreme importance for the label then, and, for the future of the label. It gave hope and confidence. Harald Are gave us hope and confidence. I felt that somebody cared! And nobody cared more than Harald Are! I spoke with him every week on the phone for 14 years about music and about life. He told me stories about when he visited Captain Beefheart, when he slept on the couch of Philip K. Dick (I could go on forever telling the stories that he told me). He was a very special human being. And I am so happy to have known him - and so sad that he is now gone. But I will always carry with me his wisdom and his stories and the memory of a man that lived his dream - on the outside - totally absorbed in music. 

Thank you for the inspiration, thank you for showing interest in the our music when no one else cared. Thank you for everything!

Hvil i fred Harald Are.

Joakim