Description
We’re beyond excited to bring you the debut album from Harijan! It is a beauty and everything you want it to be. We’ve pressed the album on to double vinyl (yellow/black) and CD (with 16 page riso printed booklet). You can also pre-order an exclusive t-shirt.
If any band epitomises the early years of TNS it is perhaps Harijan. In the mid-2000s Harijan became an iconic band in the growing Manchester scene with their distinctive mix of skacore, reggae, punk and Mike’s distinctive vocal delivery. The band regularly tore up gigs for Manchester promoters such as TNS, Bomb Ibiza and Pumpkin, proving to be a band with huge crossover appeal for a variety of audiences.
Whilst they may be a new name to many, their influence on the UK ska punk scene is huge. Harijan deserve to be heard once again and are a band which ska music deserves. On this, their first full length album, Harijan create a brooding and contemplative music, music which harmonises perfectly with these bleak times. Their music is a logical evolution of the sound of early 1980’s Coventry, infused with the acerbic bite of 30 or so intervening years of underground punk rock. It is ska music which completely bypasses sun-drenched goofy Californian takes on the ska sound and provides an honest representation of contemporary urban Britain from the perspective of these much-loved scene veterans.
Discussing the album the band said “Not recording an album was something that haunted us during our hiatus. So to finally have the monkey off our back is a huge relief. We are massively proud of it… our 13 biggest tracks produced splendidly by Kurt Wood at Corner House Recordings. Musically it is a heavy and dark skapunk/skacore dub-reggae adventure brimming with catchy melancholy melody and harmonies. The lyrics are politically charged with much social commentary and soul searching.”
Harijan are regularly lauded by the likes of Random Hand, Faintest Idea, King Prawn and Capdown and have had a huge musical impact on many bands who have been born in the North-West. Those of you who have followed TNSrecords from the start will be aware they shared CD space with John Player Specials in a split for TNS003. After an enormous hiatus, the band are back with an album that finally commits those early songs to a physical format. Produced by Kurt Wood, it is an instant classic and a release that many have been wishing for a very long time.
The artwork was beautifully made by Manchester based creative Greg Meade, operating from his studio in the heart of post-industrial Ancoats. It couldn’t be more fitting for the band or the album.
Pressing:
Double LP Yellow/Black – 300
Release: 18th December 2020