Manners McDade announce new worldwide publishing deal with American band Balmorhea

17 May 2017 - Press release

Manners McDade welcome the Texas-based band Balmorhea to their publishing roster.

Balmorhea (pronounced bal-mə-ray) is an instrumental group from Austin, TX, USA. Founded by Rob Lowe and Michael Muller in 2006, the band has produced six full-length albums as well as a live album, and various remixes from artists including Nils Frahm, Helios and Machinefabriek.

Influenced by the band’s namesake, a West Texas town of 500 people, Balmorhea’s early work reflected motifs of the American Southwest: the folklore of Texas settlers, the emotive proclamations of the mountainous setting, and intimate studies on solitude, nature, and night.

Rob and Mike gradually added to their ensemble over the years, including a string section and full percussion, creating Balmorhea’s rich and layered music, uniting a collection of textures and space into one genre-defying landscape.

Catherine Manners, director of Manners McDade: “Balmorhea bring a unique and very American flavour to our roster of instrumental artists and we’re absolutely delighted to be able to represent their catalogue on a worldwide basis. We’re looking forward to working with a US-based band with such an extensive and exciting back catalogue. And we just can’t wait for their new album release!”

Rob Lowe and Mike Muller say of the signing: “We couldn’t be more excited to be joining forces with Manners McDade for our music publishing! Their reputation precedes them and we are thrilled to be in the company of some of the best instrumental artists making music today. We are confident that this partnership will help represent our music to a global audience and allow us to continue expanding the world of Balmorhea.”

A new album from the group, Clear Language, will be released by Western Vinyl, Balmorhea’s longtime label, in September 2017, as well as an accompanying tour visiting cities across the U.S. and Europe.

Balmorhea, called “an exemplary experiment in restraint” by The New Yorker, has toured the US and Europe eight times each, including shows in China, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey and the Ukraine. Notable shows alongside such varied acts include Efterklang, Nils Frahm, Grouper, Mono, Thurston Moore, Stars of the Lid, and Tortoise. Additionally, the band has played dozens of festivals including Austin City Limits, SXSW (x6), Fun Fun Fun Fest, Utopia and Hopscotch. Their music has been featured and reviewed by Pitchfork, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Atlantic and many more. Bowspirit from their 2010 record Constellations was selected as the Title Sequence music in the hit Sundance TV series Rectify.