Movement fosters community for both established, newcoming artists
Communion, a movement to support independent artists within the music community that began in London, will be making its American debut this month with a national launch tour featuring Matthew & The Atlas, The David Mayfield Parade, and Lauren Shera.
Founders Ben Lovett (Mumford & Sons), Kevin Jones and producer Ian Gimble founded the monthly open mic night in 2006 at London’s Notting Hill Arts Club. Their goal was to provide local artists in the London circuit a place to grow and develop their music within a loving, family-style community.
Many artists, including the internationally acclaimed British folk rock band Mumford & Sons, made their beginnings on the Communion stage, crediting the open jam sessions for their ultimate success.
It was there the band members began performing together and experimenting with new sounds.
The feedback and support provided throughout the Communion community allowed them to slowly and tactfully assemble their lineup, while creating the show they now bring to crowded venues around the world.
Additional talent to emerge from the original Communion stage includes Laura Marling, Noah and the Whale, JJ Pistolet, and Peggy Sue.
Recognizing its success, Lovett and his co-founders set a new goal to spread the Communion method of slow growth and nurturing of artists to music scenes around the world. This ambition has led them to establish similar open mic nights in Brighton, Bristol, York, Oxford, Dublin, Belfast, Sydney and New York.
In an effort to continue Communion’s mission, the three founders launched Communion Records in September of 2009. Differing immensely from the traditional label structure, Lovett and company have provided their artists with a close-knit, family-like structure, while allowing them as much time needed to grow, write and record.
Maureen Fitzgibbon, a senior at Saint Louis University and avid music lover, said she supports Communion’s style of label management.
“Many record labels today, especially in corporate America, force their artists to produce and release albums at a very expedited and unnatural rate, resulting in a lot of the terrible music we have on the shelves,” Fitzgibbon said. “If more executives allowed their artists to take the creative time needed to produce quality work, the overall satisfactory level and total income of the label would rise, allowing more artists to be properly signed and promoted.”
Glassnote Records, established in 2007 by Daniel Glass, was founded on similar ideas around which Lovett, Jones and Gimble would later structure Communion: Find quality artists, give them the support and time to grow, release a record and tour the “family’s” bands together.
Proving this model successful, Glassnote produced two of the most recent international sensations: 2010 Grammy Award winning Phoenix, and Mumford & Sons, whose debut album, “Sigh No More,” reached the number two spot on the Billboard charts. Additional Glassnote successes include Two Door Cinema Club, The Temper Trap, Royal Bangs, and recently signed artists, GIVERS.
Solidifying Glassnote’s method, Rolling Stone named the label as Best Indie Label in April of 2011. By following in these footsteps, much can be expected from the artists working under Communion’s guidance.
A large sampling of the label’s bands, as well as other “Communion-style” artists and established members of the surrounding music community, can be heard on the triple CD compilation recorded at London’s Flowerpot venue, released through Communion Records.
The U.S. launch tour will be stopping in St. Louis on Nov. 3 at Blueberry Hill’s venue, The Duck Room. Tickets are available through Blueberry Hill’s website and ticketmaster.com.
