Ostinato

Exile on Mainstream Records is celebrating twenty years of existence with us at Roadburn 2019. The iconic label has released almost 90 records over the past two decades after starting out with modest plans to release friends’ music and see where it went. Well, it went well!

The label’s history is somewhat entwined with our own; in fact they celebrated their 15th birthday with us too! We guess we make good cake! Long term Roadburners will no doubt have rattled a few crates alongside label head honcho, Andreas Kohl, who is a regular face in the merch area of Roadburn.

We’re delighted to be hosting a showcase for one of Europe’s most beloved underground labels. Exile on Mainstream will commandeer the Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 13.

Andreas: “If someone would have told me when we registered Exile On Mainstream on April 1st 1999 as company that I will be writing this almost 20 years later I honestly wouldn’t have believed it. How time flies! So let’s celebrate! Like… MASSIVE – on the menu will be six acts illustrating the history of the label as well as its attitude and eclectic approach. We’ve never felt a limitation for a musical style nor scene, although we feel bound to a strong D.I.Y. ethos and focus on true art. Something that Exile On Mainstream always shared with Roadburn.”

“The line up will reflect this: I met Walter for the first time in 2004, precisely on June 26th when I was touring with The Hidden Hand and Ostinato at the Sojo Club in Leuven, Belgium. We had just released Ostinato’s first album and the band was on the brink of becoming one of the leading forces in the instrumental post-rock wave that also brought us bands like ISIS and Red Sparowes. The band called it quits in 2009 and will now return, almost exactly 10 years later for some special one-off shows celebrating the anniversary with us.”