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Romanus Vinyl End Of The Year Meaningless Awards & More 2023

1. Favorite Wax Mage

Picking one Waxmage Records is a PAIN. But its this no question, the Skittles variant release of Saw Tooth Grin from the good folks at Wax Vessel. Tech is dialed in perfection! Loved seeing the label fire back up this year. Second favorite has to be the Galaxy variants for the Radderall release. Love seeing new tech coming out still after all these years.   

https://www.instagram.com/p/C1KZLovOqL4/?img_index=1

2. Favorite Third Man Innovation

Probably the biggest megaphone for early custom wax, they still are at it. This year their release of the Guitar Romantic “Exploding Hearts” LP got me in the feels. It looks like a giant label blowout via Waxmage but its as you imagine a exploding heart. This album was in my heavy rotation in my early 20s when I was a tutor at Broad Ripple HighSchool. It spoke deeply to the 23 year old out of college floating through the adult void point in my life. So happy to see it get some custom treatment

3. Favorite Zoetrope

The Zoetrope KING Drewetz made a piece of anime royalty this year with his Cowboy Bebop Zoetrope sliptmats for the Cowboy Bebop Netflix adaptation. Do I care that its for the Netflix show and not the anime? No, its still forever Tank and will always be my favorite anime. Incredible work, see here : https://bit.ly/3NMv9G5

First ever tie. This bicycle wheel zoetrope design (along with their vinyl designs) via le_maille on Instagram is unreal. The animation is so smooth, so bold. A true 1/1 

Check it: https://bit.ly/48bxjXM

Honorable Mention: Blood Records Rolling Stone release & the new Gorillaz album. Blood Records lives for the Zoetrope.

https://www.instagram.com/bloodrecs/?hl=en

4. Favorite Packagingssszzz of the year :

Top of the mountain #1: Aesop Rock “Integrated Tech Solutions”

As best as my research understands this collab is via Aesop Rock, dopestonelion, & elecor36. Basically this works like what feels like a giant greeting card tech cranked to 11. The outer jacket has to buttons you touch to activae the sound and light show. You have circuit boards, space shuttles, and the logo all lighting up for a next level visual and sound display. Probably my favortite custom piece of the year, so much so I bought one because I’m still a collector of all this cool stuff!

Numba 2. Fall Out Boy “So Much For Stardust” CRYNYL

Hey we got to help with this one! To celebrate Fall Out Boy’s newest LP we infused some of their REAL tears into 50 liquid filled lps. For real, I got sent some of these bad boys, it was a trip. The packaging really put this over the top with the jacket looking like a Kleenex box with a actual tissue you could use to collect your tears. Amazing vision via Braindotwtf & a host of other good folks Film: @davidaltobelli
S/VFX : @mrdiv.gif
Design: @badjeffkardos
Photo: @jessicamillerphoto
Production: @unreasonablestudios

5. Favorite Video Game Vinyl: Fortnite OG Season Celebration Vinyl/Vid

These limited box sets went out to some of the most well-known content creators around Fortnite to celebrate the return of the Season 1 OG event. It includes a 7 inch, pendants and more but also included a famous clip video of each content creator and one their greatest moments. The attention to detail for this kind of stuff is next level. There are TONS of other amazing VGM releases this year, most are bootlegs, and I’m told to deny their existence forever. But many are amazing and out there. Mario RPG cough.

6. Favorite Label of the Year – Levitation Records

They have every piece of pscyh we love basically on the planet. The sessions via Ty Segall, Oh Sees, Slift, etc. Plus their new sub label Reverb Appreciation Society are all just top shelf. The screen print art, the vinyl, its all beautiful, thought out and curated to the MAX. Cant get enough.

7. Favorite Local To Us (Indianapolis) release of 2023 : (Non Romanus) SATURDAYS AT YOUR PLACE / SUMMERBRUISE / SHOPLIFTER SPLIT

Ok, so this isn’t ONLY Indianapolis, but it does feature emo boys Summerbruise with some of their most fully formed, polished, and well produced tunes ever. Key track, “Dead Daddog 20/20.” Seriously, the song is real, the chorus hook takes me to that special Diarrhea Planet party place. A all-time Sharon jam.

Jam here: https://bit.ly/47lHV5h

8. Favorite Romanus Fest Act – Moon Goons

Proto prog psych. Something like that. The music is a real sandworm and its been awesome to watch this bands growth on a bunch of fronts. Their live production at Romanus fest was such a welcome sight. Excited to see what’s next. This years Romanus fest was even more streamlined and friend shipped to the max. Thankful for this fest in a ton of ways.

9. Favorite Liquid Filled Record

Cant do anything about it. But the now 2x (said in Booker T voice) for our favorite liquid filled goes to Matt Ortt over at Plastikat Deviations. Known matt for a LONG time in the ol liquid experimental world. His year of October “Golden Days” liquid LP is a next level piece of beauty. Truly mind numbing.

Honorable Mention: Newcosmos Zuli Jr. Quad liquid color release. It’s a beaut

10. Favorite Romanus Records Release: Pat & The Pissers America’s Dream/SOIL

No slight to any other fantastic Indy band, but PAT might have the most juice going locally right now. This release has all of the perfect blends of punk, hardcore, garage, and socio takes. Their live shows are truly unhinged push pit towers of power. The Maggot Filled LP was also our favorite Romanus Label piece. They are cooking up something magical over there. Happy to be a part. Their new EP “Growth” is also INCREDIBLE.

Second place #1 in our hearts. Calva Louise “Over The Threshold” Mixtape

MAN, we love some heavy tunes around here. Having had the chance to really lean into it and this metal, prog, industrial mix from these multi cultural giants hits all the right notes. They already had a sold out release via Blood Records and we are honored to get to put out at US release. They also just signed to Mascot Records!? At any rate, jam here: https://bit.ly/3tG5hEP

Buy here: romanusrecords.com

11. Favorite Romanus Custom VINYL MFG Piece

This is a tough choice. We were lucky enough to work on some really great releases this year. But choices must be made. The Fall Out Boy “Tear Filled” vinyl has to take the cake. Big moment for us here. However, top tier honorable mentions go to making a Blood Filled LP for Motley Crue “Shout at The Devil” and maxing a glow in the dark sand filled for Punk legends MXPX and their new lp. So many other candidates, truly a blessed year.

12. Biggest Romanus Vinyl Innovation

Its gotta be what’s behind the “Maggot Vinyl” from Pat & The Pissers. We have something far more next level behind all this and cant wait to release it out into the world. We don’t want to become the “bug people.”

13. Other things we liked

Getting a spot in the Creative Entrepreneurship Program through Pattern Magazine & The Stutz building has been MASSIVE. We got a free secondary workspace that allowed us to kind of pilot expanding without paying. Needless to say, we will have a full-time secondary space at some point in 2024, probably March from the looks of it. Romanus Fest 5 was a delight, loved the art via Stank Draws, tv appearances were fun, our short doc shot by Jake Huber & his team won a EMMY. Hard to wrap my mind around that, won a Making Vinyl Award. Idk, just felt the love big time this year.  

Other things. King Gizzard Petro album, falling head over basketball shoes for Japanese City pop, especially Masayoshi Takanaka, run on sentences, White Zombie, seeing North by North never stop touring, seeing VOLK NEVER stop touring, Tyrese Haliburton ascent, Knocked Loose, discovering Cybergrind via SoulKeeper, putting out another Dan Cummins LP, giving a poor mans TED talk at Kan Kan Cinema, anything Richard Houghton is working on, working with old pals Astral Hand, releasing another Joshua Powell LP, run on sentences, and so much more. I’m missing so many other important things, yell at me in the comments about what I should be into and watching.