Walnut Tree Records


Walnut Tree Records, established in 2007 and closed in 2012, was a British independent record label from Watford which specialised in limited run releases from new and upcoming bands.

History

Walnut Tree Records started life as "The Walnut Tree" in July 2006, a small scale per-zine and CD distribution business. In an interview with AlterThePress.com, founder Tom Beck stated that he "was working on a different genre of music in his full-time job and was falling out of love with music a little" and wanted to find a way to change that. After reading a positive review of The Wonder Years and Bangarang split EP on Punktastic.com Beck contacted The Wonder Years directly to ask if he could import their CD and sell it to potential fans in the UK. This was followed by releases from the likes of Valencia and Four Year Strong, all of which were without a distribution deal in the UK at the time. The Walnut Tree gained a reputation as somewhere to buy cheap releases from up and coming bands and allowed Beck to build up a small network of frequent buyers.
After complications with a release, Beck decided to focus on helping unsigned UK bands, founding Walnut Tree Records in July 2007. The label initially co-financed releases with Pep Rock Records and No Order Records, before then taking full control of releases from March 2008.
Walnut Tree Records released 27 records over 5 years, distributing a further 15 in the same period.
The label was closed in August 2012.

List of former artists

This is the release list of Walnut Tree Records in chronological order...
  1. Paige – '
  2. Portman – From Here To Your Eyes And Ears
  3. Waiting For Sirens – Self Titled
  4. Portman – Remembering Fondly
  5. Portman – Unplugged
  6. Bayonets – Wishes & Wishes
  7. Portman – These Songs Were Written In Bedrooms & Village Halls
  8. Various Artists – '
  9. Tiger Please – They Don't Change Under Moonlight
  10. Viva Sleep – The House Of Viva Sleep
  11. Burn The Fleet – Burn The Fleet
  12. Tiger Please – Seasons
  13. Cuba Cuba – Home Is The Fire )
  14. Various Artists – Discovery )
  15. Burn The Fleet – Black Holes )
  16. Delta / Alaska – Start With The Cage )
  17. Call Me Ishmael – I Am Stop, You Are Go )
  18. Day Of Rising – American Professional )
  19. The Maple State – First The Worst )
  20. Newlands – Say )
  21. Ghostlines – Act Your Innocence )
  22. Drawings – Bones )
  23. Gunning For Tamar – Deaf Cow Motel )
  24. Cuba Cuba – Where Else Is Safe But The Road? )
  25. Rob Lynch – The East EP )
  26. Tiger Please – They Don't Change Under Moonlight 12" vinyl )
  27. Indian School – The Cruelest Kind EP )

    Releases distributed by Walnut Tree Records

Walnut Tree Records also offered a CD distribution service. Originally titled The Walnut Tree, the service offered new and hard to reach releases from North American bands to the UK public at cost base prices. The releases were available in a limited run and only through the label's online store. The idea behind this service was that often these releases, at the time of distribution, weren't cost effective when importing single copies and therefore Walnut Tree Records felt that bulk buying them direct from the bands or labels would make it easier for UK fans to buy physical copies.
This was also at a time when music fans would like to own physical copies of smaller releases.
  1. The Wonder Years / Bangarang! –
  2. Permanent Me – ''

    Bands appearing on Walnut Tree Records releases

The following bands have all featured on at least one Walnut Tree Records release. Those in bold were full releases, those in italics were distributed through the label:
A Broken Robot, A Word Like.Attack, All Or Nothing, Arden, Attention, Bangarang!, Bangers, Bayonets, Brave Citizens, Burn The Fleet, Call Me Ishmael, Canterbury, City Light Thief, Cuba Cuba, Cutting Class, Daggermouth, Danger Is My Middle Name, Day Of Rising, Delta/Alaska, Don Broco, Drawings, Fire In The Attic, Fluid Lines, Four Year Strong, Francesqa, Ghostlines, Great Caesar, Gunning For Tamar, Have You Heard, Indian School, Joey Terrifying, Kidnapper Bell, Liam Clayton, Lonely The Brave, LYU, Mutiny On The Bounty, Mybe, Newlands, Nothing Unexpected, Olympians, Over And Out, Overthrow, Paige, Pareto, Permanent Me, Portman, Samoans, Show It Off!, Taking Chase, The Barent Sea, The Law Among Tigers, The Lion And The Wolf, The Long Haul, The Maple State, The Republic Of Wolves, The Ruined, The Tupolev Ghost, The Wonder Years, The Vanity Score, They Sink Ships, Tiger Please, Valencia, Venice Ahoy, Viva Sleep, We Push Buttons, Wilson Fisk, Wolf Am I.