Los Angeles, California: With a catalog that stretches back more than three decades, Cleopatra Records has established itself among the most tenacious and versatile independent record labels around.
Punk, industrial, metal, jazz, folk, country, rockabilly, space rock, prog… Cleopatra acknowledges the importance of them all. For many fans, however, the label is best associated with gothic rock, and no surprise. The label’s earliest release, back in 1992, was a now super-rare 45 featuring Christian Death and Sex Gang Children, and over the next few years, Cleopatra’s unmistakable logo decorated both new releases and archive offerings as the label established itself at the very forefront of the movement.
That accolade remains true to this day. When UK magazine Uncut published its Top 200 goth albums list earlier this year, no less than seven of its inclusions had graced the Cleopatra catalog.
Now the label itself unveils its personal Top 100, to be broadcast over four weeks in March by its own Pirate Radio Cleopatra - available to listen free of charge on Mixcloud, YouTube, Facebook, X and the Cleorecs.com website.
The exact contents of the Top 100 are, for obvious reasons, being kept tightly under wraps, to be revealed 25 albums at a time beginning March 7. One can expect, however, chart rankings for such Cleopatra stalwarts as Christian Death, Sex Gang Children, Rosetta Stone, Switchblade Symphony, the Electric Hellfire Club, IKON, James Ray, Gene Loves Jezebel, Screams For Tina and The Wake; plus nods in the direction of The Cure, Joy Division, Siouxsie & The Banshees and Bauhaus. And all painted on a truly worldwide palette, with performers from as far afield as France, Germany, Finland, Australia and beyond.
All four shows will be hosted by Pirate Radio Cleopatra regular Lady Crow, who says: “It was important to showcase the sheer depth of the catalog. The oldest recording on the Top 100 predates the First World War; the most recent won’t even be released until the summer. In between those, there’s the LA death rock scene, the early 80s Batcave crowd, the 1990s second wave and maybe a lot more from the 21st century than people might expect.”
A number of artists have also recorded exclusive station IDs for inclusion in the shows.
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As a climax to the broadcasts themselves, Cleopatra will be offering discounts on every album in the Top 100, with further promotions also in store. Further details will be announced shortly.
LISTEN HERE:
Pirate Radio Cleopatra - https://www.mixcloud.com/CleopatraRecords/
The Lady Crow Late Night Radio Show - https://www.mixcloud.com/LadyCrowShow/
