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*What is 4AD's mailing address?
*Who do I send demo tapes to?
*Do 4AD have a mailorder department?
*What other music mail order places are there?
*...And
*...And
*...And
*...And
*...And
*...And
*What art mail order places are there?
*...And
 
What is 4AD's mailing address?
There are two offices, one in the UK and one in the US. However, the majority of the operation is carried out in the UK so if you have demos, questions, etc, try there first. UK Office:

4AD
15 Alma Road
London
SW18 1AA
UNITED KINGDOM
T: 00 44 181 870 9724
F: 00 44 181 874 6600
E: timhall@almaroad.co.uk

US Office:

4AD
PO Box 46187
Los Angeles
CA 90046
USA
T: 1-310-289-8770
F: 1-310-289-8680

 
Who do I send demo tapes to?
Send them to the UK office. Mark the envelope with "care of The Kitchen". Presumably they listen to the tapes whilst cooking up authentic italian pasta dishes.

 
Do 4AD have a mailorder department?
Yes, although there's no electronic contact at the moment. You can send off for a catalogue which contains all of the stuff you can mailorder - quite a substantial number of things you won't be able to find in the shops. The guy who deals with mailorder also sends out letters, cards and occasional promos, so it's well worth doing.

The current information on getting a catalogue is: Send Inquiries, Orders, or £2.00 for a Full Colour Catalogue to:

4AD
P.O.Box 3813
London
SW18 1XE
T: 00 44 181 870 9724
F: 00 44 181 874 6600
E: mailorder@almaroad.co.uk

Postage and packing £1.00 (UK) £1.50 (Europe) £2.50 (USA and Canada) £3.00 (Rest of World). All payment must be in pounds stirling and made payable to 4AD Ltd. Payment - Cheque (UK Only)/ I.M.O. / Eurocheque / Visa / Mastercard.

You could ask about becoming a "subscriber" to various schemes as long as you have a healthy bit of plastic; new releases (or only limited editions, or only LP's) are then sent straight to your door...unless you are unlucky, as some people seem to be. But in general, it seems a very well-run system.

 
What other music mail order places are there?
Lots and lots, more all the time, and many of them are contactable via email and through websites, and don't have trouble fullfilling international orders. Here are some places you might like to try for mail order, although we in no way guarantee their reliability.

Bent Crayon
T: (216) 221 9200
E: orders@bentcrayon.com
W: http://www.bentcrayon.com/

Two recommendations for them: they'll send out an email update of new releases if you ask them to.

 
...And
4AD-L List Subscriber Jason recommends his shop Rioux's records: "Well, my shop rioux's records carries all of the new 4AD releases (as well as older titles) for usually less than most shops mail-order or not. I've had no complaints with my service if that helps". They take visa and mastercard.

Rioux's Records
PO Box 36503
Canton
OH 44735-6503
T: (330) 305-9447
E: riouxs@aol.com

A number of other people have also recommended Rioux's: for example, Dmitri Bender (from Russia) said in March 1998 that: "I'd like to suggest all of you give Rioux's records a try - I have ordered from Jason...three times and *always* was given prompt, pretty friendly service, and low prices, too. And the much the more - he doesnt ask bloody $$ for overseas postage as all other online stores do - it always costs me exactly what US Postal Service charges for sending stuff overseas measured by weight of the package only, no fancy $7 first item, $2 each additional one..."

Rioux's will also send out an email update of new releases - ask Jason for more information.

*more information about riouxs

 
...And
Norman Records in Leeds in the UK has a very prompt, comprehensive and cheap service:

norman records
3 Beamsley Place
Leeds,
LS6 1JZ
United Kingdom
T: 00 44 113 2744774
W: http://www.normrecs.u-net.com/

Personally I think Norman Records are fantastic - when I order from them I usually get it in no longer than a couple of days. Others agree: in Oct 1997 Andrew Norman said: "I use Norman (no relation) quite a lot - had a package go missing in the post in the last fortnight and Phil mailed me a replacement without delay. I get the impression it's an operation run by fans. Prices are good for new releases, there's also a selection of rare/import stuff, often at quite steep prices (which hasn't stopped me buying one or two things in that category)."

 
...And
Roughtrade in the UK are fairly well known for their shops in London. They do a mail order service and have a website:

Rough Trade Shop
130 Talbot Road
London
W11 1JA
United Kingdom
T: 00 44 171 792 3490
F: 00 44 171 221 1146
E: shop@roughtrade.com
W: http://www.roughtrade.com/

Roughtrade is not bad - they have lots of stuff in stock and will try to order things they don't have. But they can be slow and their WWW site is often out-of-date and it's difficult to find things.

 
...And
You might also try Sister Ray, located on Berwick Street, London:

Sister Ray
94 Berwick Street.
Soho
London
WIV 3PP
United Kingdom
T: 00 44 171 287 8385
F: 00 44 171 287 1087

I've never used Sister Ray, so let me know if you have opinions.

 
...And
Smash Distribution have asked to be mentioned as they sell 4AD records by phone, fax or email. In Jan 1999 they said: " Hello there. I work for a wee company here called SMASH! Distribution, perhaps you've heard of it, perhaps not. Anyhow, we stock all available 4AD titles and singles and whatever we have available to us, among tons and tons of completely unrelated things. We're in L.A., so it's convenient for customers on the West Coast of the US. Orders can be taken over the internet, phone or fax.

On the internet, customers will need a password to view the catalogue and new release updates, which they can get by e-mailing frontdesk@smashdist.com, which is given on the website.

" Their contact details are:

Smash Distribution
T: 1-800-32-SMASH00
F: 1-310-352-420900
W: www.smashdist.com
E: kayt@smashdist.com

 
...And
Amazon are now selling music over the internet, and Mark says that they are "doing a decent job of it too...". Here's some other miscellaneous ones, let me know if you have opinions on these:

Parasol
905 South Lynn Street
Urbana
IL 61801
USA
T: (217) 344-8609
F: (217) 344-8652
E: parasol@indies.com
W: http://www.indies.com/

Vinyl Ink
955 Bonifant St.
Silver Spring, MD
20910
USA
T: (301) 588-4695

EAR-Rational Music is an online music service specializing in thislisty/dance/noise product. They're not the quickest (they don't always have everything in stock and may have to re-order from a distributor) but the selection is excellent and they have a good reputation for reliability.

If you're looking for used stuff (or have stuff to sell), try the Used Music List. Write to it with subject "HELP".

Regarding http://www.ab-cd.com/, Michael Borum said in July 1998 that "AB-CD are very reliable; I recently ordered Stina Nordenstam's "Dynamite" from them. It took a while to receive it because they had to special order it themselves, but they were very good about keeping me updated on my order's status"

Richard Holtzman suggests you try http://www.secretsounds.com/, in case you "would like to support a really great independent store instead of your local meglomart retailer...they are really great about stocking 4AD imports and all you other obscure desires."

You might try Lakeshore's Alternative Music, http://www.cdeurope.com/, or http://www.cdnow.com/. Good availability, but the prices are sometimes a bit steep.

 
What art mail order places are there?
Walzner Artbooks are a rapidly expanding company providing art, architecture and design books, particularly concentrating on Shinro Ohtake, 4AD publishing and v23. They take credit cards and do much business in the US. Also have a well designed web site and a friendly owner!

Walzner Artbooks
am hasengarten 29
38126 braunschweig
germany
T: 00 49 172 4501902
F: 00 49 532 126034
E: info@artbooks.de
W: http://www.artbooks.de/

 
...And
Another fairly reliable source for art books is:

Arcana Books On The Arts
1229 3rd Street Promenade
Santa Monica
CA 90401
USA
T: (310) 458-1499
F: (310) 458-9014

In the UK, Shipleys has been a good source for 4AD related books in the past:

Shipley Specialist Art Booksellers
70 Charing Cross Road
London
WC2H 0BB
United Kingdom
T: 00 44 171 836 4872

You could also try:

Dillons Arts Bookstore
8 Long Acre
London
WC2E 9LH
United Kingdom
T: 00 44 171 836 1359


Comments and updates to 4ad-l@state51.co.uk please.
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