Mark Sultan

“Ophelia” b/w “Believe Me”

Mark is the most solid of dudes. I once picked up him and King Khan at the Detroit bus station with a minute’s notice because they were stranded there and had no way to get to Hamtramck for their show. They were gonna walk. In the snow. Nearly six miles. Carrying guitars and merchandise. I’d been in that position before…stranded and helpless in a foreign city, and so even though we barely knew each other, I grabbed ‘em and dropped ‘em off. I believe this was before their debut US performance as the King Khan and BBQ Show. I bought ten copies of their debut album on clear vinyl (10% of the pressing), and shared ‘em to spread the word. That album still rips.

So from there I’ve had a casual friendship with Mark. I see him around once in awhile, buy his records whenever they’re in front of me and get the occasional email from him pitching me on a project.

And that’s the hard part…I LOVE Mark’s music, but none of it has ever felt like it FIT at Third Man. The whole idea is a difficult thing to put into words…what does “fit” even mean to a record label that puts out everything from Hank Williams to Jay-Z? There’s some sort of gut reaction that figures in. Maybe part of it has been timing too. But every time he sends an email, I have this odd nexus of feelings…one on hand, I am delighted to hear new music from him. On the other, I am dreading the fact that I won’t feel the ability to give it a home at Third Man. That’s a hard thing to constantly tell someone whom you respect and whose music you appreciate.

So the email from him last week was refreshing. It read…

"Yo!
I wanna send you guys a few copies of my self-pressed 45. I'm not trying to be one label, I've given up on that. BUT i do want folks who MAY appreciate it to have it. And I'm hitting the post office tomorrow. Please give me an address and i will send 3.”

(side note: I’m not sure if he meant “on a label” opposed to “one label”)

That’s all you can ever ask for, right?

The songs are beautiful. “Ophelia” is prime twisted garage, sounding somewhat similar to one of my favorite tunes from the 60s era “You Know I Do” by the Countdowns, but ultimately inhabiting it’s own fresh perspective world.

“Believe Me” is also in the spirit of 60s garage. Unique while still presenting fresh and interesting takes on the genre, which is something most modern-day purveyors cannot claim. The thuddy bass line and needling fuzz guitar solo work wonders together.

Since Mark sent three copies, I gave one to my vinyl bro Swank, am keeping one for myself and will give away the final copy to whomever posts a comment here that feels most compelling as determined solely by me.

Figure out a song that “Believe Me” might sound like, respond with your own critique of the tracks, tell me why I might be absolutely full of shit…feel free to post just about whatever. There’s free vinyl at stake!