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!
Believe Me had a groovy vibe going that reminded me of The Monkees’ Not Your Steppin’ Stone, but with Bob Dylan singing. Bob Dylan jamming in some garage with The Monkees. There’s a thought.
puzzle pieces sliding like tectonic plates… radnificent….
I’ve been an actor in Chicago for years, bumping around theatre companies, doing small acting jobs, hanging out, making work. Being told over and over again how awesome I am, but just don’t fit. It’s hard. So, I went out and starting making performance art and devised theatre. Now, I write, dance, play around on fiddle (thanks to be inspired by Lillie Mae!) and am generally having a kick ass time. I might move away from Chicago, I might stay, but not ever being the right fit has been the best thing that happened to me. Now, I make art in so many different ways. different situation, but I know what it’s like to never quite fit and while it totally is hard, sometimes it pushes you to the place you do fit. And you know, makes you pick up an instrument and make some music and noise. Thanks for sharing this story and this rad music. Love, Alexis
honestly Ben… i dont know why TMR doesnt crank out singles like this every week as Official Record of the Week 100# only GOLD Label Releases and then let the artist print however many they want on black vinyl at their own expense… Now that would be a RAD marketing plan!!! This guy definitely belongs on TMR gold label novelties feature vinyl in my opinion …. the first song up there is Roy Orbison Swwet Dream Baby all the way…. Its a fresh funky sort of Sound that Sultan goes after with some interesting effects to be certain and he must be an inventor of some sort given all that quirky tempo changes with one of a kind transitions that will send you rummaging through a hardware store or a wall of effects pedals in a musical pawn shop to try and reproduce what youre hearing in all his songs …. compaing Ophelia and Believe Me is like flipping a coin for which has more unique flavorings but this song Believe Me is super smash quality up close and personal …. Ophelia is way rockin but just a little more tentative when it comes to sending chills up my spine…. Believe Me!
Nice post, thanks for sharing. My memory is a little fuzzy, but music can help make great connections to moments. There was either a King Khan and BBQ or one of Mark’s songs playing in the Nashville shop when I visited. Pretty sure it was during the Vault party sale which was 7 years ago this past week, time flies.
Off the subject, but did anyone notice the clock on the hockey game last night? They stopped it in the end of the Third period at 33.3 seconds. I even took a pic if you don’t believe me. Cool tunes MR. Blackwell. Peace. Have a great weekend everyone.
He probably meant “on your label.” ( <—- not intended as a compelling comment.)
Is there a way to find Record of the Week posts from a year or more back? He did one about this really cool album I wanted to pick up and I don’t remember the name.
Bought a copy of this about a month ago from In The Red records, great little 7". So I don’t need one….but love this added bonus to the weekly record! Guess I get to take a break this week and get ready for the hunt next week when you post again!
A great artist