Popguru Sound & Vision is a record label imprint with worldwide distribution through IDLA.
From the band’s inception, The Wilderness of Manitoba has redefined itself with every new release; from Hymns of Love and Spirits through When You Left The Fire, Island of Echoes, Between Colours, Across The Dark, Farewell Cathedral and various EPs. The evolution of their sound has run the gamut from four-part harmonies and its initial chamber folk sound to duo lead vocals and an expanded sonic palette ranging from cinematic indie pop to anthemic folk rock. In its fourteen year existence, the JUNO nominated band’s strengths come as a direct result of the wealth of traveling and playing the group has done. They have played the End of the Road Festival and Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD Festival in the UK and toured the UK, US, Netherlands, Canada and Germany with such artists as Aimee Mann and The Low Anthem.
“In its finest moments, The Wilderness of Manitoba shimmers like a sky full of northern lights.” ~ Exclaim Magazine
Described by UK critics as “one of the most innovative of their era” and that “even to this day they sound brave and fresh”, Martha and the Muffins emerged from the early punk/new wave/art pop scene in 1977. The band was the first Canadian band to sign to a UK label and recorded their first album, Metro Music, at The Manor Studio near Oxford, England. After Echo Beach became a top ten single around the world in 1980 and earned them a Juno for Single of the Year, Martha and the Muffins toured extensively in Britain, Europe and North America. Since then, the band has released eight studio albums, three of which they co-produced with Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel). A groundbreaking band since its formation, founding members Martha Johnson and Mark Gane recently went through their extensive archives to select twelve rare singles, B-sides and unreleased tracks for ‘Marthology: In And Outtakes.
“Martha and the Muffins have managed to last beyond the latest musical trends and, in the process, continue to offer us challenging new music." ~ Sunday Express
Graham Stairs founded Popguru Sound & Vision in 1998. The company is now a fully integrated music company that includes artist and producer management, music publishing, sync licensing and two record labels: The Confidence Emperors and Popguru Sound & Vision. The World According To Popguru: Single-Minded is a collection of early singles released by Popguru Sound & Vision between 1998 and 2005. The album consists of songs by Red Autumn Fall, Hush Hush, Stirling, Hennessey, Beautiful 2000 and The Blue Raincoats. In addition to the compilation, all the original music videos were restored and made available on YouTube for the first time.