Aztec Records

Update:
Some time after I wrote this Aztec Music became Aztec Records. They are still doing absolutely wonderful work under the guidance of Gil Matthews.
Read on…

Aztec is a word that carries a lot of weight & credibility in the Australian Music Industry. Aztec Music shares that credibility with the outstanding job that Ted Lethborg and Gil Matthews (long-time drummer for the Aztecs) have put into re-releasing some classic Australian Albums. Formed by Ted and Gil back in the late 1990s, Aztec Music has worked to re-master and re-release many out of print Aussie albums from artists such as:

• Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs
• Bill Field
• Buster Brown
• Buffalo
• Band Of Light
• Lobby Loyde
• Spectrum
• Madder Lake
• Chain
• Broderick Smith’s Big Combo
• The Masters Apprentices

and many more. Not only have they paid great attention to re-mastering the music, but they meticulously attend to the album covers and liner notes so you get the full experience of these wonderful albums.

Back in March Aztec Music found itself in some financial difficulty, largely due to debts owed to them from music stores &  distributors. As Ted said at the time:

Two years ago, Aztec Music (the importer) lost in excess of $350,000 from distributors and music stores closing down/going out of business. That’s way too much for a small company to endure and, in the end, it caught up with us and the bank had no choice but to withdraw their finance.

“As to what happens to the (my) label, time will tell. I am hopeful that I will be able to either rescue or re-launch it. We have released over 60 titles (with many more to come) and we were just about to start our vinyl reissue program.”

Luckily though this story has a happy ending. In may a consortium headed up by promoter Paul Dainty stepped in and acquired the assets of Aztec Music.

“Aztec Music, the Melbourne based music distributor which has been releasing, distributing and importing music since the late-nineties, has been acquired by a consortium of strategic investors led by Paul Dainty. The consortium assumes immediate ownership of Aztec’s suite of assets (including a vast catalogue of DVDs, CDs and LPs) after the business was placed into receivership in March 2012. The news was announced via a joint statement today.
Aztec Music has left an indelible mark on the Australian music scene. The new team looks forward to continuing the tradition through the reissue of classic Australian albums and the importation of rare and highly collectible compilations from overseas”, said Paul Dainty.”

As someone who loves Classic Australian Music I’m so happy to see this project continuing. If you are looking for high quality re-released Aussie Albums then head on over to Aztec Music’s website where you can browse the entire catalogue.