Swell Maps - The John Peel Sessions - 1LP - Black Vinyl [Record Store Day 2025]

This product is a RECORD STORE DAY 2025 title and not available to pre-order. • Available to buy in-store from 8am on Saturday, 12/04/2025 (Record Store Day). • Remaining copies will be available to buy online from 8pm on Monday 14/04/2025.

Swell Maps - The John Peel Sessions pressed on limited edition red vinyl for Record Store Day

Remastered and available officially for the first time in over 40 years. Noisy, chaotic, and defiantly experimental, Swell Maps may not have found commercial success in their time, but their impact on music is undeniable

An inspiration to bands such as R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement and Nirvana, with Kurt Cobain famously being a fan and often seen sporting a Swell Maps T-Shirt

A democracy within the confines of punk's anything is possible, members Biggles Books, Jowe Head and brothers Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks—helped shape the landscape of post-punk and DIY music

Now, for the first time in over 40 years, The John Peel Sessions brings together all three of their recordings for John Peel, a figure instrumental in championing their sound. Formed in the early '70s and fully realised by 1976, Swell Maps embodied the DIY ethos, launching their own label and self-releasing the jagged, frenetic debut single 'Read About Seymour' in 1978

Peel was an early supporter, playing their record as soon as it landed on his desk—a moment the band described as one of disbelief and elation

His regular airplay of their music helped solidify their cult status, and these sessions capture the raw energy, off-kilter melodies, and boundary-pushing creativity that defined them. Compiled here for Record Store Day, The John Peel Sessions is a vital document of Swell Maps at their most unfiltered—three sessions of unpredictable, exhilarating noise.