In the nineties, when the CD, as a carrier for music, really took off, a lot of albums never had a proper vinyl release. It was too expensive or simply not worth it at the time. Three decades later only the records which still have some \’monetary value\’ get a proper reissue on vinyl. Where money is concerned the almighty Beowülf don’t even feature on the list. At the moment I’ve got a copy of Un-Sentimental, originally released in 1993, in my hands. And that’s thanks to Dave Reumers of Kinsum Records in the Netherlands. So why would anyone even bother releasing this album again?

Feature by Martijn Welzen

\”WHY NOT?\”, was the capslock reply to my question about why Dave from Kinsum Records decided to reissue \’Un-Sentimental\’. \”I became a huge Beowülf fan when \’Lost My Head Came\’ came out\”; Dave continued. \”As a 17 or 18-year lad I wrote to the address on the LP whether I could order some shirts. I have kept in touch with Dale Henderson ever since. In some small record shop in Mönchengladbach, Germany, I also found their first album at the end of the 80\’s. When Dale sent me a copy of \’Un-Sentimental\’ I was rather disappointed. It sounded \’different\’. Not what I had hoped my favourite band would sound like. The record grew on me, and after a while I could not even decide if I liked \’Lost My Head\’ more than \’Un-Sentimental\’. Both have a completely different vibe but both are so good.\”

Vinyl – \”Because this record had never come out on vinyl I kept on asking Dale to get a proper release done. At one point he just said; \”Why don\’t you do it?\” That must have been in 2013 or thereabouts. It still took another seven years for me to get the funds to invest. I couldn\’t do it any earlier as I needed all my money to get my record store going. Luckily with Dale\’s consent all was set in stone quickly, as the rights lie with him and the label (Restless Records) folded some time ago\”

Music and artwork – \”Music was taken from the CD, but I have to say it\’s been done very well. The artwork is also from the CD, believe it or not. I don\’t want to have any of these ugly \’Music On Vinyl\’ covers. They have mostly been scanned incorrectly. I really feared for a similar result. The guy who did this for me simply said: \”Just leave it to me.\” The result is amazing as you have seen! Also the inner sleeve looks amazing and has some additional information not printed on the CD.

Demand – \”Two hundred copies makes it a nice collectors item. I could probably have sold more, but I didn\’t have the money for a bigger press run. The CD version is available on Discogs for a few Euros, so I didn\’t think the vinyl version would become best-seller. I have mostly done it for myself. \’Un-Sentimental\’ is among my top 20 of all-time favourite albums. So when I run out, I might be doing another Beowulf title like \’Jesus Freak\’ or \’2C\’. I reckon Dale would be cool with that. I am currently selling them through Facebook and Discogs. It\’s all fairly easy to be honest. My mate Wouter of Rebellion records is selling them through his website for international customers. I just wasn\’t interested in that; sending packages to the US or Spain in these uncertain times. I still have a store, right? When we\’re open again, everyone is welcome to pick one up in Maastricht, providing I still have some left of course.\”

The One Night Stand – One Life For The Family vinyl was done in cooperation with Street Justice Records in Germany. This time Dave decided to do it without label backing. He\’s pretty firm about that: \”In hindsight I should also have done the One Night Stand LP on my own. I don\’t want to speak ill of Bernd at Street Justice, as he is a good friend, but the artwork is just hideous. It could have been so much better. Having said that; No! I don\’t not want to start a label. Kinsum Records is my shop. BWF is just a hobby”

Karaoke Kings – \”Yes, believe it or not a vinyl version of ‘Karaoke Kings’ is in the works. I\’m hoping to release it at the and of January actually. It\’s a project I have done with Kasper in 2001. It’s another record I don\’t expect to sell a thousand copies of. Although I have sold that amount of the CD before. Anyway, there’s also a 200 press run of the vinyl, which is very limited with a lot of attention paid to the artwork which features a beautiful gatefold, and two different vinyl colours. I’ll probably loose money on it, but it\’s a hobby right?\”

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