**4th April 2013 New link added. Please note that the zip file no longer contains the instrumental version of Racing Rats, which I learned recently is actually available to buy. The Lemming Archive supports Editors by buying their officially released material, and not sharing it here :)**
These recordings occupy a very unique "grey area", in terms of their status as officially released material. It's the policy here at the blog, a policy that I carried with me from my time over at the band's official forum, that in addition to purchasing their music I'll continue to support Editors by not sharing anything that they're able to make money from. A band that's broke will find it difficult to make any more music (and do things like pay bills, buy small wrestling figures to place on top of their amps etc etc). However.....
During the promotional campaign for AEHAS, promo cds of the tracks being dropped as singles were made and sent out into the world. Promos qualify as officially released material but the band don't make money directly from them (and they actually bear the "Not for sale" stipulation on the body of the cds themselves). They're usually used by djs and shop owners to check the band out and decide whether to play/stock their music. The only way to get them is through some kind soul in the industry passing you a copy, or through buying them on ebay or a specialist record shop.
So the promos contained the singles but, very interestingly in terms of being a fanboy/girl they also contained instrumental versions of AEHAS tracks. By the time the promotional campaign for the album was done, those folks who collected all the promos had in their possession an instrumental version of every track on AEHAS. That's what's being shared here. It's a chance to concentrate and focus solely on the music of An End Has A Start, and to hear how they songs are arranged. As a musician, this kind of stuff fascinates me. I have the instrumental version of Playing the Angel by Depeche Mode and it's one of my favourite records. Being able to hear what goes where, how silences and noises are used is really interesting. This is in no way a criticism of the vocalists in either band, as I love their voices and what they bring to their music, it's just a chance to hear things from a different perspective and that is rarely a bad thing.
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
