Monkey Barrel Records – new comedy record label

There is a brand new comedy record label in town called MONKEY BARREL RECORDS.

This is the home of exclusive comedy vinyl records with some of the best Fringe comedy from last year.

The fundraiser is still running although they have already exceeded their financial target. Anything they can raise over the next day or so will help to pay for future recordings.

Their first three releases can be pre-ordered now and include some of their favourite acts:

Double Take & Fade Away from John Kearns. The only two time Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner. Double Edinburgh Comedy Award winner. He meanders, he loses his track, he overshoots his mark, he drops his glasses, he meets himself coming back, he digresses, he alters direction, he sinks in at the knees, he rolls over like a log, he forgets the drift, he drops someone flat, he exaggerates, oversimplifies, falsifies, evades the issue; he dawdles, he dwindles, he trips over his own feet, he runs away with himself, he implicates others, he misses the point, he ends up at the same place.

If/Then from Olga Koch. The follow-up to her 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer nominated show. Fresh from a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2019, a national tour and a Best Show nomination at Leicester Comedy Festival in 2020, If/Then sees Olga hilariously telling a love story through the unorthodox medium of computer science. In this feminist investigation into what happens when we can’t separate emotion and technology, Olga will teach you how to code, and explore what happens when our expectations for romance, happiness and Michael Bublé no longer compute. Like pioneering computer scientists Grace Hopper and Dorothy Vaughan before her, Olga examines how being an exception might not be so exceptional after all. If/Then is directed by Charlie Dinkin and produced by Berk’s Nest.

Eagle Fire Iron from Ari Eldjárn. Iceland’s biggest comedian’s eagerly awaited return to the Fringe following his 2017 smash hit, Pardon My Icelandic. Iceland’s biggest comedian returned to the Fringe after sold-out debut runs in Edinburgh, Melbourne and the Soho Theatre. With multiple accents, voices and a stubborn determination to translate Icelandic material into fluent English, Eagle Fire Iron covers various topics including fatherhood, mindfulness, Icelandic weather, The Avengers and what it’s like to live in a country with a population the size of Coventry.

Monkey Barrel Records has been established to offer an alternative to the digital monopoly of how we enjoy our favourite shows. By capturing the special atmosphere of live comedy, these recordings help share the unique enjoyment of owning and playing vinyl records with comedy fans everywhere.

You can still donate to the fundraiser here.

Their longer term vision is to present a second series of releases in Autumn 2020, followed by a subscription service targetted for early 2021, offering four records direct to your door each year.