The Esco Romanesco Records Round Up
As of March 2026, the independent label has released 22 items in its catalogue. I use the term ‘items’ broadly. As standard, this includes three full-length LPs, six EPs and ten singles. However, miscellaneous numbers include; a ‘Live from Left Bank’ recording (a collaboration between Prima Star Power and Neve Cariad); a score for the short-film ‘M Land’ by Louis Lota and Florence Bennett; and a poetry collection by Kurtis Brade.
Esco Romanesco isn’t simply an intermediary for new music. Under Lota’s creative supervision; poetry, prose, film, and photography are thoughtfully curated as supplementaries to the music. Lota is building an ever-expanding visual world with each release, with listeners associating the label with analogue, candlelit, velveteen, early-70s seductive imagery.
At present, the Esco collective is relatively small, but the roster of artists is close-knit. Harry Klaus and Kurtis Brade are members of various Esco projects, and Connall himself is a credited musician or producer on…well most of the label’s releases in some shape or form. Other examples of familial collaborations include the Leonard Cohen covers gig (2024) and the most recent Independent Venue Week (2026) which saw the label tour the country together.
Anyway, without further ado, we’ll let Connall introduce you to the family and tell you about what’s coming next for Esco Romanesco.
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Harry Klaus
Let’s start off with our latest signee, Harry Klaus. Harry is the frontman and songwriter for The Black Lagoons, who released their debut on French label Crème Brulee last year, and he’s a founding member of Vehicle! We released his first solo single ‘I’m Not Ready’ in March, and there’s an album coming this summer (out now!). He’s a great songwriter. I’d describe the record as ‘outsider folk.’ Stay tuned!
Neve Cariad
We’ve been sitting on Neve’s debut album for a little while now whilst we plan for its release. But patience is a virtue, and we can happily give Stub Quarterly the exclusive that it will be arriving… in September of this year! Neve and her band will be hitting the road in October, as well as heading to Green Man in August and Left of The Dial in October, so lots to look forward to!
Vehicle
Vehicle hit the ground running this year. We released ‘You Are Not A Cowboy / My Future Wife’ in January, bridging the gap between their debut album ‘Widespread Vehicle’ and their upcoming sophomore LP. The single was accompanied by a limited 7” single release (and the first pressing sold out immediately). It had lots of nice reviews too, and converted Steve Lamacq into a Vehicle fan! The guys are in the studio currently finishing off the next record. New songs are being road tested live so buy a ticket to an upcoming Vehicle show for a sneak peek at what’s to come!
James Shakeshaft
James is currently out in Australia but, before he left, we recorded an amazing record. It’s different to his last one, ‘Ragged Ornaments’. It’s rootsier. We were going for a melting pot of Plastic Ono Band, John Cale, and Daniel Romano. I feel like the upcoming album is some of the best song writing I’ve ever been party to be involved with, and we had a great time tracking it between Eiger Studios and James’ Grandfather’s place in Oakwood. I’m currently mixing it - hopefully we’ll get it out before the end of the year.
elwell
elwell have been going from strength to strength. I was blown away by the ‘go faster’ EP last year and Spike and Reece are writing brilliant new songs. The best bit of running the label is that I get the privilege of hearing new demos!
Prima Star Power
Prima Star Power is Louis and I’s baby. We started the label just after we started the band, meaning we’ve not had much capacity to record and perform. We did manage to release an EP in February called ‘ESCO013’. This was us getting back with Kurtis and Luc and enjoying performing together again. Ben Parry recorded us wonderfully to cassette tape at Mabgate Bleach, which resulted in this raw ‘in the room’ sound. It is named after its catalogue number, which felt fitting!
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2026 is shaping up to be a really exciting year for us with lots of incredible new music from our current roster… and perhaps a couple of new faces!
Foreword by Lucas Blackwell. Round Up by Connall Doo (@connalldoo).
Pictures by Rusty Li (@f8club). Logo from Esco’s Instagram.
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