Brian Eno Revives Opal Records, Reissuing Two Long-Deleted Albums Oct 16
Brian Eno is relaunching his own label Opal Records in 2026, marking the return with reissues of two long out-of-print albums: 2005's Another Day On Earth and 2001's Drawn From Life, made with J. Peter Schwalm. According to NME, both albums have been unavailable outside Japan for close to 20 years. The reissues arrive October 16 and are available for pre-order now. One percent of Opal's record sales will go to the climate organization Earth Percent.
Release details
- Release date: October 16
- Titles: Another Day On Earth (2005, originally released on Hannibal Records) and Drawn From Life (2001, with J. Peter Schwalm)
- Label: Opal Records
- Charity: 1% of Opal record sales go to Earth Percent
Another Day On Earth was seen at the time as Eno's return to songs — before it, he had spent over a decade focused on ambient composition and production work.
Two unreleased live videos
To accompany the reissues, Eno is simultaneously releasing two previously unreleased live performance videos, one track from each album. For Another Day On Earth, it's "Caught Between," filmed June 16, 2001 at Coliseu do Porto for Porto Festival in Porto, Portugal. For Drawn From Life, it's "Persis," filmed July 29, 2001 at Naeba Ski Resort for Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.
The same band played both shows: alongside J. Peter Schwalm, the lineup included Nell Catchpole (violin), Leo Abrahams (guitar), Christoph Buhse (drums), Tim Harries (bass), and Heiko Himmighoffen (percussion).
Opal Records, 1988–1991
Opal was founded by Eno in 1988 and released work by Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Harold Budd, Laraaji, Djivan Gasparyan, Hugo Largo, Zvuki Mu, Daniel Lanois, Jon Hassell, and John Cale. In 1991, Eno put the label into dormancy to focus on his own work, with the catalog passing to All Saints Records.
Opal has not signed new artists since, only occasionally issuing Record Store Day exclusives. In 1988, Eno described the label as "a label for outsiders," saying its artists shared a difference from one another and from the mainstream currents of contemporary music; he cited the Beatles and the Velvet Underground as examples of how pop music's power comes from both center and margin, and how the two positions can suddenly flip.