FUGA announces partnership with One Little Independent; new Björk album Fossora released Sept 30th

15 September 2022 - Press release

FUGA takes on digital distribution and marketing services for London-based OLI

Björk’s tenth album, Fossora, due to be released by OLI on September 30th, 2022

Downtown Music Holdings-owned FUGA, the world’s leading full-service B2B distributor, today announced a wide-ranging partnership with critically acclaimed independent label, One Little Independent Records (OLI).

FUGA will provide its industry-leading distribution technology and global marketing services to OLI, including access to the distributor’s extensive trends platform and growing Audience Engagement team, led by recently promoted Melissa Fernie.

FUGA’s Marketing Services team was recently bolstered by a raft of hires and promotions, including Helen Barrass who joined as Head of Marketing Strategy and Karma Bertelsen who was promoted to Marketing Manager, UK.

Formed in 1985 as One Little Indian, the label has remained at the forefront of the independent music industry, seeing success with pioneering acts such as Björk, Sugarcubes, Sneaker Pimps, Chumbawamba, Alabama 3, and Skunk Anansie. Renamed One Little Independent Records in June 2020, the London-based label - whose active roster also includes Ásgeir, Poppy Ackroyd, Galya Bisengalieva, Bad Breeding and Kathryn Williams - has an enviable global presence while offering forward-thinking, artist-centric deals.

“OLI's fierce independence and approach to placing artists front and centre is aligned with FUGA's own strategy, where we aim to consistently support our partners in their efforts to amplify and grow their artists, both locally and globally,” said Liz Northeast, FUGA’s UK General Manager, who led the deal for FUGA. “We are honoured to partner with Derek Birkett and the team at OLI at such a pivotal time.”

Today’s partnership comes shortly before the arrival of Björk’s highly anticipated new album Fossora. Released on September 30th, her tenth album released in partnership with OLI, is the first in five years and the pandemic-inspired LP serves as a creative response to her 2017 LP, Utopia.

Led by single “Atopos,” the album release sees the Icelandic polymath exploring themes of grounding and underground worlds (the title, Fossora, is an invented word referring to a feminine version of the Latin word for “digger”). In August, Björk released a podcast series, Björk: Sonic Symbolism, to discuss her vast discography and explore the themes covered by her music since her debut release in 1993.