Following in the seminal footsteps of Sub Pop, Touch & Go, Light in the Attic and so many more, Calgary’s Flemish Eye has become the latest record label to self-publish a zine. Far more meticulously crafted than the typical black-and-white photocopied love labour, EYE SPY is a 36-page, full-colour coffee-table keeper like no other.

Though it first saw publication in October, EYE SPY was born as a concept nearly one year earlier. After interviewing Chad VanGaalen for a feature story, writer Eric Rumble approached Flemish Eye founder Ian Russell with the idea of a zine, offering a platform for the visual art or written talents of his musical stable, plus close friends and collaborators.

“At first I said, ‘Sounds great. As long as I don’t have to do any work, you have total carte blanche,’” explains Russell, streaming over Skype with his dog Stella on his lap. “As it went along, I realized I actually really liked the project and got totally involved. Of course, as soon as that happened, it ballooned into a much larger enterprise than we’d initially set out to do.”

From VanGaalen’s list of favourite freaky films (with tips for imbibing to enhance them even further) to Women’s Pat Flegel interviewing Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, Ghostkeeper drummer Sarah Houle’s recipe for “hangover soup,” poems and illustrations from the Cape May’s Clinton St. John, a prank call to Julie Doiron, and Graham Walsh of Holy Fuck interviewing VanGaalen as his alter-ego Black Mold, the end result is a conversation-stimulator of the highest order.

“At first I started asking everyone what they’d be interested in doing, and people replied in different degrees,” explains Rumble. “Clinton St. John, for example, was really keen to do some original stuff, and loved the idea of an outlet for his drawings and paintings. Women’s Mike Wallace had lots of photos, and after we lined up the Mothersbaugh interview, we had three anchors, and it became a lot more fun.”

Russell adds: “We just lucked out in that Devo was doing a press junket for its new record. Pat had come up with a whole list of people he wanted to interview, including Gary Busey, Oprah Winfrey and Jermaine Jackson. Mothersbaugh was doing a string of interviews, so his publicist just threw Pat in there. Mark was very understanding of the fact that it wasn’t a professional journalist talking to him, and in fact was shell-shocked with adulation. It was basically just Mark talking to himself for an hour.”

Along with its top-notch content, layout and design, EYE SPY stands apart from the printed pack with its limited distribution, aiming to emphasize quality over quantity. As a bonus for fans of the label and other record store shoppers, it’s only available as a gift with purchase through the Flemish Eye mail order and at selected retailers across the country.

“There are a lot of other people who do free, giveaway magazines, and a lot of clutter in shops,” Russell says with a nose-wrinkle. “One of my requirements from the get-go was that I wanted it to be something people would keep, rather than something that gets tossed into a pile of newsprint by the front door. We decided that even if we had to print a lot less, we would make them targeted towards people who are actually our buying records. I don’t even care if they’re buying our records.”

“We’re still pretty limited to a little universe that includes college rock, Exclaim! and weekly magazines, and there are certain kinds of people who read those,” he continues. “Now, I’ve been getting emails from people in their 50s who got the zine because they bought a copy of a 180-gram Johnny Cash reissue. Maybe they end up buying something from us, or even just striking up a dialogue, which is equally interesting.”