Scottish DIY Labels #17 - Flowers In The Dustbin

Would you care to introduce yourself?

We are Flowers In The Dustbin. I am Stephen McKee.


What inspired you to start your own label?

Kick To Kill. And a conviction that we shouldn't spend the rest of our lives waiting from someone from London to tell us our music was worthy. Create your own revolution.


Who do you have signed to your label?

Currently: Nevada Base, For Abel, Mummy Short Arms, Kick To Kill, The Echo Session, The Ex-men, Tatyana.


Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

Flowers has no boundaries!


Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

It's a religion.


Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Inspiration.


How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

There are 3 criteria: great songs, great live, and great people. Must have all 3! We usually ask them to play at one of the Flowers nights.


What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

The label exists to promote music we believe in. So every time a track gets played or reviewed, or we see people discovering the band at gigs, we're inspired. Success? There have been loads of high points. Some of Kick To Kill's reviews were rightly euphoric. The Echo Sessions half page in The Sun, and day's coverage of the second 'bank job' on Real Radio when they played gigs outside RBS branches to promote Fred Goodwin baiting single 'Tell Me'. Hearing Nevada Base on the radio the other day. Daytime radio play? Bless 6 Music.
But my personal conviction is that our greatest successes are still to come. 'Cigarette Smuggling', the forthcoming single from Mummy Short Arms, is a personal anthem. It's the kind of song that reaffirms your belief that living is indeed good! The For Abel album 'Greater Inventions' is magnificent. A joy akin to the Stone Roses debut album, though it's influences are more post punk. Nevada Base should clearly be broadcast directly into workplaces by legislation on an hourly basis. And Kick To Kill are the first genuine contenders I've heard to follow the lineage of Velvet Underground, Stooges, Joy Division, Jesus and Mary Chain. The Echo Session's album is a Glaswegian Sergeant Peppers, as if the Kinks had been born and bred in Glasgow.


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Do it for the right reasons - love of the music you are promoting. And don't be a bullshitter.


What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

The most exciting music known to us! That is likely to include releases from Nevada Base, For Abel, Mummy Short Arms, Kick To Kill, The Echo Session and more! Our 6th commandment is: BE REASONABLE - DEMAND GENIUS. If you fit the criteria, tell us! But whatever we release, it will be the the antidote to most of the drivel force fed on the public by the media. It's an obvious target, but nonsense like the Xfactor and The Brits are a national disgrace. Don't accept the bland that confronts you every day. We're at the outset of a dreadful repeat of the 80's Tory nightmare. Too many people made a terrible mistake voting to disenfranchise themselves. They can keep the parliament, we demand the airwaves! The revolution is NOW!

FLOWERS PLAYLIST Feb 2011 by Flowers In The Dustbin

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Scottish DIY Labels #16 - Phuturelabs

logo by Kenny Hall

Would you care to introduce yourself?

We are Phuturelabs – a collective based in Glasgow. Over at phuturelabs.com we like to talk about electronic music, give away free tunes, record a monthly show for Radio Magnetic and partake of rum. Also, we recently launched our own free label through the site to showcase new electronic music talent. We ran Nerve Recordings for nearly 10 years so had a bit of experience of running a label.

What inspired you to start your own label?

We decided to launch the label as an outlet for exciting new artists in all genres of electronic music. Using the experience and contacts that we’d built up over the years, we thought it would be good to give some new artists a wee shove.

Who do you have signed to your label?

Our first release was from Wira, which is an alter-ego of Edinburgh producer Hostage. He’s known fairly well around the world for big main room type tunes and the Wira alias sees him express the more moody side of his production talent. The second release was from a Canadian producer called Hissy Fit and landed perfectly in what Sinden refers to as the “grey area” between genres – with hints of house, dubstep, garage and electronica all thrown into the mix.

Number three saw S-Type join the fold for a three track EP. He’s an absolutely brilliant young producer currently living in Glasgow. While his productions defy easy pigeonholing, there are elements of hip hop, dubstep, grime and Belinda Carlisle in there.

The fourth release which lands at the end of March is a five tracker from brilliant Edinburgh MC – Profisee. There are four different producers behind the beats – from the aforementioned S-Type to Ninja Tune’s Poirer to Process Rebel from Amsterdam and finishing up with a mysterious Glasgow producer called Scharkz.

Future releases will see Kev Sim from FOUND bring his “River of Slime” onboard the Labs and we’ve a various artists EP planned for later in the year featuring Production Unit amongst others.

There are other things in the pipeline but we’re still ironing them all out.

01 - Profisee - Logans Run [No Guts No Glory] (prod by S-Type) by Phuturelabs

Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

Not at all – while most of the artists mentioned above are locally based friends of ours, we’re open to tunes from producers anywhere in the world.

Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

The word hobby has certain connotations but at the end of the day we’re not making money from it so it’s more of a hobby than a job. We’re just trying to help out some musicians that we really like and release some great music in the process.

S-Type - Mr Lizard (WAV) by Phuturelabs

Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in an artist?

Not really – although we’re based primarily on electronic music so we won’t be looking to release any indie or folk in the near future.

How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

A lot of the time it’s word of mouth or just meeting through friends of friends. We also get a lot of demos through our Soundcloud dropbox and at the info@phuturelabs.com address too and we’re happy to listen to everything.

What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

That’s a toughie! I can’t pick a favourite from the releases but a highlight was definitely the launch night where we had S-Type and Kev Sim play live sets. It was at the Ivy and the whole evening had a nice atmosphere with people being up for everything, even some of Kev’s more extreme audio outings!

Wira - Vloeitjes (WAV) - free download by Phuturelabs

If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Do it because you love music. Not because you think it’ll help you get into clubs for free or get you a gig somewhere or make any cash. At the end of the day it’s hard work even if you’re just offering free downloads and it takes a certain level of dedication.

Also keep your quality control high and don’t feel rushed into releasing anything just because you should. The minute the quality of the tracks drop, people start losing interest.

Don’t always try and do everything yourself – just because you know how to use Photoshop doesn’t mean you can design a nice logo/piece of artwork and just because you once had a muck around with Waves Maxximiser in Soundforge, don’t think you can automatically master all your own stuff. Ask advice from people who know.

Oh hold on - that's more than one!


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photo by Nikola Milcic

Scottish DIY Labels #15 - Saraseto Records

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Wull: Hi I'm Wull and I work with Saraseto Records and you may also know me from Define Pop Promotions or Day By Day Management(Cancel The Astronauts & Little Yellow Ukuleles) and other avenues.

Andrew: Hello, I'm Andrew also from Saraseto, I'm also very lucky to manage Vendor Defender from Glasgow.

What inspired you to start your own label?

Andrew: I am inspired by labels like Fierce Panda and Armellodie and their output. That aside it is working with artist's in a creative capacity that motivates me most.

Wull: Yeah certainly Armellodie as well as labels like Song By Toad and Fat Cat. I had been considering going it alone for a while and then Andrew contacted me about the possibility of working together and its great being a part of a team when both of us are really passionate about the music we represent & release.

Who do you have signed to your label?

Andrew: Our first release includes Mitchell Museum, Over the Wall and Nevada Base. Our first single release is from Loon Choir who are based in Ottawa, Canada.

Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

Wull: Being in a digital age i guess there's no point in tying yourself down to just the bands that are in the same country, we made a concious decision to include Scottish acts but not to specify the label to that. There's alot of great talent that deserves some attention all over the world, hopefully we can also help create market for our overseas bands in Scotland. It also gives us the opportunity for us to work with them when they come to the UK for tours for instance Bravestation from Toronto are coming to Glasgow in May which I can't wait for.

Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

Andrew: Time will tell but for the moment we are enjoying working hard with the artists we have signed and looking forward to our launch in March.

Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Wull: Not a specific sound, i think i can speak for both of us when i say we love good pop hooks, i know i do. There's a bunch of great bands on the release with songs that'll get stuck in your head pretty easily.

How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

Andrew: We are quiet decisive when choosing bands, at the same time we will only work with an artist that genuinely excites us.

The artists we have signed so far have came about through either working with them before, seeing them live or simply hearing a demo.

Wull: Yeah i like to think we know what we're looking for, every once in a while we don't exactly agree on someone but i think it makes us a strong team to have such a quality filter.

What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far?

Wull: I think for me it was when the compilation playlist was finally confirmed. We did alot of research, listened to tons of great music and ended up with a playlist we're not only happy to release but genuinely enjoy sitting back and listening to.

Andrew: Likewise, the compilation we are releasing is intended to represent what kind of label Saraseto will be. In that respect, I'm really pleased with the quality of artists on our first release and it provides us with a great foundation to build on.

What has been your biggest success?

Wull: For me? See above answer.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Andrew: Save up.

What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

Wull: Well for now obviously there's the compilation and launch nights(they should be fun, come say hello) but in May we'll be releasing our first single with Loon Choir from Ottowa. And we're currently in the process of talking to a few bands for future releases which we'll keep you informed on.

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'Everywhere you are' released 12th March, featuring Mitchell Museum, Eastern Conference Champions and Over The Wall

Scottish DIY Labels #14 - Electropapknit Records

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Gav - My name's Gavin. Founder of Electropapknit.

Al - My names Alastair, I'm Gav's servant in Electropapknit. A kind of butler.

What inspired you to start your own label?

Gav - Initially to release my own bands records. Where we grew up (Stonehaven, near Aberdeen) no one really had any interest in releasing the sorta noise that we were making, and even Aberdeen, being the closest city didn't really have any links to the Glasgow or Edinburgh scenes. Of course we were into the whole Dischord sccene too...So when you see them doing it you can't help but think I can do it too. So we did.


Who do you have signed to your label?

Gav - It's more of a collective rather than a label and an umbrella for a bunch of stuff we like. So far we've done/are doing releases for PVH, Deathpodal and the first in a series of compilations featuring bands from all around Scotland. That's due for release on the 9th December with a release party that same day at the Winchester in the Merchant City, Glasgow, featuring some cool bands. It's gonna be a limited edition hand screen printed arigatopak and also a free download.
Al - Next year we have plans to release a friends debut album. He's called Public Spaces, and it's crazEE. There's also a side project of ours called Battery Face and a mystery duo called Toothpaste.


Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

Gav - So far we have but that's only because it's bands that we have seen in the flesh and we like them. Also it's been simpler for us to get in touch with them being local. I don't feel there's any reason to place boundaries on the bands we'd be involved with. I'd be happy to have bands from anywhere in the universe if we liked them.

Al - That's not what you told me - You said it's because you hated foreigners!

Gav - Shhhhhhut up!!


Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

Al - Hahaha, leads...

Gav - Haha I wish!! It's definitely more of a hobby. I'd like to think it could become more but who knows?


Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Al - Well it's more just friends or friends of friends at the moment who are doing something interesting. The compilation was a bunch of guys that we know, who we really like musically. If we were thinking about an actual band for release, well... basically they would have to pass this test involving hot coals and venom spitting snakes. If they survive we know they're a witch and should never be released, ever.


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Al - You don't need to try and get signed to a big label, just to get your stuff out there. It's a bit of work, but good getting releases out. We're fairly new to this so we're still learning. Success though - we've had radio plays on a bunch of student stations as well as Radio 1 and 6Music and some really positive reviews. The new compilation just got a great review from the Skinny.

Gav - My advice would be don't try and start a label if you wanna make loadsa money. Chances are you won't. Do it because you want to. Or at the very least, to get babes...

Al - Yeah, as Gav says, it's all about doing it because you want to, and that you have a passion about music, and girls.


What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

Al - As I said, we have plans to release Public Spaces, Battery Face and Toothpaste. We've already started asking bands about another compilation too. There's about 6 or so bands confirmed and I imagine we'll get it out before next summer. If you're in a band still wanted by the government, surviving as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help and you can find us, maybe you can get a track on Vol 2.

Gav - Yeah! We're gonna start screen printing t-shirts too. We have been working on lots of designs and expect to start printing in the next couple of weeks. Me and Rikki also have a monthly DJ night at Nice n' sleazys. There will be plenty more of them! Of course we have the compilation release party on the 9th December at the Winchester bar featuring Public Spaces, Min Diesel(Aberdeen), Battery Face and Galoshins It's gonna be off the hook yo!!


To celebrate the first Electropapknit compilation there will be a special release party tonight at The Winchester Club in Glasgow, where the limited edition CD will be available, with live performances, cake and balloons! Bands performing on the night will be Galoshins, Battery Face, Public Spaces and Min Diesel.

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Scottish DIY Labels #13 - Olive Grove Records

In case you don't already know, today is a pretty fucking massive week for me, on Monday there Olive Grove Records officially launched. In case you don't already know this is a venture started up by myself and Halina Rifai of Glasgow Podcart infamy. It's always been a dream of both of ours so it made sense for us to team up together as we're both so involved in our local scene.
I think Halina is keen to emphasise that Olive Grove is a totally separate venture from Podcart, personally I have no shame and I kind of think that this blog and the label will almost run hand in hand, i.e. you have been warned that I am going to whore Olive Grove on here, a lot.
When I originally thought up the idea of running a series of posts on Scottish DIY labels, I did have a bit of an ulterior motive which was to try and get a couple of tips off my peers before we launched ourselves into the big bad world. Now that we are officially 'out there' I really wanted to run a wee interview to let know folk a bit more about what we're all about. Seeing as interviewing myself would seem a tad mental, I got my partner in crime, Ms Rifai to do it for me instead.....

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hi my name is Halina ‘facial hair lover’ Rifai


What inspired you to start your own label?

I have always wanted to do it since my teens. I was heavily influenced by people such as Rough Trade, but also a lot of radio DJ’s such as John Peel and countless musicians. I just felt that sometimes people were not getting heard enough that genuinely deserved it and if I could help then so be it. It was too much for just myself so I asked you to help and you said yes which was nice. Now it is all a bit surreal and very fucking emotional.


Who do you have signed to your label?

It is not so much signed as who we are releasing, The beauty about Olive Grove is the artists have the freedom to release with ourselves and then see what they want to do going forward. Effectively, we are like a platform at the moment and if these artists get some kind of recognition then we have done our job. We cover the costs of production and any profits go to the artists and that’s the way I think it should be.


Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

We have a tremendous wealth of talent in Scotland at the moment and going forward. The community spirit displayed by bloggers, websites, podcasters and even labels has been overwhelming so effectively by all joining together it amplifies what talent we have in this country. We focus on Scottish artists because we know more about them and they are on our doorstep so it makes sense.


Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

It isn’t a hobby. It has too much of my passion to be a hobby. Actually, yes it’s a passion. To me this is as important as having a body part. It takes our lives forward because it is something we genuinely love and even though we have to put money into it from our real life jobs or other activities then so be it. Fuck it, I would rather be poor and happy than Simon Cowell and paying for a penis enlargement.


Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Never. There is no pigeon holing, if we listen and love it then we approach the artist and take it from there.


How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with?

How do you go about approaching them?Again, following the previous question it is about the music. It has to be. If there is an artist that is intriguing, that we think deserves a platform and is genuinely passionate and great at what they do then we will take interest. With Randolph’s Leap (debut release) and Esperi (2nd release) both those individuals fit the bill.


What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

Well considering we only launched November 15th, then I think that is essentially it. It is one of my dreams come true and going by the press that Randolph's Leap and Olive Grove have received then I think we will be just fine.


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Think about exactly why you are doing it and what you want out of it. It can be all too easy to say yes to something without thinking about the consequences. You must have commitment, passion and be prepared for a lot of obstacles.


What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

Well next is Esperi’s limited edition Christmas release. Chris (Esperi) may say I am biased, but I genuinely think it is a cracking double A Side. The CD’s will be in handmade snowman made by the wonderful I heart… and we have the Christmas Party on December 22ndwith Randolph’s Leap and RM Hubbert (legend) at The 13th Note.After that we need to decide what artist is next! If it is anything like so far then my heart is going to get so big it will burst and I will sound even more gay than I do now.

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Scottish DIY Labels #12 - Ubisano

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hello! My name is Hubby. I run a small open source inspired label called Ubisano with my good friend John Williamson.

What inspired you to start your own label?

John and I have both been interested in how the Internet has changed the recording industry for a long time. We were both involved in running traditional labels in the 90’s, myself with F&J Records and John with Sano Music so we had an understanding of how the old model worked. Or more precisely, how it didn’t work. We had been talking for some time about how we might go about running a label that was ecologically and morally sound. Past experience taught us that the traditional manufacturing process was both expensive and wasteful so our first step was to purchase our own CD manufacturing equipment and design our own re-purposable sleeves using recycled and unbleached materials. This ensures that we can manufacture only what we need which both lowers cost considerably and removes the waste. This also has the beneficial by product of meaning that there is less pressure on the artists. The other important point for us is that all of the music released is done under an open source license, specifically a Creative Commons Non Commercial Share Alike Attribution license. Traditional copyright has moved far away from its original purpose of encouraging creativity in return for a limited monopoly. It is now primarily about restricting the rights of the customer. We believe that you should be able to format shift, share and remix freely and encourage people to do so. The only restrictions we ask is that a) You maintain a credit to the original author, b) You must license any resulting work that includes the source material under an identical license and c) You cannot charge money for any resulting works or copies that you have made.


Who do you have signed to your label?

We work in a slightly different way in that there are no contracts involved with our artists so strictly speaking no-one is signed to Ubisano! Saying that, we will be releasing music by myself (as RM Hubbert), Sarah Banjo, Make Love, iSSHO & Sycamore over the next 12 months.


Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

Nope, that’s not the plan anyway.

RM Hubbert - TipsyTapsy

Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

We view Ubisano as more of an experiment in alternate methods for releasing music. Our target is to not lose too much money so we definitely won’t be making a living from it anytime soon!


Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Not at all. It is far more important to us that the people involved share a similar ethos to ours. John and I have pretty divergent tastes in music too, as long as it moves us in some way, we will be happy to release it.


How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

Generally, one of us will hear or see a band we like and pass on links to the other to check out. If we feel that the band shares a DIY ethos and are people that we would be happy spending a lot of time with, we’ll get in touch and see if they are interested.


What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

It’s early days for us, the only release so far has been First & Last by RM Hubbert. That one is going well though, there has been steady and hopefully sustainable interest. I have recently been recording Sarah Banjo’s debut album. That has been a lot of fun.


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Figure out what you want from it before you start and manage your expectations realistically. You will lose money and all of your spare time so make sure that you care enough about the project.


What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

This year, we should see the release of Sarah Banjo’s debut album alongside a compilation of some of our favourite new artists. Maybe a new RM Hubbert single too. Next year will see the second RM Hubbert album and releases by Sycamore, Make Love and iSSHO.

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Scottish DIY Labels #11 - Song By Toad

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Matthew Young, owner/writer/etc.. Song, by Toad & Song, by Toad Records


What inspired you to start your own label?

I just got to know too many good unsigned bands because of writing the blog. I had an audience reading the site already, so it made sense to try and bring the two together.


Who do you have signed to your label?

In chronological order: Meursault, Loch Lomond, Jesus H. Foxx, Maxwell Panther, Trips and Falls, Animal Magic Tricks, Inspector Tapehead, Yusuf Azak, The Savings and Loan, King Post Kitsch (I think).


Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

Nope – Trips and Falls are from Montreal and Loch Lomond from Portland – but in general I try and do that as at this level you have to work pretty closely with people, so it helps to be in the same place.

Inspector Tapehead - Yarvil

Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

I am full-time now, but yet to make anything you could even come close to describing as a living. In the long run I hope to make a living out of music, but whether that comes from things initiated by the blog or by the label remains to be seen.


Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

No, although you might not know that to listen to what we've released so far as it is all pretty folky.


How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

We have a few key criteria: I have to love the music, I have to like and trust the band and they have to genuinely want to work with us. Recently, as we've become busier I've had to start adding additional filters, like whether or not I honestly feel I have the time or money to do a release justice. It would be downright wrong to release something and then half-arse my way through it because I have taken on too much and have too little time. In terms of approaching them, I tend to be pissed and giddy with excitement after a really good gig and then slur some sort of stupid off at a band. Doing that with Broken Records is how we actually ended up starting the label – making drunken promises we then had to live up to.

Cold Seeds - Leave Me to Lie Alone in the Ground

What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

Possibly the Cold Seeds record actually. A large part of why that album happened at all is because we provided an environment where artists felt comfortable coming together and collaborating and experimenting, and I am really quite proud of that because more than any other album we've released I feel like I actually helped that album to happen in the first place.


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Never do it because you want to achieve something in particular, because the work is never finished. There is always more you could do, more you want to do, and there is no job you couldn't do better. You have to enjoy the actual process – the tedious daily grind of sending endless emails and trawling the internet to find new bloggers to send thing to and constant pointless phonecalls and on and on and on – because that tedious admin is the fundamental day to day reality of running a record label. Also, you don't need to spend money, so don't over-reach on specific releases. Bands don't like to hear it, but if you go all out in the beginning and pay for a PR company, a radio plugger, a studio, someone professional to master it, a thousand copies of the album, an expensive booking agent and a manager, then unless lightning strikes (which it statistically is almost certain not to) then you will find yourself in a massive hole very quickly. So do as much as you possibly can yourself, even if it means you don't get a review in Mojo, or you end up with a tour which includes some toilet venue in Leicester. It's a very thin piece of pie, so try and avoid slicing it too thinly, because absolutely everyone takes money off your bottom line. Also, bands who play a lot live sell records. Those who don't, don't – it's that simple. So if you're working with a band who doesn't really play that much don't make too many of their record. You can always make more if you sell out, and that way you won't end up with 100 copies of the Red Well album cluttering up your hallway.

Meursault - Crank Resolutions

What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?
Well we've got new releases from Yusuf Azak, Inspector Tapehead, The Savings and Loan (all 2010) and Animal Magic Tricks (early 2011, probably) all on the immediate horizon. That's just future releases though. More interestingly (I think), we are looking for way of releasing albums much faster. We're looking to start a new kind of release which is a lot more stripped back an non-precious. We won't even try and get it into the national glossies, so the lead time comes down to about a month or so. We'll be doing short runs of really basically packaged CDs (a bit like Nothing Broke by Meursault), and trying to encourage bands to experiment a bit and try things out – take some risks, basically. So far we have a Neil Pennycook solo album pencilled in, we're re-releasing Yusuf Azak's first two EPs like this too, and we'll be releasing the King Post Kitsch record this way as well. Finally, I think we might have a collaboration between James Scott (Conquering Animal Sound/Japanese War Effort), Jonnie Common (Inspector Tapehead), Neil Pennycook (Meursault) and Drew (Wounded Knee) which will be called Beggar's Benison. It's a concept album and is a long way from being finished, so I wouldn't expect anything too soon out of this one.

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Scottish DIY Labels #10 - SL Records

Would you care to introduce yourself?

My name's Ed and I run a DIY/indie/mirco record label called SL Records. Based in Edinburgh for the first 12 years of it's existance I'm now based on the sunny fife coast.


What inspired you to start your own label?

Good music, Bob Milles ( a maverick promoter/deejay who ran a label in Edinburgh in the 1990's), Fresh Air FM and the desire to do something 'cool' whilst being a maths and philosophy student.




Who do you have signed to your label?

Like most small labels we don't really 'sign' people like major labels do, we work on a release by release basis. I've work with a load of bands including Withered Hand, Enfant Bastard, Lords of Bastard, Thomas Truax, Paul Vickers and The Leg (and 'Paul Vickers' and 'The Leg' as seperate entities), Wowl!, Misty's Big Adventure, The Blue Wicked Spasm Band, Dawn of the Replicants, The Aphrodisiacs, The Starlets, ballboy, Khaya, Degrassi, The 55's, Barricello....well it has been 13 years...I think that's most of them.


Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

Nope, Misty's Big adventure are brummies, Thomas Truax is from NYC (via wowtown and London), Wowl! from Berlin.... But at this level it's a very personal thing so I like to know the people I'm working with so I'm more likely to work with Scottish based musicians.




Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

I hesitate in calling it a hobby - but nor do I make a living out of it. Some years it turns a profit - most years it makes a loss. Over the last 13 years overall I've probably broken even. I certainly do it because I love what I do.


Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Nope. It's just me running the label and these days I choose to work with people that I like who make music that I like. Since I have a rather eclectic music taste that's pretty wide ranging. Listen to Lords of Bastard, Withered Hand and Enfant Bastard all in a row-that kinda covers the label's sound.




How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

It's usually that I know someone already and like what they're doing - it can be very incestous (for example Paul Vickers, lead singer with Dawn of the Replicants, is working with Dan Mutch, formerly of Khaya but is now in The Leg with Pete Harvey, who was in Khaya and The 55's with Greg Dodgson (who is now in the Blue Wicked Spasm Band with Dan), and has worked with Thomas Truax, ballboy, Degrassi and The Starlets and recorded Withered Hand who's worked with Enfant Bastard and Alun Thomas who drums with pretty much every band on the label, sometimes on the same night, and introduced me to Wowl!)


What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

In some senses the biggest success was out first 7" - Khaya's 'Summer/Winter Song'. When I started the label I was involved with Fresh Air FM (Edinburgh student station). I went to some kinda radio conference where the head of music from radio 1 was giving a talk. I collared him afterwards and gave him a copy of the single. Next week steve lamacq was playing it, then John Peel then Jo Wiley on her afternoon show...we thought it was a piece of piss running a label....we've never had that kind of exposure again.


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

People are always getting touch asking how to start a label -there's no trick to starting a label (or being a promoter/manager/band) just call your self one and then do whatever it is you want to do. Anyone can do it.


What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

Enfant Bastard's new record "Master Dude", Thomas Truax "Sonic Dreamer" album and a whole series of releases celebrating the music of Moondog starting with Justin Robertson, Max Tundra, Kid Carpet and FOUND's versions of the Moondog track "Enought About Human Rights".


SL Records
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Scottish DIY Labels #9 - Instinctive Racoon Records

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hello i'm Jamie Webster founding member of Instinctive Racoon i live in Partick. Instinctive Racoon consists of 3 main people- myself Creon Brock and Ben Soep, we all live in Partick.


What inspired you to start your own label?

I first saw Ross Clark perform at Oran Mor around 4 and 1/2 years ago and his powerful, confident and accomplished performance blew me away. After talking to him later to discover he was just turned 18, i was amazed. Ross and i kept in touch over the next few months and then we decided to start working together, the idea being i'd help him develop as a recording artist, touring artist and not just a mad Bankie (person from Clydebank) who was trying to take over Glasgow on his own! I guess the simple answer is Ross Clark inspired the label's inception.


Who do you have signed to your label?

We have released music for the following acts:- Ross Clark, Washington Irving, French Wives, Three Blind Wolves and Bear Bones. Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists? No, we have considered working with foreign acts, we aren't looking to pick up anymore just now though. Certainly in the future i think we might well work foreign acts, although we feel that it's very important for us to help and develop local talent first.

Three Blind Wolves - Emily Rose

Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

For now it's a hobby as we certainly aren't making any money, we feel it's more important to help the bands to survive, with touring, recording and rehearsal costs it is very hard, any money made goes straight back into the bands pot.


Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Not really, i guess there is a thin thread that perhaps ties our acts together but they are all different in their own ways, TBWs for instance are essentially a Country/ Blues Rock n Roll band. WI are more Indie/ Folk, FWs have a poppier edge Indie Pop i suppose, and Bear Bones are more rootsy folk pop. We help to promote other acts also who are not on our label but we book shows for them etc.. Acts such as Over The Wall and John Knox sex Club- and they have completely different sounds, but yet they work well on bills along with our acts.


How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

We tend to book them in for gig's first get to know them a little and decide then if we/they could work together. Or essentially do they need our help, sometimes you might love a band but they don't need your help and that's fine, we never force ourselves onto acts. We only ever suggest perhaps we could be of service.

Washington Irving - Islands


What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

Getting 3 bands on T in the Park bill this year was certainly the highlight, Muslim (Vic's producer) from BBC was really happy for us and explained that it's never happened before that 3 acts from 1 label have all got in. So to be making history at this early stage really feels like progress. Obviously we feel that all 3 acts Clearly merit their slot in their own right, but it was a very proud moment indeed.


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Go for what you believe in, push music that you really love and don't be afraid to ask people for advise, you'll find 3 types of people in this industry- helpful, folk that don't know what their doing, or people who will steal your ideas and try to jump ahead of you at every step. Best advise it could give is keep your cards close to your chest and do plenty of listening, i never trust a man who talks too much.

French Wives - Big Brave Boy

What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

Can't expect me to give too much away after the last question, however both TBW and FW will be in the studio over the next few months recording, and Washington Irving are playing their first English shows very soon, so watch this space.

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Scottish DIY Labels #8 - Gerry Loves Records

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hi. I'm Andy from Gerry Loves Records, based in Edinburgh.


What inspired you to start your own label?

We've wanted to do it for a long time, but only recently been able to, for various reasons. We want to promote some of the excellent bands that aren't getting the recognition they deserve. We're both vinyl and packaging lovers so we wanted to do something where we could geek out on that too.

Yahweh - Make Me Stop by gerrylovesrecords

Who do you have signed to your label?

No one really. We have put out singles by 4 bands: Conquering Animal Sound, Debutant, Trapped in Kansas and Yahweh. However, we don't have any formal deal with them as such. They are free to do things with other labels if they want. Conquering Animal, for example, have an album coming out on Gizeh/Mini50 later this year.


Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

So far, yes. Certainly at the moment, we can be much more effective in promoting bands who are playing in Scotland regularly, and who we have a personal relationship with. We don't really have the contacts yet to heavily promote bands fro further afield. We know the Scottish music community pretty well, and so we (hopefully) know the best way to promote bands within that. I could see us working with non-Scottish bands in the future, but not yet.

Trapped in Kansas - Towerblock by gerrylovesrecords


Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

Ha ha. Making a living from it is an amusing concept. We sell brittle plastic discs in hand-made packaging with recordings by smallish Scottish indie bands. I don't think that's something you CAN make money from, is it? We do it purely for the love of it, and to keep ourselves out of trouble.


Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Not really. We both have to love a band and believe in them for us to want to release their records, so naturally there are certain types of band that we gravitate towards. I really like hip hop but know very little about it, especially locally, so it's unlikely we'd take something like that on, although not impossible. We don't really get exposed to too much of it. We just like what we like, whatever that is. I think the stuff we have put out so far and the next release we're planning are all quite varied. I don't know, I'm pretty bad at articulating anything worthwhile about music.

Debutant - Thirst by gerrylovesrecords

How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

So far, it's mostly from seeing bands live. We either see them live by chance, or hear some recordings by them and make a point of going to their shows. I suppose we just feel that there is something there worth helping. The two of us don't always agree on bands, so when we do, that's normally a sign. As for approaching bands, there is no better way to get them to hear you out than buying them booze. We are pretty bad for approaching bands while very drunk. I like to think bands find this endearing, but they almost certainly don't.


What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

I've enjoyed lots of moments. Our first Edinburgh launch show was really good. We sold out the venue, which we weren't expecting, and it was the perfect antidote to a gig the night before in Aberdeen with a shocking soundman. Just getting the label started has probably been the biggest success so far. I'm also pleased that we're very close to starting to pay money out to the bands on the first release.

Conquering Animal Sound - Giant by gerrylovesrecords


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Don't pick bands that are cool that you think will sell records. Pick bands you genuinely love and believe in. That love is all that will keep you going when it's 3am and you're stuffing records into sleeves and trying to balance a spreadsheet and one of the bands has just done something really silly.


What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

We've got one more release planned for 2010, which will be a bit bigger, in terms of the amount of tracks and artists. We're close to getting that finalised, but it won't be out till much later in the year. We're really excited about it, but can't say more till we have it all agreed with the artists. Then next year, who knows? More good music on thoughtfully produced vinyl. Maybe other formats too, but not CDs.




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Scottish DIY Labels #7 - Chaffinch Records

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hullo – my name is David Love and I run Chaffinch Records.

What inspired you to start your own label?

I was made redundant in 2005 and wanted to do something interesting with some of the money. I initially saw it as an opportunity to sell some of my own stuff as South Downs but quickly realised the stuff I had recorded at that point wasn't up to much. I also wanted to help friends like Immigrant and Lucky Luke release some new material. Kenny Anderson and Fence Records were a massive influence on me too.


Who do you have signed to your label?

I don’t have anybody tied into the label. I’m approached by artists and I release material as and when I have the funds available.

Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

It was initially going to be Scottish bands only but I’ve now had material out by English, Welsh, Spanish and American artists.

South Downs - Something Inside


Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

I could never possibly make a living from the label and in this digital age I’m surprised anybody can. It’s purely a hobby – although an expensive one.

Burnt Island - Me and All My Friends Are Alright

Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Not as such – but I do probably err towards more left-field folk/pop stuff.

Lucky Luke - Please Bomb Slough


How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

On the first Chaffinch release – The Whisper EP, it was myself and some friends - Immigrant, King Creosote and Lucky Luke. Once that release came out, it had a knock-on effect and quite a few artists starting contacting the label through the website. The only artist I contacted direct was Anthony Reynolds.


What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

My biggest thrill was releasing Anthony Reynolds’ (of the bands Jack/Jacques) Ponies EP. He is a total legend in my eyes. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to get much media interest or airplay. Easily my biggest and quickest sellers have been The Second Hand Marching Band and Burnt Island releases. I think both bands have a great future ahead of them.

Anthony Reynolds - For When You Were Young


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Do it only for the love of music as you won’t make a penny.


What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

Another CD album from Burnt Island, a 2-CD set from Anthony Reynolds, an EP from The Second Hand Marching Band, an album by South Downs and possibly another various 7” vinyl compilation.

Chaffinch Records

Scottish DIY Labels #6 - Too Many Fireworks

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hi, I'm Neil Milton and I'm the brains behind the too many fireworks record label. The label began in 2003 and ran for a few years before I went off to do something else for a while. This month (September 2010) we're returning after a 4 year rest. In the first few years we released albums by flying matchstick men, Titus Gein and Laeto and our singles club featured Errors, Macrocosmica and Findo Gask. We also ran a clubnight called Fire: works at Glasgow's Barfly for a couple of years. The new too many fireworks is based in my new home of Warsaw in Poland but is still, intrinsically Scottish. It will, in the main, be a net label focusing on modern-classical, ambient, electronic and post-rock, releasing digital download albums, eps and singles and to begin, we're re-releasing our entire back catalogue on download. On our new website, toomanyfireworks.co.uk [still in development but will be complete when this goes out] we refer to the the first time around as "act i" and the relaunch as "act ii". I guess if we ever start doing physical releases again, we'll maybe start "act iii". I hope that sums it up.

What inspired you to start your own label?

In "act i", a whole lot of things inspired me to start …fireworks. Chemikal Underground was the biggest inspiration I think. I loved their artists: Mogwai, the Delgados, Aereogramme, Arab Strap, the Radar Bros - Amazing. I loved that a band could run a label from their kitchen and become Peel favorites. I loved that they didn't feel they had to move to London to "make" it. Another huge inspiration was a label from Manchester, Valentine Records. I met those guys on my first trip to the industry conference, In The City. They gave me a lot of advice in starting up and gave me confidence to go for it. For "act ii" though, my main inspiration was my move to Warsaw and retaining a connection with the Scottish music "scene" when I wasn't really there any more. I felt it was time to bring it back. Admittedly, it's now 9 months later and we're just getting going but I guess I found emigration to be a little more time-consuming than I'd expected.

Who do you have signed to your label?

No one. We don't sign artists to the label, we license their releases - the bands retain the copyright of their music. I suppose if you wanted to ask who I considered "too many fireworks bands" from the first time around I'd probably say Laeto, flying matchstick men, Titus Gein and my old band, Troika. Everyone else was part of our "Dialogues" 7" singles club. In "act ii" we'll be dragging the Dialogues series into the internet age with a collection of "Digital Dialogue" split download singles. We've also got Graveyard Tapes, me and several others lined up for full releases but it's all "gentlemen's agreement" type stuff at this stage so no names - some are pretty impressive though.

Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

No, definitely not. I mean, so far everyone that has released records on …fireworks have been based in Scotland but that's not any hard and fast rule. I lived in Glasgow and released bands I liked. With the internet, there's a much wider reach nowadays so too many fireworks' artists could come from anywhere with a broadband connection.


Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

In the past, it was a living but now it's somewhere in between. You can definitely make a living out of it but you have to be lucky and have some money to put into it too. Especially when dealing with physical releases, you need some decent money behind you. It might seem like a lot of fun, to have your own label but it's a lot of work. A lot. Luckily though, the rewards to look forward to after all that work are plentiful.


Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

This time around, I'd quite like to focus on modern or contemporary classical music alongside post-rock, ambient and electronic releases but there's really no rule. I mean, I could say all of that and then I might get a chance to work with, I don't know - let's say for arguments sake - EagleOwl or Second Hand Marching Band, you know, some band that doesn't quite fit that description? Well, you're not going to turn that down, eh?


How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

First and foremost, I have to really like, if not love, the band. When you do this, you have to get behind the bands you are releasing and if you don't absolutely believe in them, there's no point. As for approaching them? I just ask.


What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

I have a few personal highlights from the label. The Laeto album, Zwoa, which is now, genuinely, one of my favourite albums of all time is a huge highlight for me. Our clubnight, fire: works, was also a great success after a very slow start. Our biggest success though has to have been the Titus Gein album, tracks of which appeared on several video games - I think Juiced for the PSP and MotoGP '06 were two of them.


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Surround yourself with honest, constructively-critical friends who will help you when you need it, support you when you need it and be brutal… when you need it. And you will need it.

What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

As mentioned earlier, we're re-releasing our back catalogue on digital download - some of the earlier releases feature a host of bonus tracks - and an 8-bit electronica album by Germlin that was only ever given away free at a gig Joe did at the Sub Club back in 2004. Next will be my own e.p. of music from the We Sink Ships: Elements photographic exhibitions. Later in the year will be an e.p. by Graveyard Tapes and in November we'll be releasing a compilation of interpretations of Fryderyk Chopin's music to celebrate the end of his 200th anniversary. It's all starting to come together and I'm really excited by this. I hope others will be too.

Too Many Fireworks

Scottish DIY Labels #5 - RE:PEATER RECORDS

Would you care to introduce yourself?

My name is Stephen McCaffrey and I am involved with a new label called RE:PEATER Records which is run by the band SHe’S HiT. From Sept 2007 - June 2010 I ran Lucky Number Nine Records. This is going to be a pretty straight interview, I’ll leave the jokes to Al from Armellodie - he’s wittier than me.

What inspired you to start your own label?

Probably the same reason as most people with independent ideals; there’s a wide variety of good music being made that largely goes unnoticed by the mainstream and I wanted to help raise the profile of the bands I really enjoyed.


Who do you have signed to your label?

The intention with Lucky Number Nine was to try and bring more attention to bands that we thought had the potential to sign to bigger indie labels. We mainly released vinyl singles and featured loads of bands across several genres including Zoey Van Goey, Astral Planes, Peter Parker and Je Suis Animal.

RE:PEATER is dedicated to two bands, Jacob Yates & the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers and SHe’S HiT, and will release singles and albums.

Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

I don’t think I’d like to restrict releases to Scottish artists - if you hear something unsigned that you like, and would be happy owning, then why not release it? The bands location shouldn’t matter.

She's Hit - Miriam Hollow


Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

Anyone in the music industry will tell you how difficult it is to sell records at the moment but I do believe that with a lot of hard work and a lot of luck it would be possible run a label full-time - it wouldn’t be champagne and limousines though, more like beans on toast and Scotrail.

Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

I enjoy a lot of different styles of music and Lucky Number Nine certainly wasn’t restricted to one particular sound but with RE:PEATER we are looking for bands that complement each other. I’d like to get to the stage where people are buying our records without hearing them first because they trust that it will sound as good as something they have bought from us previously.


Jacob Yates - You Started At The Bottom

How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with? How do you go about approaching them?

We’re looking for artists with individuality, good songs and that have a realistic idea of what they can achieve. We’re not interested in people that think they should be bigger than the Beatles, one man and his guitar crying about his worst break-up or watered down Biffy or Belle & Sebastian copy-cats.


What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

The main highlight is getting a delivery of vinyl from the factory and playing it for the second time - the first time you’re too worried that something will be wrong with it.


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Be patient and do your research - there’s no point in rushing a release as it won’t get the attention it deserves, regardless of how good it is.


What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

Our debut release is a split 7” & Download single from SHe’S HiT and Jacob Yates & the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers which will come out on the 18th of October. The Lock Pickers LP will be out in the first quarter of 2011.


RE:PEATER RECORDS are launching the label with a show tomorrow night (Friday 17th September) at the 13th Note in Glasgow. There will be live performances from Fur Hood, SHe'S HiT and headlining will be the labels first signing - Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers. Doors are at 8pm and entry is a meagre £4, get it done.

RE:PEATER RECORDS
SHe’S HiT
Jacob Yates & the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers