MAGNETIC TAPE ZINE
The labels I’ve interviewed are
generally 1-person projects (at
least at the time of interview),
how do you manage the label
between the 3 of you? Does
that present it’s self with any
challenges?
Andrew: I wouldn’t say there have ever been any
massive issues to be honest. Things haven’t always
been straightforward, as when we first started Rory
was in Cardiff, and Richard and I were in Wolverhampton,
and now Richard is in Leicester and me and Rory are
in Wolverhampton. Due to distance, it just means we
have a lot of online discussion rather than face-to-face,
and we have to post a lot of stuff back and forth
(for example, with a cassette release, the tapes might
have been dubbed in Cardiff, but the inserts printed
in Wolverhampton and posted for assembly).
Richard: We manage pretty well between the three
of us! If anything, I think it has made the label easier
to handle and more productive as we can split up the
different parts of releases and stuff between us. I don’t
think we would have released half of the stuff in our back
catalogue if this was a one person operation.
What made you decide to start
up your own record label?
Andrew: For me personally the simple answer is:
to make friends, contribute something and most
importantly give something back to a scene that’s
given me so much since my teenage years.
The honest (if a little cringe-y) answer is: since my
teenage years reading about the likes of Dischord,
SST, K-Records and the other big players of the DIY
movement of the 80s/90s I discovered loads of bands I
grew to love, but I was always fascinated by the labels
and their products. Bands write and record music and
play live, but once the concerts finished, or they’ve left
the practice room, what happens to the music….? I
always felt that labels were equally important because
they created artefacts, which given the explosive nature
of punk, will outlast the band whose name is on it.
Richard: Nobody was releasing music I liked so I
thought I would do it instead! I was in between study
at university, and had spare time and income, so I played
with the idea in my head for months and months. My
girlfriend got pretty sick of me going on about it and
convinced me to just go for it. I embraced the spirit of
YOLO and never looked back.
Rory: I just love tangible little artefacts like records and
cassettes, and things like zines and comics that are all
sorta similar if a considered amount of care is put into
making them look and feel special. So for years now
I’ve been buying little bits and bobs from other record