{"id":8031,"date":"2011-12-14T11:08:46","date_gmt":"2011-12-14T11:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=8031"},"modified":"2017-10-24T10:56:42","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T10:56:42","slug":"in-depth-local-bands-launch-labels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/in-depth-local-bands-launch-labels","title":{"rendered":"In-depth: Local bands launch labels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why is Cardiff\u2019s music scene so conducive to starting record labels?<\/h2>\n
\"\"

Barely Regal\u2019s Matt Fidler and Isaac Jones looking the part (photo: MB)<\/p><\/div>\n

You\u2019re in a popular local band who want to record music professionally and release it to the world but feel unconfident about major label interest, especially in today\u2019s musical climate. So what do you do? If you reside in Cardiff, you start your own record label.<\/p>\n

Barely Regal<\/a>, Shape<\/a> and Bubblewrap Collective<\/a> are record labels founded in Cardiff over the last five years and all were established partly because their owners wanted to get their respective band\u2019s music out there. Now each has gone from releasing EPs of their own music to full-length albums from other artists: Bubblewrap Collective with Little Arrow<\/a>, Barely Regal with Kutosis<\/a> and, most recently, Shape with Truckers of Husk<\/a>, amongst others.<\/p>\n

Mark Thomas, along with his brothers Lee and John, founded Shape Records in late 2006 and, perhaps more than other Cardiff-based labels, had a singular aim in mind for the label and their band, Attack + Defend<\/a>. \u201cThe main focus was on the band, not the label,\u201d Mark explains. \u201cShape was something which enabled us to release our music at the time; we didn\u2019t have a plan for expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Shape were influenced by previous Cardiff labels such as My Kung-Fu, Slow Graffiti and Booby Trap, they themselves have paved the way for both Bubblewrap Collective and Barely Regal, founded in 2009 and 2010 respectively. The labels all share a passion for physical products, whether vinyl, CD or even cassette and Shape\u2019s policy of limited edition physical releases is one that has seen others follow suit.<\/p>\n

Barely Regal, with barely two years in business, has already seen founders Isaac Jones and Matt Fidler exceed their expectations for expansion, mainly because, according to them, they had none to start with. Going from an EP release with their band Among Brothers<\/a> to getting their own stage at Cardiff\u2019s annual Swn music festival was a transition the pair had never imagined happening, especially before Barely Regal had even reached its first birthday. \u201cWe toyed with the idea of curating a stage but thought \u2018nah, we\u2019re too small and off the radar\u2019,\u201d Matt says. \u201cThen we got an email from [Swn organiser] John [Rostron] saying \u2018do you want to do a stage this year?\u2019 and we instantly replied \u2018yes\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n

Close-knit city<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Cardiff\u2019s music scene seems to thrive because of its sense of community; there\u2019s no rivalry, only a desire for good music to get heard. Rich Chitty, creative director at Bubblewrap Collective and drummer in Lucky Delucci<\/a>, not only emphasises the importance of support from promoters and local independent music shops such as Spillers Records<\/a>, but also cites the city\u2019s localised nature as a reason for his label\u2019s success. \u201cIt\u2019s a capital city but it\u2019s quite a small city as well so bands get to know each other and get to know different people on the scene,\u201d Rich says. \u201cIt provides an opportunity for labels to promote local music.\u201d<\/p>\n

It helps that many of these bands practice in the same rehearsal space, as Hywel Evans from Shape signing Truckers of Husk explains ahead of the band\u2019s album launch party at Clwb Ifor Bach. \u201cEveryone knows everybody. You\u2019ve got a lot of bands for the size of the place and because there\u2019s only one good place to go and rehearse, the Music Box, everyone goes there and you get to know people; everyone plays with each other\u2019s bands and everyone goes to each other\u2019s gigs. If Cardiff was any bigger you would lose that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So how do the labels hope to sustain themselves amidst constant fear of declining music sales? Rich wants to ensure that Bubblewrap Collective\u2019s physical releases are all worth buying, saving money by designing the artwork himself in-house, as well as offering releases for digital download. \u201cWe like to do something a bit different, have some nice packaging, back it up like that,\u201d he explains. \u201cSo you\u2019ve got the digital side if you want to download it but if you want to get something physical then it will be something a bit special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barely Regal, on the other hand, are just hoping to break even. However, with limited edition releases like the debut album from Kutosis selling out ahead of release dates, this shouldn\u2019t take too long. The duo has a lot planned for the future, including an Olympians<\/a> mini-album and tour, a Theo<\/a> album and more releases from Among Brothers. \u201cWe\u2019ve got quite a lot happening next year, probably more than we can actually afford,\u201d Matt jokes. \u201cI\u2019m going to have to get a house and remortgage it or something!\u201d<\/p>\n

In contrast, Mark appears remarkably calm, seemingly having found a sense of fulfilment with Shape Records and current band Islet<\/a>. \u201cWe don\u2019t make very big plans; we just see what comes up,\u201d he says. \u201cOur aim when we started the label was to get our own section in Spillers Records, which we have. We are actually a bit lost now because we haven\u2019t got anything else to aim for!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why is Cardiff\u2019s music scene so conducive to starting record labels? You\u2019re in a popular local band who want to record music professionally and release it to the world but feel unconfident about major label interest, especially in today\u2019s musical climate. So what do you do? If you reside in Cardiff, you start your own… <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Read More<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[1491,1490,1482,1483,1485,875,1489,1480,1492,1493,1484,1486,1494,1479,1487,1182,1481,518,1495,1488,1496],"yoast_head":"\nIn-depth: Local bands launch labels - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/in-depth-local-bands-launch-labels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In-depth: Local bands launch labels - alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why is Cardiff\u2019s music scene so conducive to starting record labels? You\u2019re in a popular local band who want to record music professionally and release it to the world but feel unconfident about major label interest, especially in today\u2019s musical climate. So what do you do? If you reside in Cardiff, you start your own... Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/in-depth-local-bands-launch-labels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"alt.cardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-12-14T11:08:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-24T10:56:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/\",\"name\":\"alt.cardiff\",\"description\":\"If it\\u2019s offbeat and in Cardiff then it\\u2019s online here.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/in-depth-local-bands-launch-labels#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Feature_Record-Labels_Big_MB1.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/in-depth-local-bands-launch-labels#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/in-depth-local-bands-launch-labels\",\"name\":\"In-depth: Local bands launch labels - alt.cardiff\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/in-depth-local-bands-launch-labels#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-14T11:08:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-24T10:56:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/34d0ea86f9ec8130e4085bb0592503c0\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/culture\/in-depth-local-bands-launch-labels\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#\/schema\/person\/34d0ea86f9ec8130e4085bb0592503c0\",\"name\":\"altcardiff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/251d18ae391aa476d090c1eb0e8b3365?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"altcardiff\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8031"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8031"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10189,"href":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8031\/revisions\/10189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}