Artist : VA
Album : Do It Yourself (D-I-Y)
Label : Soul Jazz Records
Genre : Indie
Bitrate : 130 kbps avg
Source : CD (LP)
Playtime : 01:16:04 (74.7MB)
Rls date : 2007-03-02
Store date : 2007-03-05
[Track List]
1. The Buzzcocks - Boredom 2:54
2. Kleenex - Ain't You 3:03
3. A.P.B. - All Your Life With Me 4:32
4. Fire Engines - Everything's Roses 3:16
5. The Naffis - Slice 1 4:18
6. Swell Maps - Let's Build A Car 3:00
7. Patrick Fitzgerald - Babysitter 1:10
8. Artery - The Slide 2:44
9. Blurt - The Fish Needs A Bike 2:39
10.Glaxo Babies - Shake The Foundations 3:48
11.The Flys - Love And A Molotov Cocktail 2:31
12.Russ Mcdonald - Looking Form The Cooking Pot 3:41
13.Scritti Politti - Skank Bloc Bologna 5:53
14.Windows - Creation Rebel 4:45
15.Icon A.D. - Fight For Peace 3:18
16.Thomas Leer - Tight As A Drum 4:36
17.The Frantic Elevators - Every Day I Die 1:27
18.Throbbing Gristle - Distant Dreams (Part Two) 5:28
19.The Last Gang - Spirit Of Youth 2:52
20.Biting Tongues - You Can Choke Like That 4:06
21.Tom Lucy - Paris, France 3:26
22.Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry - Paint Your Wagon 2:37
Horrible dirname but i wanted to avoid any future
dupe/nukes !
Do It Yourself charts the rise of the independent music
industry after punk û from the hundreds of bands and tiny
labels that sprung up with like-minded ideals, to the
network of shops, manufacturers, studios, printers etc,
all connected via a loose network of record distributors
that would help define independent music over the
following thirty years.
Beginning with The BuzzcocksÆ æSpiral ScratchÆ EP released
in early 1977, on the newly formed New Hormones label, in
Manchester, it soon seemed that every town in Britain had
its own music scene complete with bands, small labels,
record shops and studios. Directly influenced by the
ideals of Punk - self-determination, freedom of
expression, etc ûas much as the music meant that these
bands were interested in alternatives to the status quo in
managing their careers. This meant finding new ways of
getting their music heard outside of the mainstream music
industry. It also meant new ways of making music away from
the traditional guitar, bass, drums and vocals line-up of
rock bands. The reasons for these two factors would be
sometimes practical (they couldnÆt get signed/they
couldnÆt play) and sometimes ideological.
Pivotal to the development of the scene was the Rough
Trade Records shop run by music fan Geoff Travis.
Geoff Travis: ôThe first records I remember bands bringing
into the shop were The BuzzcocksÆ æSpiral ScratchÆ,
Scritti Politti æSkank Bloc BolognaÆ and The Desperate
Bicycles.ö Rough Trade Records had started as a
second-hand record shop. In 1977 customers began to bring
their own newly pressed-up records into the shop, Travis
soon began distributing the records to a handful of
like-minded shops throughout the country. This developed
into a network and bands soon found they could sell 1000s
of their own records with no marketing, management, agents
etc. At first the records were all coming from people
bringing in music to Rough Trade in London, but soon new
bands would turn up at their local store with their
locally-pressed record and this led to the emergence of a
music scene in each town.
All the bands on this record released their music
independently, either themselves or on a small label. Some
went on to be incredibly famous and others didnÆt. This
record celebrates all factions and discusses the social
and economic conditions that allowed independent music to
thrive in the years to follow up to the present day. It
comes complete with interviews with label owners, bands,
studios, mastering and pressing plants and even printers!
The groups and the labels:
Scritti Politti û æSkank Bloc BolognaÆ (St Pancras
Records, London 1978)
One of the first records that a band themselves bought in
to sell in Geoff TravisÆs fledgling Rough Trade shop was
Scritti Politti ôSkank Bloc Bolognaö. The record proudly
listed the costs of recording (ú98), mastering (ú40) and
pressing (ú369.36) on the photocopied sleeve, paving the
way for hundreds of Do It Yourself records that would
follow. Singer Green Gartside slowly made his way into the
heart of mainstream music in the 80s and 90s, always with
a healthy dose of obscure literary militancy, before
re-emerging in 2006 on a newly reconstructed label, Rough
Trade Records!
Throbbing Gristle û æDistant Dreams (part two)Æ
(Industrial Records, London 1980)
Genesis P. Orridge, Chris Carter, Cosey Fanni Tutti and
Peter Christopherson formed Throbbing Gristle in 1975 and
in 1977 formed Industrial Records to release their own
music as well as those of like-minded æIndustrialÆ artists
such as Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, Leather Nun, Thomas
Leer and Robert Rental. Determinedly confrontational with
music and ideas based in terms of noise, industry, art and
anything non-rock, Throbbing Gristle were described as
æthe wreckers of societyÆ by unbeknownst-PR man,
conservative MP Nicholas Fairborn. Throbbing Gristle and
Industrial Records paved the way for industrial music and
experimental electronic music.
The Frantic Elevators û æEvery Day I DieÆ (TJM Records,
Manchester 1979)
Alongside Tony Wilson (who would shortly start Factory
Records), future members of Joy Division, The Smiths, The
Buzzcocks and Mark E.Smith - one of the small audience of
people (apparently 42!) who first saw the Sex Pistols play
at The Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, was Mick
Hucknall who like nearly everyone else at the gig then
formed a band. The Frantic Elevators made edgy punk music
and released a number of singles on local Manchester
labels including this song and a prototype version of
æReeling In The YearsÆ, which would later sell a few more
copies for HucknallÆs second group, Simply Red. Thirty
years on and after years of huge mainstream success,
Hucknall has managed to sidestep the major record industry
once again by releasing Simply RedÆs new music through its
own internet web site.
Glaxo Babies û æShake The FoundationsÆ (Heartbeat Records,
Bristol 1980)
In a fleetingly small period (1978-80) û the band had
already split-up by the time their first-album had come
out! -The Glaxo Babies nevertheless managed to join the
dots between Punk music and dance music in what was to be
integral to the Bristol music scene that had begun with
The Pop Group and would continue on through Massive,
Portishead, Tricky and a host of others. The local
Heartbeat Records label managed to last only a year longer
than The Glaxo Babies, releasing other groups such as The
Transmitters and Art Objects.
Artery û æThe SlideÆ (Aardvark Records, Sheffield, 1980)
Sheffield-based Artery were, according to Jarvis Cocker,
one of the reasons Pulp formed. Their left-field music has
remained pretty much unsung in a city that also gave the
world Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, Pulp and Warp Records.
æThe SlideÆ was originally released on the tiny Aardvark
Records and in true DIY style, came with a free 7ö single
recorded at Rotherham Arts Centre!
The Fire Engines û æEverythingÆs RosesÆ (Codex
Communications, Edinburgh 1980)
The Fire Engines distilled the raw jagged guitar sound
that was the essence of a vibrant Scottish music scene
with artists such as Josef K, Scars, Aztec Camera and The
Associates and labels such as Postcard and Fast Records.
æEverythingÆs Rosesö was released on the bands own Codex
Communications label. Recently celebrated by fellow
Scottish band Franz Ferdinand, this led to the re-release
of their only album on Domino Records.
APB û æAll Your Life With MeÆ (Oily Records, Aberdeen
1982)
Similarly from Scotland, but with a very different
trajectory to The Fire Engines, APB, were formed in the
small town of Ellen, Aberdeenshire and their first records
were released on a local Aberdeen independent label, Oily
Records. Their percussive sound led to their music being
unwittingly (to APB) picked up by underground New York DJs
and played in New York dance clubs such as The Mudd Club
and Danceteria. This in turn led to the band visiting the
US where they played live and even released material on
Sleeping Bag Records, home of Mantronix, Arthur Russell
and other like-minded dance artists. The influence of New
York Noise bands such as Liquid Liquid can be heard in
this instrumental track ôAll Your Life With meö.
The Flys û æLove and A Molotov CocktailÆ (Zama Records,
Coventry 1977)
To some the 7ösingle became the replacement for the demo.
Coventry group The FlysÆ released the ôBunch of FiveÆsö EP
on their own Lama Records in 1977. The band were quickly
signed to EMI Records, but found it hard to re-capture the
essence of this classic two-minute something classic,
recorded for ú100.
Thomas Leer û æTight As A DrumÆ (Cherry Red, London 1981)
Thomas Leer pioneered independent DIY music making lo-fi
electronic music using drum machines and experimental
sounds. He spearheaded the way for electronic bands, such
as The Human League, to make popular music in the 1980s.
In 1978 he released an album The Bridge with Thomas Leer
on Throbbing GristleÆs Industrial Records followed by a
steady stream of other releases. ôTight As A Drumö was
released in 1981 on Cherry Red Records.
The Naffis û æSlice TwoÆ (Absurd, Manchester 1980)
The Naffis, formerly known as Naffi Sandwich, released
æSlice TwoÆ, formerly known as æSlice OneÆ, on yet another
Manchester independent label, Absurd, which also released
music by Slaughter and The Dogs, Bet LynchÆs Legs and
Gerry and The Holograms. We think this is their only
single.
Kleenex û æAinÆt YouÆ (Sunrise/Rough Trade, London 1978)
All girl-band from Switzerland released æAinÆt YouÆ on
their own label, Sunrise, and was one of the first
releases distributed with Rough Trade. Their place at the
head of female guitar-punk and riot grrls led to the label
Kill Rock Stars recently releasing an anthology of their
recordings.
The Buzzcocks æSpiral ScratchÆ (New Hormones, Manchester
1977)
The first run was 1000 but ended being 15000 after six
months. Released on Jan 29, 1977, one day after EMI agrees
to pay The Sex Pistols ú50,000 to leave the label (ú10,000
more than they signed them for!), this small piece of
plastic would signal the future of independent music to
come.
Swell Maps æLetÆs Build A CarÆ (Rather Records/Rough
Trade, London 1980)
Another of the early bands to form their own label
(Rather) and work closely with Rough Trade as
part-label/part-distributor. Swell Maps, led by the late
Nikki Sudden, had more power and energy than most of the
early bands and have been very influential to future
generations of bands, especially Sonic Youth, even though
they split up a few months after the release of this
single.
The Last Gang æSpirit of YouthÆ (Graduate Records, Dudley,
West Midlands 1979)
David and Susan VirrÆs record shop in Dudley may not seem
like it could compete with the major record industry, but
a new Birmingham band, UB40, decided they were the right
people to launch their career and their first single
ôKing/Food for Thoughtö (Grad 6). The record became one of
the first-ever independent records to make the top ten,
and sold, ahem, 400,000 copies. The Last Gang single was
released six months earlier (Grad 3), and although a
poetic piece of post-punk it did not sell 400,000 and was
their only release.
Blurt û æThe Fish Needs A BikeÆ (Armageddon Records,
Manchester 1981)
Avant-garde, heavy, minimal punk from vocalist/saxophonist
Ted MiltonÆs trio on their own label. This was also the
name of an album by the group, who also appeared on
Factory Records alongside Durutti Column, Kevin Hewick and
The Royal Family for The Factory Quartet record.
Tom Lucy/Wasted Youth æParis, FranceÆ (Bridge House
Records, London 1982)
This track was pseudonymously released as Tom Lucy, but is
a group called Wasted Youth. Wasted Youth releases came
out on Bridge House Records in Canning Town, which claimed
to be the first record label run out of a pub (The Bridge
House)! The pub was a venue that put on everyone from U2Æs
first gig in London to Depeche Mode (before they were
signed to Mute) and Iron Maiden (35 times!).
Icon A.D. æFight For PeaceÆ (Radical Change/BACKS, East
Anglia 1982)
Formed in Leeds in 1978, Icon A.D. aligned themselves to
anarcho-punks, Crass, who released their first record.
Future releases came out on Radical Change, part of Backs
Music, one of the Cartel of distributors who made up the
independent network started by Geoff Travis. Based in East
Anglia, Backs Music became known for bringing the world
the æEast Anglia sound (!)Æ with bands such as The Higsons
and The Farmers Boys.
Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry æPaint Your WagonÆ (Red Rhino,
York 1986)
Since forming in Leeds in 1981, Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry
managed to release five albums. They signed to Red Rhino,
an independent label and distributor in York, which, like
Backs, made up part of The Cartel of record
shops/distributors begun by Rough Trade. After splitting
with Rough Trade, Red Rhino went through many changes
before becoming Vital distribution which remains today one
of the main outlets for independent bands and music.
Patrick Fitzgerald û æBabysitterÆ (Small Wonder Records,
London 1978)
Punk-poet-genius seems a good enough description of
Patrick Fitzgerald, a Pete Doherty figure - before his
time and without the drugs - who in 1977 sent a demo to
his local record label, Small Wonder which like so many
other independent labels, started out in the back room of
a record shop, this one in Walthamstow, East London. As
well as bringing the world Patrick Fitzgerald, the label
also put out the first releases of both Crass and Bauhaus
all before 1980!