[sonicl]

 

Soul Jazz Records

Tracklisting

1. The Buzzcocks — Boredom
2. Kleenex — Ain't You
3. A.P.B. — All Your Life With Me
4. Fire Engines — Everything's Roses
5. The Naffis — Slice 1
6. Swell Maps — Let's Build A Car
7. Patrick Fitzgerald — Babysitter
8. Artery — The Slide
9. Blurt — The Fish Needs A Bike
10. Glaxo Babies — Shake the Foundations
11. The Flys — Love and A Molotov Cocktail
12. Russ Mcdonald — Looking From The Cooking Pot
13. Scritti Politti — Skank Bloc Bologna
14. Windows — Creation Rebel
15. Icon A.D. — Fight For Peace
16. Thomas Leer — Tight As A Drum
17. The Frantic Elevators — Every Day I Die
18. Throbbing Gristle — Distant Dreams (Part 2)
19. The Last Gang — Spirit of Youth
20. Biting Tongues — You can Choke Like That
21. Tom Lucy — Paris, France
22. Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry — Paint Your Wagon

Do It Yourself charts the rise of the independent music industry after punk – 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 Buzzcocks’ ‘Spiral Scratch’ 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 –as 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 couldn’t get signed/they couldn’t play) and sometimes ideological.

Pivotal to the development of the scene was the Rough Trade Records shop run by music fan Geoff Travis: “The first records I remember bands bringing into the shop were The Buzzcocks’ ‘Spiral Scratch’, Scritti Politti ‘Skank Bloc Bologna’ and The Desperate Bicycles.” 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 didn’t.

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!

[sonicl]

The groups and the labels:

Scritti Politti – ‘Skank Bloc Bologna’ (St Pancras Records, 1978)
One of the first records that a band themselves bought in to sell in Geoff Travis’s fledgling Rough Trade shop was Scritti Politti “Skank Bloc Bologna”. The record proudly listed the costs of recording (£98), mastering (£40) and pressing (£369.36) 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 – ‘Distant Dreams (part two)’ (Industrial Records, 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 ‘Industrial’ 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 ‘the wreckers of society’ 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 – ‘Every Day I Die’ (TJM Records, 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 ‘Reeling In The Years’, which would later sell a few more copies for Hucknall’s 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 Red’s new music through its own internet web site.

Glaxo Babies – ‘Shake The Foundations’ (Heartbeat Records, 1980)
In a fleetingly small period (1978-80) – 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 – ‘The Slide’ (Aardvark Records, 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. ‘The Slide’ was originally released on the tiny Aardvark Records and in true DIY style, came with a free 7” single recorded at Rotherham Arts Centre!

The Fire Engines – ‘Everything’s Roses’ (Codex Communications, 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. ‘Everything’s Roses” 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 – ‘All Your Life With Me’ (Oily Records, 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 “All Your Life With me”.

The Flys – ‘Love and A Molotov Cocktail’ (Zama Records, 1977)
To some the 7”single became the replacement for the demo. Coventry group The Flys’ released the “Bunch of Five’s” 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 £100.

Thomas Leer – ‘Tight As A Drum’ (Cherry Red, 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 Gristle’s Industrial Records followed by a steady stream of other releases. “Tight As A Drum” was released in 1981 on Cherry Red Records.

The Naffis – ‘Slice Two’ (Absurd, 1980)
The Naffis, formerly known as Naffi Sandwich, released ‘Slice Two’, formerly known as ‘Slice One’, on yet another Manchester independent label, Absurd, which also released music by Slaughter and The Dogs, Bet Lynch’s Legs and Gerry and The Holograms. We think this is their only single.

Kleenex – ‘Ain’t You’ (Sunrise/Rough Trade, 1978)
All girl-band from Switzerland released ‘Ain’t You’ 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 ‘Spiral Scratch’ (New Hormones, 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 £50,000 to leave the label (£10,000 more than they signed them for!), this small piece of plastic would signal the future of independent music to come.

Swell Maps ‘Let’s Build A Car’ (Rather Records/Rough Trade, 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 ‘Spirit of Youth’ (Graduate Records, 1979)
David and Susan Virr’s 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 “King/Food for Thought” (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 – ‘The Fish Needs A Bike’ (Armageddon Records, 1981)
Avant-garde, heavy, minimal punk from vocalist/saxophonist Ted Milton’s 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 ‘Paris, France’ (Bridge House Records, 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 U2’s first gig in London to Depeche Mode (before they were signed to Mute) and Iron Maiden (35 times!).

Icon A.D. ‘Fight For Peace’ (Radical Change/BACKS, 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 ‘East Anglia sound (!)’ with bands such as The Higsons and The Farmers Boys.

Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry ‘Paint Your Wagon’ (Red Rhino, 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 – ‘Babysitter’ (Small Wonder Records, 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!

[Florya]

Originally Posted by sonicl

The groups and the labels:


Throbbing Gristle – ‘Distant Dreams (part two)’ (Industrial Records, 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 ‘Industrial’ 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 ‘the wreckers of society’ by unbeknownst-PR man, conservative MP Nicholas Fairborn. Throbbing Gristle and Industrial Records paved the way for industrial music and experimental electronic music.

If TG were formed in 1975 how does that make them 'post punk' ?

[Savage Clone]

Originally Posted by Florya

If TG were formed in 1975 how does that make them 'post punk' ?

You know, man...they were, like, ahead of their time, man!
So far ahead they were already post-punk before the big UK explosion, man!

[jimbrim]

Originally Posted by sonicl

The Buzzcocks ‘Spiral Scratch’ (New Hormones, 1977) this small piece of plastic would signal the future of independent music to come.

And I own the original

[Toilet & Bowels]

it's pretty depressing to think how much things have declined here in the last 25 years as far as music goes.
rough trade is mediocre at best these days too.

[Inhuman]

Niiiceee. I love SJR, I'll definitely look into getting it. It would be neat if someone can write a review for it, I'm just starting to get the review section up

[Pookie]

I love SJR too. Their CDs usually have quite unusual and not too obvious tracks/bands on them, and this one is no exception.

This one has a good variety of bands and very few 'obvious' selections.

[Toilet & Bowels]

yeah, soul jazz is great, as is the record shop it's run out of, Universal Sounds in London's Soho, broadwick street if memory serves.

[LittlePuppetBoy]

Wow! If it's nearly as good as the New York Noise compilations I'll definitely check it out.

[DJ Rick]

To say that all these bands were British DIY (or that Kleenex/Liliput was Swiss DIY even) is not factual. Several of these bands had other people's labels putting them out, and while most of those may have been DIY labels, some such as Cherry Red and Rough Trade were enmeshed in a distribution network that got records dispersed to stores all over the world, thus enabling certain of these bands to sell units into the tens of thousands. This is not at all like the method of production of a record by the Desperate Bicycles, the agreed-upon godfatherly band of the British DIY scene.

A truer respresentation of punk-informed DIY music that wasn't necessarily "punk" can be heard in the incredible "Messthetics" series on Hyped2Death.

[Inhuman]

Yeah I have tonnes. I still have to get in touch with all the Dynamites. I have none of them yet

New York Noise 1
New York Noise 2
New York Noise 3
ESG: A South Bronx Story
Studio One: Women
Studio One: Roots
Studio One: Soul
Big Apple Rapping [EXCELLENT]
Maulawi
The Sound of Konk [I highly recommend this]

[Iain]

I want to get at least one of the Voodo ones. The sound samples on the site are ace.

The Tropicalia one is well worth getting even if it has pretty much the same tracks as every Tropicalia comp ever. The New Thing one is really fantastic. Deep Jazz from 1970-1985 is the subtitle...or something along those lines. 3 sweet slabs of vinyl that one.

[Toilet & Bowels]

i've got the voodoo drums one, you can listen to it when you come over if you like, i bought it for it's curiosity value but have only listened to it once or twice, it's not really pieces of music as much as demonstations of a variety of rhythms.

[Iain]

Thanks. I got the impression that it would be fairly samey but I liked the stuff I heard from it.