Pickled Egg廠老闆專訪
雖然我知道不會有人看的啦,因為Pickled Egg的老闆話好多喔
別人問一句他可以回答兩三段低
不過因為今天聽到Farina,真好聽,再加上該廠一些不錯的團....
Q: What made you decide to start a record label?
A: I guess I must be something of a frustrated musician! It's something
that I've thought about doing for some time, but didn't necessarily
have the financial resources for (and it's an expensive hobby).
Besides which, I never really knew how to go about getting a label
started - and this is the hardest part. It's really all about having
the contacts in place, as well as the financial resources. I guess
things took off when they did because both of these things came
together at the same time.
Since I've been running the label, it's dawned on me more and more
that there really don't seem to be that many labels releasing the
sort of music that I like, and that's kind of acted like a spur to
keep me going on (and sometimes - indeed, many times - I've felt
like packing it all in).
Q: What was your first release, and how confident were you that it
would sell?
A: The first release was the 7" double A side, Black and Blue/Eskimo,
by Nottingham-based punky-pop combo, The Melons (with whom I played
bass guitar!). The band had previously released two singles on
Damaged Goods - amongst other labels - which had sold reasonably
well. In fact one of them, Fast Lane, had made the dizzy heights of
No.29 in the Melody Maker indie chart!! (things were very different
back in those days? 1996!). So yes, I was pretty confident at the
time that the record would do quite well.
This therefore seemed like an ideal release with which to start the
label, even though the musical style didn急 necessarily represent
the direction in which I wanted to take things. Much to my surprise,
the rest of the band went along with this (though of course there
was no guarantee that Damaged Goods, or anyone else for that matter,
would have been interested in releasing it).
However, as things turned out, the timing of the release couldn't
have been much worse. The band旧 previous four singles had all been
championed by Mark Radcliffe on his old Radio One evening show (we'd
even played two live sessions for him!). But by the time we'd actually
got round to recording and releasing the record, Radcliffe had moved
to the Breakfast Show and a more mainstream playlist.
Q: Did you find it easy getting distribution?
A: Given the Melons previous track record, I didn't really have too
much trouble getting distribution. That said, Shellshock actually
turned me down, but thankfully Cargo were more obliging. But even
then, Cargo wouldn急 give me carte-blanche to distribute just anything
- I had to send them tapes of the next two planned releases (singles
by Pop-Off Tuesday and L学ugmentation) before they渇 agree to handle
them. Now of course they歓l distribute any old shit that I send them!
Q: How did the first Evolution Control Committee release come about?
Did you run into any problems with copyright, etc?
A: Well actually, thus far, I挙e only released one Evolution Control
Committee record, though who旧 to say there won急 be more. I first
heard Rebel Without a Pause on the John Peel Show, back in the days
when it was still half-decent (1998). The single was originally
released on the San Francisco label, Eerie Materials, but was virtually
impossible to get hold of in the UK. So I wrote to both the group
and the label (I e-mailed them, in fact), asking if I could license
it for release over here - to which, quite clearly, they agreed.
By all accounts, the group had tried to clear the samples through
Chuck D and Herb Alpert (well, that旧 what they told me, anyway) -
but let's face it, what chance have a bunch of relative unknowns got
of even getting remotely close to the likes of those artists? That
just doesn急 happen. The only problem I挙e had with the record was
trying to get it cut in the UK - no studio here would touch it, without
sample clearance, and no way was I going to get that. So I had it made
in the Czech Republic, where presumably they虐e less fussy about such
details.
Q: Is there a particular sound or attitude that characterises Pickled Egg
records?
A: I'm not sure there's a particular sound, and if there is, it's certainly
not contrived. I mean, I never think about whether a band or a track
is suitable?for release on the label. I release stuff that I like -
simple as that. Other people have suggested an agenda?. weird, eclectic,
amateurish (!)? but I don't particularly subscribe to any of those
notions - I just prefer to think that everything I release is brilliant!
I guess my tastes might better be characterised by what I don't like
- and that's copyists. Ninety-nine percent of music simply bores me
rigid. So I suppose if something's going to catch my ear, a little bit
of originality wouldn't go amiss (and I realise that opens up a whole
new can of worms).
Q: Are you involved in any bands or musical projects yourself?
A: Not actively, right now. Apart from the aforementioned Melons - who
are long-since defunct anyway - I挙e been involved on-and-off with
a largely conceptual group, called The Milk of the Stars. This is
pretty much just me - though I have collaborated with others - but
it's hardly been the most prolific of projects (three gigs and one
released track (on a Sorted compilation) in 5 ?years is hardly busting
a gut). I挙e also dusted down my bass guitar and played with a couple
of other bands since the demise of the Melons (though nothing too
serious). However, since I挙e been running the label, I find that I
have little or no spare time for such activities. But I guess you
could say that this remains an unfulfilled ambition, which hopefully
one day I歓l be able to put right.
Q: Is the label a full time occupation? Where do you find the time?
A: It would be very nice to be able to run the label full time, but
right now this simply isn't possible, since it doesn't generate
any profit (in fact it operates at a considerable loss). So I have
to continue in my day job, not only to finance the label and pay
the bills, but also to have some semblance of a social life!
I don't know if this situation will ever change - I certainly hope
it will. Perhaps my tastes are too left-field to ever be really
popular, though I'm not sure I really believe they are. Then again,
maybe the label is simply ahead of its time? I don't have any desire
to compromise the label's output for the sake of money - after all,
I already prostitute my skills as a computer programmer! Perhaps I'll
get lucky and have one of my acts make it big-time, though to be
honest, it's hard to see this happening at the moment. But one can
never really predict the future.
Running Pickled Egg does take up a lot of my time, but then I do
enjoy it (most of the time). I dedicate most midweek evenings to the
label, plus a bit at weekends. However, I still manage to find time
to live it up a little, now and again! For me it's important that I
don't let the label - or anything else, for that matter - completely
take over my life. I think you have to keep these things in perspective.
Q: What's your favourite record that you've released, and why?
A: I guess it's a bit of a clich? but I really do like all of my releases.
You have to devote so much time and energy - not to mention money -
for no financial return, that it really has to be a labour of love.
However, if I had to single out one release in particular, then I'd
probably go for the Pop-Off Tuesday debut LP, which for me is one of
the landmark albums of the 90's. It's so inventive, there旧 so much
going on in there, yet it has such a natural flow to it. The songs
are all really strong, and it seemlessly blends so many different
styles, whilst managing to sound completely uncontrived. I think,
in time, Pop-Off Tuesday could well become a very influential band,
and for me, their debut album is an unquestionable masterpiece.
Q: How have you ended up working with people like Pop-Off Tuesday and
Gulliver, who aren't based in the UK? Did you come across them, or
did they track you down?
A: Well I guess it all comes down to having as wide a base of contacts
as possible. The most interesting sounds often come from the least
expected of places. However, as was the case with The Evolution
Control Committee, I first heard Pop-Off Tuesday on John Peel. It
was their first session, broadcast back in the summer of ?7, at a
time when Pickled Egg was still little more than a concept. I was
totally knocked out by those tracks, and pursued them (through the
postal system) to their home in Osaka. I was amazed (but also
relieved) that no-one else had signed them, and absolutely delighted
when they agreed first to release a single, and then an album, on
Pickled Egg. This gave a lot of impetus to the then still fledgling
label.
As for Gulliver...well, I'mindebted to Jimmy Possession (of Robots &
Electronic Brains fanzine) for playing me a demo tape of his (Gulliver
is just one man - Hugues Caullet). Again, I heard a genuine freshness
in the songs, even though they were not particularly well recorded,
and wrote to Hugues, eager to hear more of his music.
I really don't think independent labels should be limited in their
scope to just releasing artists from their own country. With e-mail,
it's so easy to contact groups anywhere in the world now - so you're
unlikely to find me down the Fleapit & Firkin every night scouting
for crappy little bands. The label seems to be fairly well established
at an underground level in most European countries (let's face it, the
music press are far less narrow minded in just about every country
outside the UK than they are here), so I now receive demo tapes from
literally all over the world - and the quality, I have to say, is often
surprisingly good.
Q: Where do you see the label going in the future?
A: Well, for a start, I渇 like to carry on releasing records by all of
the bands on the label, as well as continue introducing new acts.
Clearly, as time goes on, and with limited resources it gets harder
to realise both these aims, but I would certainly like to try to strike
a balance between the two. I挙e always tried not to commit myself to
releases too far into the future, just in case something absolutely
amazing comes along (which it always seems to do!) - although this
situation is inevitably going to become harder to avoid in the future.
I'd certainly like to raise the profile of the label. As I said before,
I still lose money on most releases (especially singles), and clearly
I can't continue doing that forever. I'd like to get more radio airplay,
and more consistent coverage in the music press - I still don't think
the label gets the respect I that believe it deserves.
Regards releases over the new few months...there's a new 7" EP out any
time now by Gulliver (with an album likely to follow later in the year);
also, any time now I'm releasing a 7" by London-based Farina - a group
of eclectic songwriters, inspired by the likes of David Ackles, Tim
Hardin, Ennio Morricone and the great Australian/New Zealand bands of
the 80旧; there's a 10" EP from Valvola ("the Italian Stereolab"!) which
has unfortunately been delayed until May; in April there歓l be a new
mini LP from Bablicon, with their 2nd full-length album to follow in
the summer; also in April, I'm releasing the debut mini LP from a
wonderful Leeds group called Big Eyes (who write short, achingly
beautiful, classically-influenced pieces, featuring guitar, violin,
auto-harp, accordion, and spoken vocals); hopefully in late spring
there'll be an album from Athens Georgia's Marshmallow Coast; July
will see the release of the long-awaited new Daniel Johnston album,
Rejected Unknown (and it's definitely been worth the wait!); and at
some point there'll be another single plus an album from Le Bleu,
plus more releases from Pop-Off Tuesday. Something there for everybody,
I'm sure you'll agree?!
Q: Do you like pickled eggs?
A: Now that would be telling! I certainly like the idea of pickled eggs
though.
--
np: Inner Sleeve "Looking Up" (Fierce Panda)
--
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