Basics first: who are you?

Stephen Morris and Cressa. Some twat out of Northside probably. That guy with dreads who used to do ‘Wonderwall’ outside Boots on Market Street.

You set up FUC51 back in January. Was there a particularly terrible experience that prompted you to do so?

Nope. People tend to assume we emerged intentionally at the same time as Hooky re-opened the doors of the old Factory offices, but really, that was just a fluke on our part and proved incredibly useful in terms of interest around Manchester and music.

And why the blog format?

As opposed to what? A newspaper? A fanzine given away in Piccadilly Records? Blogs are cheap and direct and easily allow everyone to chip in with their views immediately in the comments. When people need to call you names, they need a platform that encourages their urgency and rudeness. There’s nothing nicer than someone logging on anonymously to give us lot a bloody nose. The collective readership is always smarter and funnier than the collective ‘we’.

You get a lot of feedback, both positive and negative, through comments and tip-offs. Are you pleased with the response?

I think what we’re most pleased with is some of the ‘names people know’ who’ve got in touch and said they’re right behind what we’re doing. There’s almost a culture of ‘omerta’ among the old guard, ‘you’ve paid your dues’, and all that. It was refreshing to know not everyone necessarily wants to continue the whole revival industry.

You don’t seem short of things to write about. Is FUC51, in one for or another, something you’ve had in mind for a while?

It doesn’t really matter what we want. Fact is, it didn’t take very long for FUC51 to get noticed by other people. It is obviously something that has been playing on people’s minds for a while as everyone was ready and primed with opinions on Manchester and its culture. A lot of people surrounding Factory, members of Tony Wilson’s family and people Who Were There, Maaan…. have all been in touch both in public and in secret. We didn’t expect it as such, but we were aware of people complaining to each other about the things we’ve touched upon.

You seem very knowledgeable about everything Madchester. Are/were you an active participant or just a concerned onlooker?

We’re fans of music and we vary in age. We’ve participated and complained, we’ve watched with furrowed brows… we might have even enjoyed some of it at the time. But that was a long time ago.

In your very first post you compared Manchester to Liverpool – ‘a Beatle-museum’. Surely it’s not that bad here?

Look at the press coverage of Manchester. It is that bad. At least in Liverpool they’ve got the decency to fawn over the most famous pop group in history.

Saying that, what’s the single most embarrassing Factory-related incident/event/item you’ve encountered?

Again. Read the press. The Guardian are particular offenders. They’ll crowbar Factory or the Hacienda into an article about Manchester’s folk scene. That’s toe-curling and utterly pointless. As for things that have amused us, rather than angered us, was Hooky’s book giving away pieces of the Hacienda bar like it was a bit of the Berlin Wall. That was hilarious!

Has FUC51 itself got a shelf-life, or will it continue for the foreseeable future?

We’re the last people you should ask. Maybe we’ll end up becoming a parody of ourselves and rehashing old articles and jokes and thereby inciting someone else to start a blog going on about how woeful we are. We’re not going to break through some kind of wall and ‘go to phase 2′ or anything like that – the blog’s purpose has always been as a mirror more than anything else. Anyway, blogs are tomorrow’s chip wrappers made digital, aren’t they?

Various commenter have said that they ‘KNOW WHO YOU ARE’. Scared?

People certainly keep guessing there’s all manner of people behind it. For some reason, Hooky keeps emailing us and calling us ‘Phil’. We can categorically say that there is no ‘Phil’ at FUC51. The most surprising thing was how many people have got in touch and offered to contribute or have contributed. It was reassuring to know it wasn’t just us, and there’s always been an email address on the blog if you want to get involved. Some of our ‘tipsters’ have found themselves sat at pub garden tables with a few of the ‘professional Manc’ crowd, stifling smirks as it’s mentioned that ‘someone had better batter those fuckers’ – but it’d be like catching smoke.

Hey! Manchester has found that it’s actually possible to be involved in music in Manchester without having to engage with Madchester. Are you encouraged by this, or do you believe that this city will be stuck in its musical past forever?

Of course it’s possible! Everyone in Manchester knows that. The only people who haven’t twigged are those who write about the music of Manchester who, despite what people think, are our targets. There’s a whole scene going in and around Chorlton that hasn’t leaned on Madchester at all. There’s nights all over town that play music from all over the world without once thinking of Tony Wilson or Bez.

One of these days, a music critic will talk about a Manchester band without resorting to Joy Division comments. Imagine if every London band was likened to The Kinks or every Welsh group compared to Tom Jones! The press need to catch on to the fact that people in Manchester might just sit around listening to The Stooges or Heino or fuckin’ Glee. Manchester isn’t solely soundtracked by people gasping at how much Ian Curtis meant it.

If anything those ties are more of an albatross than anything – people come here with preconceptions, and Mancs have to fight to prove them wrong.

What are some of your favourite Manchester things, musical or otherwise?

We love it all – we were all here pre-bomb and afterwards, and it’s good that Manchester continues to evolve, new things continue to emerge, old things die back and all the rest of it. Mainly we love that there’s always been a great DIY culture in Manchester, people deciding they could do better and making something their own.

And finally, who’s your favourite Manchester band?

The Clone Roses. The Purple Gang. Wait, they were from Stockport weren’t they?

Visit FUC251 here.

Hi Steve, how are you?

It’s been an uppin’ downer week here, cold as Big Ben’s hour hand.

Obvious question first: where does the name Marble Valley come from?

My mother’s father grew up on a farm with 12 siblings in Marble Valley, located in the blue ridge mountains of Virginia.

Why did you decide to record the latest album, Slash and Laugh, in Amsterdam?

Remko Schouten, our Sampler guy, owns a fabulous studio named Island Studios there, and he graciously offered to record us.

The songs are incredibly fun and quirky. How do you go about getting these elements into the music?

When we are together it comes out naturally like a burp or hick up. Alone, I just think about these guys playing the songs and go with it.

Do you have reels of out-takes where you’re all laughing or is the recording process quite serious?

It seems there is always laughter at the beginning and end of songs. There is always another clown around the corner in the Valley. However, we do take the final schmeel seriously.

Is there a dog in someone’s house called Duche Dog E Dog, or is it a surreal joke?

The Dog is Remko Schouten, our sampler/percussion/singing wizard. He is Pavement’s sound man and is famous for his manly exploits. He is a husband now and father of two, and has a leash and a collar on.

I read somewhere that you’re a stone mason. What kind of stuff do you like to make?

Beating on rocks is loads of fun. Sometimes I pretend there is a crowd of Pavement fans waiting for me to sign autographs at lunch time. Seriously though, I make stone fireplaces, retaining walls and patios for Virginians.

How does the experience of playing Marble Valley differ from playing in Pavement?

In the valley, I am the frontman, no place to hide. It is fun but very bright. In Pavement, I can hide behind the drums. I enjoy both positions. Drumming is easier though, I can be a Neanderthal. Front men have to wear a tie and a bowler like John Steed.

How did the Pavement reunion come about and are you excited about it?

The fans and the press brought it about by keeping the idea out there. It’s going to be a blast off. I am very excited to play these old Pavement songs and participate in a lot of male bonding.

You must have been to Manchester before, right? How well do you get on with the place?

Me and Manchester get along just fine. However, this country bumpkin sticks out like a old beat up Ford truck under the Manchester city nightlights.

Marble Valley play on Thursday 28 January, 8pm, at Dulcimer in Chorlton.

Questions by Chris Gilliver of CityLifers.co.uk

What inspired you to start a label now – and why 10-inch gatefold?

I have been involved in the Manchester music scene for a few years now, and I think the idea for the label comes from the fact that I have seen a recent and distinctive lack of cohesiveness in the new Manchester representing itself to the outside world. People say this every year but I genuinely do believe that it is Manchester’s time to be at the forefront of the UK music scene again, with a collection of amazing new bands whose sights are set only towards the future.

I would like to think that our first record is how we mean to go on, and is hopefully more than the sum of its parts. The bands are all at different stages of their careers but it was a mutual respect and friendship that pulled them together. The decision for who was on the record fell to the bands as much as me. Hopefully this EP puts the spotlight on these artists as well as the city and for the right reasons, not falling into the usual Manchester cliches. Most of these guys were too young to go to the Hacienda anyway so they don’t even feel the need to try and ‘swear they were there’ – they were busy watching Blue Peter or something.

I wanted to release physically on vinyl because Love & Disaster is new and I felt it is important to launch with something that people can put there hands on. Also, one of the biggest ideas for the EP was the sense of ‘unity’ so I wanted the tracks to sit together on the same piece of plastic.

I felt the group photo was also very important and a key part to the ethos. If I’m honest, we were so rushed taking the photo we later worked out that it wouldn’t fit into a square so had to pay extra for the gatefold to fit in the picture. Am really glad I did this because I wanted to make the record as special as possible – although I have set an expensive precedence for future releases.

You were involved in Channel M television. How helpful was your role there in setting this up?

Channel M gave me a great and unique opportunity. Budgets were always small but success was due to the wealth of talent, support and trust we built with the acts that contributed. It was a shame that it had to end but am really excited about the future and hopefully this may serve as a logical and natural progression. From my time at Channel M Music I built up a great network of contacts and made some close friends. Being honest, the bands on this EP are the ones we embraced the most and wanted to help them in return for their support of the channel. In a way the inclusion of these bands is kind of cathartic for me – they need to go off and do great things for themselves and Manchester now, and I look forward to working with the next generation.

How do you decide which of Manchester’s many talented bands make it on to the EPs?

I’m not going to pretend that this isn’t down to personal musical taste but I am not close minded and can embrace anything as long as when scratching the service their is talent, ideas and the right attitude beneath. Another word I would like to add to that list is ‘longevity’ – I think this is really important. I think these bands could have a great career and not simply be a ‘fad’.

Is there any theme per release other than being from the same city?

If there is any theme at all it’s temporal. I think these bands represent the new Manchester scene in 2009 very well and they are going on to be some of our biggest hopes for 2010. Saying that, there are loads of great manchester bands who don’t appear on the first record and am looking forward to working with them for future releases. On this particular compilation I tried to get a balance on the way you might put together an album. Airships ‘Kids’ is an amazing sub-three-minute anthem opener, Dutch Uncles is a weird winding progressive track full of depth and interest, Jo’s track provides the downbeat brooding ballad and it ends on an upbeat Delphic/Everything Everything dance track. The next one I think is going to be very dancey most of the way through.

How often are new releases going to come out, and can you name anyone you’re talking to for future EPs?

Originally I was thinking about three in total over the period of a year and then taking stock. I also have other projects on the go, involving video and a new website that all ties in. I have so far approached my ideal four bands (maybe five this time around). I don’t want to jinx it by naming names as it is very early days, but can confirm we will be taking May68 into the studio for another exclusive track in January to kick it all off.

Who are the newest band that you think Manchester music fans should be listening to?

Thats a difficult one. In terms of Manchester bands on the record, they aren’t necessarily new but they are in terms of the UK. I’ve already talked about my favourites but really very new Manchester at the moment are Driver, Drive Faster and Techniques.

Love & Disaster EP1 is available from Piccadilly Records.

Having spent a year and half touring as a non-permanent member of the Shins, as well as working with Vetiver, Eric Johnson has recently returned to his own band Fruit Bats, with whom he has recorded and released the well-received album The Ruminant Band. This coming Thursday, 17 December, Fruit Bats visit our fair city and hit our favourite subterranean nightspot the Roadhouse – so we caught up with Eric.

Hello Eric. How are you? How’s your day been?

It’s going well – though right now I have not left the Travelodge Nottingham. But I’ve got coffee on the way, which is going to start my day off. We’ve been touring a bunch in France and Spain and although I love the espresso there, I like the British/American tradition of a nice large cup in the morning.

How is your current tour going?

It’s been great! We’ve been mainly touring in southern Europe with Vetiver, who are our dear friends (and make amazing music). So it’s been one long sweet mellow hang. We’ve just begun the UK portion of the tour without them. The first two shows have been amazing. I’ve been pretty surprised by the turn-outs, in fact.

You toured with the Shins for a while now. How did you find that experience compared to your one with Fruit Bats?

I always maintain that the two are incomparable. The Shins is about the most fun day job imaginable. The Fruit Bats is my show, so all the highs are mine, and the lows. Being in the Shins is like being an astronaut or lion tamer. Its an unrealistic, rare and cool experience. Fruit Bats is more of a blue-collar gig. Hard work, little money, but kinda soulful. It’s probably a better job than hard labour, though.

Do you and James Mercer feed off each other creatively?

Maybe, I’m not too sure. Both bands have been around for the same amount of time (I think Fruit Bats a bit longer, in fact). James and I hang out a lot, we’re good friends. But mainly we just listen to music, drink beers, and talk about geeky scientific subjects (something we’re both into). So creative trading is probably subliminal. We’ve never written together or anything…

You’ve said in previous interviews that with The Ruminant Band you’ve let the other members of the band have more of an input into the creative process. Has this been an easy step to take?

Yes, its been quite easy. Fruit Bats has been so much of a solo project in many ways until now, that this felt like me starting a new band. We even briefly considered a name change. ‘The Ruminant Band’ was a name we came up with for the new band. We ended up keeping Fruit Bats and naming the record that instead. It’s kind of got double meaning.

How did you end up getting Tim Rutili (of Califone) to contribute to The Ruminant Band?

I used to play in Califone, and Tim was a huge reason why Fruit Bats got off the ground. He was something of a big brother to me. We did The Ruminant Band at Clava Studio, which is Graeme’s (our drummer’s) studio. It’s in a sweet little Italian neighbourhood called Bridgeport on the South Side of Chicago. When you record there you’ll almost consistently be stuffed on amazing food from around the ‘hood. Clava is also the home base for Califone, and those dudes are usually around. Tim happened to be working in the office while we were recording and came in to do some tracks. He was on the first Fruit Bats record too, and was even in the live band for a couple of shows way back when!

You’ve also said that you come from a background of bluegrass and folk. What particularly attracts you to them?

When I was 20, I found a banjo used and cheap at a music store. I decided to learn it at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, and found that I was kind of good at it. I ended up getting a teaching gig there eventually. Then I just fell in with that scene. Around that time at Old Town you had a lot of great players and writers working there – Andrew Bird was teaching violin, there were people from Califone, Pinetop Seven, Handsome Family etc. This was around 1996-1997. American folk music makes sense to me. I like the alchemy of it being this music from the British isles put through an African filter in America. It’s simple but in its simplicity there are multiple ways you can mutate it…

What else influences your song-writing other than bluegrass and folk?

I grew up on 1970s and 80s pop radio. My mom listened to the ‘soft rock’ station all the time and there’s no way that didn’t work its way in there. I’ve got as much 10cc or Hall & Oates or Little River Band floating around in my brain as I do The Band and Neil Young. I love the old Upstate New York and Topanga and Laurel Canyon heroes, and I love the Brit folk mavericks, Richard Thompson, Incredible String Band, Vashti Bunyan, and I love the Kinks more than most things. I’ve got both Americana and Anglophilic tendencies. I love a lot of modern bands, too… Beta Band, Gorkys Zygotic Mynci and Super Furries were pretty huge for me when I was making the first Fruit Bats record at the turn of the century.

Have you spent much time in Manchester before, and if so what did you think of the place?

I love Manchester. I’ve visited a few times over the last five years. It was actually the first city I ever visited in the UK. It reminds me somewhat of Chicago, my home town. Cities that are overshadowed by their larger neighbours (like London and New York), usually have a character that’s more essential and perfect. Manchester doesn’t feel like anywhere else, just like Manchester. Plus so many insanely killer bands come from there that its hard not to be completely swept up in the history of it all. I’m a huge fan of the city.

You’re signed to Sub Pop, famous for putting forward grunge luminaries Nirvana and Soundgarden. Which of the current crop on the label do you like?

I like a lot of them. Vetiver, Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper, Iron and Wine, Beach House… man, the list could go on.

Fruit Bats play at the Roadhouse on Thursday 17 December, with support from Piney Gir and Puzzle Muteson. More information.

Interview by Chris Gilliver of CityLifers

Hello Cass, how’s your day going? What have you been up to?

Hi, going well, thanks. I’ve been rehearsing for the tour in New York City.

You’re coming to Manchester next month. How do you feel about the city’s musical heritage? And which artists are your personal favourites?

Yes, I am aware of Manchester music. I’m a pretty severe record collector, but I’d rather not get into the name game. I understand you people are very territorial about these bands, this history.

The opener of Catacombs, Dreams Come True Girl, sounds very 50s/60s influenced. Who were you listening to when writing the album?

We wanted the record to have a 1950s rock and roll element, not the 1960s, so we bought some old broken equipment we read the great old studios like Sun, Chess, Norvajak, Gold Star, The 3-Track Shack etc used to use. We also recorded in the same manner: we recorded each song ‘live’ and very few overdubs were made. If I missed the vocal we had to do the whole thing again, because all the mics in the room were picking up everything. But it was part of an ethic we were attempting that we hadn’t done before and it was exciting. We were only able to overdub once we bounced tracks on the tape machine, which is a risky process as you’re never sure how the bounce will turn out. But throwing out caution was again part of the ethic, each one of us had made records where the recording process was too precious and felt it sucked the fun out. We wanted to make something fast and flawed.

There’s a contribution on that song by Karen Black. How did that come about?

Karen came into my life through a friend called Aaron Brown, who designed the last two album covers and made the video for Dreams. Both of them are so creative and wonderful folks. And Karen taught me a lot about performance and singing out with my biggest voice.

You move about a lot in the US. Is this to soak up different musical environments for your song-writing, or a sort of restlessness… or neither?

Everyone in the states moves a lot. I move out of the necessity to work; I move wherever I can work with the most clarity.

What made you become a musician: a particular turning point, or was it something you always wanted to do?

It wasn’t a thought. I love music and writing and drawing and I’ve always been lucky to be surrounded by talented folks to teach me things. I just kept writing songs and at some point I guess they were good enough to get some attention. I also had the patience to deal with the nonsense – that’s huge, a lot of people quit or scale down because of an ego conflict.

Who or what are your major influences when writing?

There are no influences worth mentioning. Writing or music is not motivated by fame. I’m guided by my instinct and ethic and soul, and write only when I have to get something essential out. I do a lot of reading and research for each record, so it takes me a very long time to write each song. It’s a challenge because you have to maintain the emotional instinct as you plunge into analytics. I imagine this separates me from most other musicians – I don’t care to keep up the myth of rock.

What do you hope the next year will hold for you?

Generally, I don’t make plans, I try not to have expectations. I have so much work to do right now, I just need to finish that first and things will turn out the way they need to, for better or worse.

Cass McCombs plays at the Roadhouse on 2 December. His latest album, Catacombs, is out now on Domino.

Questions by Chris Gilliver

You’re coming to Manchester on Halloween! Which horror character do you hope to see in the audience?

We have always been big fans of Arnold’s Terminator character – but I’m not sure he qualifies as horror. Maybe Willem Defoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg in their Antichrist roles?

And which tracks should be on our Halloween playlist?

I guess some of the later Scott Walker material would be quite effectful. In general I think industrial music is pretty scary – that and greatest hits by Smokie, which they always re-release in Denmark this time of year.

You’ve played Manchester before in less gothic times. How do you feel about your experiences here?

We have very fond memories of our concert at the Roadhouse. I think it was in 2007? That was just a superb night! We took a photo of the audience and realised afterwards that 90% of the people there were men:

Afterwards we stayed at Bernie’s house with Akron/Family and jammed and enjoyed life and Bernie’s chilli!

Let’s get on to your music. How would you describe it to the un-informed?

For the last couple of months we have told people that the music is a sort of orchestrated and experimenting pop music. That can mean a lot of things I know, but I think it is best to just be open-minded and come to our show out of curiosity. Curiosity is a nice thing in humans.

‘Cinematic’ is a word many would apply to your music – and you have previously scored an animation feature by Anders Morgenthaler. Are there any plans to score a feature film?

There are no current plans, but we would love to do more of this kind of work. It is usually Mads and Casper who do these projects. They also scored two theatre plays last year.

You’re about to release a CD and a DVD of your performance with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra. Tell us about how this collaboration came about.

To many people it is a surprise that the orchestra actually contacted us! Their producer liked our Parades album and it was also his idea to play the entire album from start to finish! I think we planned the concert over a period of 10 months, and afterwards we spend months and months of finishing the audio and film. I think this has to be our biggest project yet.

Was it everything you’d hoped for?

it was actually. The feeling of being part of that 50-piece orchestra playing your own music was incredibly uplifting!

In the video for Caravan you are all wearing strange conical hats. Why is that?

If you take a closer look at the film, you will see that the background is full of pointy mountain formations in various forms and colours. The hats are a reflection of these mountains. The idea was that we were playing in a weird and secret cave.

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

If I could have been a part of Paul Simon’s Graceland recordings then I would be the happiest person on earth! Maybe I should convince the others that we should travel to Africa and make a record with some incredible local musicians and Paul Simon can produce the whole thing?

I actually think we would choose some film directors – maybe Lars von Trier! Or maybe we should just make a single starring Beyonce.

You’ve just moved to 4AD. How does it feel to be moving to such a respected record label, and what do you hope to get out of it?

It feels nice and strong to become a part of their history and bands. I’m not sure we have fully understood yet how nice it is.

We have the same ambitions as always. We hope that more people will get to know and like us so that we can stay independent and stay creative.

Would you agree that you’ve also moved from an electronic sound to a more acoustic one? What changes do you think we will see in the future?

I would agree, but I think we did this in 2007 with the release of Parades. With the new and upcoming third album on 4AD I think maybe we will move closer to being a rock band with actual songs that people can sing along to.

Efterklang play Hey! Manchester’s Hey! Halloween at the Deaf Institute on Saturday 31st October.

Interview by Chris Gilliver

Let’s start with the name: did you go up to Alaska specifically to record music?

No, not at all. I didn’t plan to do any recordings while in Alaska, but after a while I just got the itch and managed to borrow enough stuff to get some recordings done.

How did you find the experience?

Beautiful but lonely.

Was it anything like the film Into The Wild?

Not quite that extreme… but it’s the first time I’ve ever had to use an outhouse when it’s -5 degrees outside.

What inspired you to travel from Alaska to Eastern Europe in search of dance parties? Couldn’t you have done this a bit closer to home?

Well I think that’s exactly the point. I wanted to get as far away from home as possible.

What were they like when you found them?

Fun, different, foreign, exciting – not like anything in New Mexico.

Your music is a combination of bedroom electronica and orchestral scores. How has Berlin affected this sound?

Well being in Berlin has definitely led me to have a fonder understanding of electronic and dance music. The music scene here has really influenced my music and has added a dash of dark minimal techno flavour in the mix.

And now you find yourself heading to Manchester, famously a party city. What do you know about the place?

Actually not much but I’m looking forward to the party.

Tell us about your ‘virtual video orchestra’ to give the people of Manchester a foretaste of your live shows.

Well, I’ve videotaped myself playing all the parts that the ‘band’ would normally be playing on stage and synced it up with the music. I then project video on a screen behind me with all of the ‘band members’ who are each in a little window playing the music that the audience hears. I wrote my own computer program to do this using Max/MSP and Jitter, which is a bit high tech at times. I play keytar and sing… and there are costume changes to coincide with what the ‘band’ is wearing in the video. It’s meant to be playful, and hopefully a different and new experience for the audience.

So you’ve travelled Alaska, the Balkans and Berlin in search of music. Where next?

Hmmmm, good question… I don’t know, maybe I’ll go to New Zealand or something.

Alaska in Winter play at Nexus Art Cafe on Dale Street on Thursday 22 October.

Interview by Chris Gilliver

When and why did you first arrive Manchester, and how did you get actively involved in music here?

I arrived in Manchester eight years ago now, way back in 2001. I was offered a room in a house and came here with no job and no idea what I was doing.

I suppose a draw to this fair city was its music, maybe not the roots of it all as I missed out on that, but the vibrancy it had/has. I first started out Djing, but nobody would book me so I started a night with Ric Davies (Contort Yourself). It was a charity night for MAG, which include Mr Scruff, Fingathing and many more of that DJ genre. It was good while it lasted. Ric went travelling in Australia and I messed up what we had established – the night was called Royal Jelly, it only lasted a couple of years!

And why the Red Deer Club name?

The name came from Mojo magazine; I was reading it on the toilet, as you do! It was an article about the Cure. I’m not a fan, but the name Red Deer Club jumped out at me, it was where the band first played in Oxford. I just stole it. Like all good things in music, they are just recycled bits that people have forgotten about. It’s all plagiarism.

Who or what inspires you within Manchester?

My friends are the biggest influence, without them I would be a massive mess. And now most of the musicians I work with are my friends, but that’s more of a love/hate relationship.

Can you name a couple of personal highlights?

I suppose being short listed for the Best of Manchester Award in 2008, that was pretty special. Everyone who came to the awards with me thought I was going to win; I knew we wouldn’t so I just hid in the corner. And also putting our first release on the label, that was pretty special.

You’ve shown a clear progress. Was there ever a plan set out, or has everything just happened naturally?

The only plan I had was a 15-year one made at Blackburn College in 1994. And that wasn’t really a plan – just to do what I would like to do at the end of 15 years. I guess that has worked out because I’m now in an ideal position. As regards to the Red Deer Club, it’s all been made up as I go along and I still don’t know what I’m doing!

We guess it makes sense to start a label when you’re promoting shows for so many good bands. Is this how the label started?

It all began with us recording the live shows from Fuel (where it all started). There was a year’s worth of shows and I picked out the best bits, my friend Chris Stevenson designed some beautiful artwork, and Karen Schofield, another deer friend, made some Hessian sleeves. It took so long to make it we had to sell the copies, as it was intended as present to give out at the Red Deer Club First Birthday. We made 50 copies and they sold out in a week. So I guess the label was born out of greed!

And how has the label side of Red Deer Club been? Is it a worthwhile venture nowadays?

It’s more of an expensive hobby. However, I’m in a very luck position in which the artists invest into their product. It’s a but like time-share, but with a better outlook.

You’ve stopped promoting gigs a couple of times. What keeps drawing you back?

I think I have a multi-personality disorder, in which one side tells me what I’m doing is great and the other side tells me to hide away in my house and never come out. It’s a struggle but the end results are usually worthwhile, it’s just telling myself that. At the moment no-one has died, yet!

You’ve also looked after bookings for a couple of venues. Is this something you enjoy, or just a way to drink for free?

I couldn’t ask to be in a better position; I currently promote for Common in the Northern Quarter of Manchester, and Fuel in Withington. Both are close to my heart: Fuel is where I started the Red Deer Club; and Common is run by a good friend of mine, so it’s always an honour and a pleasure. Surprisingly I got to write my own job descriptions before starting work at each venue. I guess I’m a very lucky man. And yes, the job has its perks, mainly the coffee though.

Which musicians should we be looking out for in and around Manchester right now?

I’m very biased, and who wouldn’t be! Young British Artist are pretty damn hot at the moment. We have our very first 7-inch coming out on 3 August and I’m super excited about that – finally a piece of vinyl! Also Sophie’s Pigeons have just recorded the biggest pop album to come of Manchester in a long time… keep ‘em peeled kids!

And finally, what are your plans for the future?

To cultivate my potatoes in the back garden. Relax a little and keep giving up, and re-starting again. It’s what keeps me going, soon people will be sick of me! But I still have a lot to do in this fair city, hence my u-turn on moving to London. But saying that, I could change my mind – it’s boring if you know what’s around the corner.

Red Deer Club

The Little Red Rabbit roster also contains familiar local faces Anna Kashfi, Kalbakken and Cambridge’s Fuzzy Lights. Below we speak to LRR’s David Armes and showcase tracks from the label’s artists.

First up, when was the label launched and who’s involved?

About a year or so I guess. We did a couple of home-made tour-only EPs for Last Harbour in 2005 and 2006, and gave them the Little Red Rabbit name, but it only really became a functioning label in early 2008. There’s a small collective of us involved – between us we cover working with each artist, sorting out the manufacturing, art and design, doing the press, working with our excellent distributor (that would be Forte), looking after the website, paperwork etc. The broad idea though is that, being a collective, the people behind each release also work hard on it. There’s meant to be exchange of ideas and not just a rigidly defined ‘band makes music’/'label releases music’ dynamic – it all crosses over.

Why did you decide to go down this route rather than looking to sign with another label?

Some of us play in Last Harbour and the label we were on at the time couldn’t commit to when they’d release the next already-finished record. Rather than just sit on a record we were really proud of, we decided to take the seize the mettle and release it ourselves, at the same time creating an outlet for all the other work we’re involved in too. Part of the label’s remit is to release records by bands from this city. We like that community aesthetic of people like Constellation, Dischord and I suppose Factory too; they’re inspirations certainly. It’s the age-old tale of wanting to take control and work hard, work with people you know and whose work you respect, which leads neatly on to your next question…

What are the pros and cons of releasing your own music?

Pros: control; the sense that you are the only one responsible for your work, it succeeds or fails on your graft and skills; the satisfaction that comes from realising a project; just seeing your record in the shops or reviewed in a magazine you like is great; working with other people on how they see a project; personally, I like working hard too and that’s its own reward. Must have a latent Catholic work ethic.
Cons: it’s a ton of hard work, if you want to do it properly and not just be into the idea of saying ‘I run a label’; the potential to lose money is always there but we’ve tried to be sensible so far and not spend money we haven’t got; a record not getting the attention you think it deserves is always going to be tough to take; plus, no one really likes doing spreadsheets… do they? Weirdos.

And how easy is it to set one up – do you need considerable financial backing, people with a range of skills etc?

I think it goes in levels really, depending on how serious you are and how much time you’ve got. There’s always more you could do. Sorting out distribution was really key for us and we’re lucky that our distributors are behind the label – otherwise you can get records into a handful of shops but no further. It was easier to do that with Last Harbour and Anna Kashfi both having released records before so we had a kind of track record. We got a small grant from the PRS Foundation to help set up and put some money in ourselves too. So far, it looks like each release will make its money back, which means there’s the money to make the next release and so on. There’s a lot of work involved in doing press, and a lot of cul-de-sacs, so you have to pick carefully and decide where you’re most likely to do well and focus on that. The mechanics of simply getting a record made can be complex too. Has it been mastered? What formats and which manufacturer is cheapest? Is it cheaper to get the whole record made by one company or do you get two or three places to make different parts? What’s an AP2 licence? Is the band MCPS registered? But, we’ve done it so it’s clearly not rocket science! Oh, last point – plan a long, long way ahead. Six months for an album, easy.

Briefly talk us through the artist on the label – how would you describe the style of each, for example?

Ha! Do you want a ‘sounds like band X on drug Y on planet Z’ cliche then? Ok, in order of release:
Last Harbour – a lot of people, often 5 or 6, sometimes up to 9; pretty epic at times, minimal and sparse at others.
Anna Kashfi – beautiful-sounding songs at first til you realise they’re all hopelessly bitter; Sian’s got one of those pure voices that sounds nicely aged as well and James produces sensitive arrangements around it, always with lots of washy organs, mellotrons and violin.
Crazy Man Michael – probably the most trad-folk of all the releases but you’d expect that with them being named after a Fairport song; straightforward passionate, literate songs with some stunning string arrangements.
Fuzzy Lights – minimal drones and reverb washes to clattering noise-outs; if you were an idiot you’d say they were post-rock but there’s a lot more going on; much more psychedelic and dreamy.

Fuzzy Lights stand out as the only non-local band. What attracted you to them?

Last Harbour played with them in their home town of Cambridge last year and we were pretty blown away instantly. They have a kind of heavy dreaminess to them; it’s good for hot days looking at an unchanging horizon. Maybe that’s just because they’re from a flat part of the country though. They have this fantastic build to their songs where the elements keep winding round each other getting more and more tense, but they also know how to rein it in and not be indulgent. Plus, their new songs (not on the ‘A Distant Voice’ album) are much heavier and nastier – it feels like they’ve got a lot to say and will only improve. It’s been a total pleasure working with them.

Would you consider adding to the roster in the future?

Yeah, definitely. We already have but we’re also wary of taking on too much – we want to be able to do every release justice and not throw things out carelessly. Each release has its own world around it. We think far enough ahead to already have second releases planned by bands who we’ve already released. Oh, I’ve just realised all the records so far have violin on them so clearly you need a violinist to be on Little Red Rabbit.

Tell us about what you’ve got planned for the months ahead.

The next two releases are out in May and are the most complicated packaging-wise – they look pretty special so far. There’s the debut album by Kalbakken who a lot of people will have seen over the past couple of years in Manchester. They’re a sibling duo who play their own interpretations of Scandinavian folk songs. This is the real deal though – it’s not nostalgia-folk. Kirsty and Dave are half Norwegian and it all started with relearning songs their mother taught them as kids. They’ve trawled the library archives in Norway for these songs and it’s raw, pure stuff. We’ve done it in an amazing hand-letterpressed sleeve too with handprinted lyric translation/story book.

The other release is a 10″ EP by Last Harbour – one song from last year’s album ‘Dead Fires’ and three others from the same sessions. It comes in a beautiful hand-screenprinted sleeve too with artwork by K Craig who’s done a lot of the artwork for the label. Part of the thinking is that CDs are dead so it’s on vinyl for those who care about the whole package and download for those who like their music to appear in crushed zeroes and ones on their desktop. Can you tell which we prefer? Our bank may yet disagree with us. After those releases in May we’ve got another album or two planned for Autumn plus a new Anna Kashfi EP ahead of their new album early next year. Thanks for your interest Hey! Manchester peoples – much appreciated.

Little Red Rabbit Records

Thursday 7 May gives us the second in the Salford Concert Series – Claus Van Bebber. This German-based artist of longstanding comes directly out of and is contemporary to the late 70s Milan Knizak ‘Broken Music’ school of playing physically ruined records. In 1982 he co-founded the artists’ collective Heinrich Mucken, an intermedia platform animated by a handful of experimental musicians, visual and performance artists. Joining in will be Mick Beck, Ben Gwilliam, Sonic Pleasure, and Matt Wand, whose many talents are far too lengthy to list here, you will just have to come along and witness for yourselves, concert starts 7.30 pm on Thursday 7 May and costs £5.

The mill is just off Chapel Street in Salford – a leisurely 15-minute walk from Deansgate.