5 Years of Them There
An independent record label based in Preston, Lancashire, Them There Records celebrates 5 years of releases with an exclusive mix. Looking back, we chat with Carl Brown, who runs the label.
First published in STAT - ISSUE 04
Hey Carl, chuffed to speak with you... How you doing? How's lockdown been treating ya?
Hey Pete, yeah i’m ok mate, really chuffed to speak with you too, I love your work on the zine - admirable work. Lockdown is fine, just whatever isn’t it now, trying to adapt and stay positive and moderate my expectations of what’s to come…
I get ya- really all we can do at the moment… I suppose the sensible starter question to ask is: if 'Them There'... What, where?
Haha I like it. I actually nicked the name from my friend Josh's song called 'Them There Things Themselves’. It just fit the bill to my mind, something kind of colloquial but it also has a sense of indifference to it. In my mind there’s also something mischievous about the name too...like ’them there naughty gremlins making the weird noises over yonder hills’ haha
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| Pun Collins IDK video still |
Haha! Is that the kind of artist (maybe listener) you're looking for... the gremlin in the hills? There's a cluster of artists- Pun Collins, j. b. glazer & Chris Ruffoni - you've put out a number of times now. What is it about them that peaks your interest, makes them worth sharing?
We’ve built relationships; now putting out an album is like having a baby together. You nurture it and watch it grow and it becomes something that bonds you. All the records we’ve put out I treasure as my own too. I get more excited for positive recognition for those works than I do for my own music! All the artists on the label are friends, it’s the first rule, being friendly being honest if somethings not right we’ll have to work it out right away to stay on that level. Musically I guess I’m still drawn to people I see as dedicated and hard workers. Axel for instance (Pun Collins) is a film maker too and he’s always working on the stories and concepts behind those albums we released, there’s more to then than meets the eye/ears. Even though musically Chris and Josh (j. b. glazer) albums might sound way different there’s a sense of DIY experimentation that brings them together, Josh is mostly in the box and Chris is mostly analogue but they both have that wildness that I look for, both kind of dipping toes into the unknown but also holding on to something accessible. That’s really the whole thing about them there musically we sit on the fence of accessibility looking at both sides.
Do you think that’s something that sets apart grassroots labels/projects like yourself; a sense of shared ownership, maybe a purer form of creativity? What’s it like trying to navigate an industry increasingly dominating by the likes of Spotify?
Maybe, i’m sure there’s bigger labels than Them There that achieve a fine balance but I do try to build good relationships. Them There started by releasing a few albums from friends in the US which quickly proved quite difficult and not as satisfying as I had hoped it would be. I was after a more personal interaction with the artists and with that in mind I started working much more locally and five years in we’ve done some great label showcase shows and would have done even more if not for COVID. Bunny Hoova and a few of us have got a pizza and wine date in mind for everyone when we’re allowed to, we keep in touch on WhatsApp weekly but those proper hang times we miss.
On the label-side creatively i’m pretty easy going and I trust all the artists with their artworks. I share my inputs and we work through, I think they can all see how much I love their work and I share my vision for where it fits in with the label. It’s important to me to keep an eye on how and where the music fits in. Feeling the context of a release amongst what’s going on globally best I can, while everything shifts so rapidly. Doing late night delves on The Wire and Boomkat or Bandcamp and reading and learning and listening, it can be fun but it’s wired into me now like a preset. On the other hand I also love just fucking all of that off too and letting things just be their own little unique statement - there’s balance all throughout.
Talking about Spotify its clear to see why theres frustration because its wildly unfair but I like to imagine most passionate music people are like myself in that, yes I have Spotify but I use it as a place to listen to the music as fast as I can think of it, I don’t check out the shit playlists and I don’t let the algorithms do the work but since i’m not literally made of money I can’t buy all the music I need to hear so I play it through and if love it enough i’ll cop it on vinyl, and whilst i’m there i’ll cop three more vinyl (lol).
If I don’t have much control over things I don’t let myself get down about it, goes with everything. If it wasn’t Spotify it would be someone else surely. Bandcamp are doing good work in levelling the playing fields as best they can. The truth is until you’re U2 you’ll struggle to make your sole income from actually making music and there aren’t enough pages in this magazine to discuss potential future outcomes.
Spotify can do whatever, Pete. We’re on the front line out here man. They can’t touch a lot of what we do with trading cassettes and short run physical stuff. That’s ours !!!!
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| Hyperdawn |
And 5 years worth - happy birthday :)) Any particular releases or times that stand out?? Does Them There today look different to how you imagined?
I think things defo ramped up when with the first j. b. glazer album Compact Break. The online press loved it which was slightly surprising for how experimental it felt to me, but perhaps that’s what we all needed. The London live launch show we did for the album went off too and made me realise that this isn’t about sitting on the laptop uploading songs to SoundCloud waiting for likes it’s being on the dance floor for your favourite track as it’s played loud over the sound system.
Soon after I met Bunny Hoova and Hyperdawn and we had some great live shows around that summer too. The SK1 records show in Stockport was a banger full of wild improv and off piste jams. Love to SK1! Can’t wait to come back.
Another earlier standout moment is probably Samandtheplants ‘Flaming Lair’. I was and still am a big fan of the Twisted Nerve label and their work influences what I do here for sure. I’d been into Sam’s work with their labels for years and when we released his album I was more than chuffed. It took on a bit of a cult status that album with those who knew about it, it’s timeless, it’s highly meditative, it’s like an open letter or something it’s so beautiful.
Seriously I could talk like this about all the albums.
I wouldn’t say it looks different to how I imagined because I’ve given it enough room to be whatever it’s going to be. To me there are several faces of Them There which coexist in a kind of experimental DIY harmony and within those faces we can channel the whole spectrum of sound from organic to processed, digital to analogue, sweet pop to extreme noise, as soon as I can define the label it’s time to change again. I know the Bandcamp says ‘Outer peripheral pop’ that’s just about vague enough for me to handle looking at everyday haha
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| j. b. glazer |
That's something I love about TT, keeps you on your toes but always alongside that familiar weirdness - I think the mix you've done for us demonstrates that perfectly, cheers for that btw! You got any projects on the go atm? Anything coming up?
No probs Pete thanks for your interest and support and kind words. Yeah there’s always something mate, coming up we have new stuff from some of the current roster and also new artists lined up but don’t put myself under any unnecessary stress at the moment just whatever gets done gets done. Above all it has to be fun and give me life.
I have another label project which focuses on site specific listening based in Lancashire called ‘Set Foot’ which has some bits I’m chipping away on, and currently an awesome new project of my own ‘music’ (haha) that I’m very excited about!
I’ll be hopefully getting on with our radio show on Noods again soon which I love sharing and There would be gigs mixed in too but well you know the craic.
Nice one, looking forward to it !
Cheers Carl!
BANDCAMP
answers
Carl Brown
questions
Pete Mercer
images courtesy of Them There