Labels of Love - Re:Peater Records
Stevie McCaffrey ran Lucky Number Nine Records for three years before setting up RE:PEATER Records last year, a label he now runs with scuzzy Glasgow rockers, She's Hit, who he is also the manager for.
Here Stevie talks to The List about upcoming releases, and interactive musical experiences…
Based in:
Glasgow.
Roster:
She's Hit, Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers and Pearls (Australia).
Bosses:
The label is run by She's Hit and I help out in an advisory capacity.
Sounds like:
Doom wop, dirty surf, shoegaze, drone 'n' roll, heartbreak drone, garage punk.
Why did you start the label?
I was looking for a label to release She's Hit's debut album but it was dragging on a bit and in the meantime the band had written a batch of new songs. Most bands tend to favour their new material so, rather than losing the first album tracks, we decided to start our own imprint and self-release the record. Also, I had promised Jacob Yates… that I would release their LP on my old label Lucky Number Nine but I folded it before we put it out – thankfully they are a perfect fit for RE:PEATER and their record is amazing so we're delighted to be working with them.
What are your ambitions for RE:PEATER?
In time and through the quality of the bands we release I would like it to be regarded in the same vein as Chemikal Underground and Rock Action. I admire those labels and would love to one day have similar back catalogues while continuing to remain as relevant as they have. There are a vast amount of labels in the UK who can help bands more than we can purely due to the finances they have available, I'm realistic enough to know that some bands will move on but I'm confident we can continue to find great new bands to release.
How can a vinyl label thrive in the digital age?
We plan for all our releases to be pressed to vinyl but we're not a 'vinyl label', they will also be available digitally and the albums will get a CD release. As far as vinyl remaining a viable format, I'm no expert but I think that there has been a reaction from some people who don't like digital downloads and have moved towards buying vinyl, and that's in addition to the people who already favoured the format over CDs. In truth I think CD sales have taken the biggest hit.
How important is your visual aesthetic?
Very. Next to the fact that mp3 is compressed and sounds terrible when compared to an audio file (or tape), the lack of presentation is the thing that bothers me most about the digital format. As I kid I used to love looking at artwork and reading linear notes and lyrics while listening to an album. I appreciate that digital has one distinct advantage - convenience - but I personally like my musical experience to be more interactive and that includes going into a shop and buying a record through to opening it and finding out which musicians guest appeared on it or who produced it etc... This has turned into the start of a rant than an answer to you question, I should say that we have been very lucky to work with two fantastic artists on our releases so far, Hrafnhildur Halldórsdóttir and Luke Brown.
What’s coming up on RE:PEATER?
We have a split single from She's Hit and Jacob Yates... out on Mon 23 May , She's Hit's album is out Mon 6 Jun, a split single from Pearls and Berlin Heart on Mon 13 Jun and then the Lock Pickers album on Mon 20 Jun.