"For us, it's devastating ... I'm sure there are labels which aren't insured. I'm sure there will be labels that will go bust." A fire set as part of the ongoing London riots has destroyed the Sony-owned PIAS distribution warehouse, decimating the physical stock of most of the UK's independent music and film labels. Over 150 companies have been affected, including Domino, 4AD, Warp, XL, Rough Trade, Ninja Tune, Soul Jazz, Fat Cat, Chemikal Underground, Rekids, and the DVD labels Arrow Films (whose entire stock has been destroyed) and Masters of Cinema. The warehouse also housed stock for American labels Sub Pop, Drag City, Thrill Jockey and Secretly Canadian and Vice. Everything stored in the 20,000 square meter warehouse has been destroyed.
posted by alexoscar on Aug 9, 2011 - 159 comments

Dancefloor Dale (autoplaying music video) — NSFW after 1:05, and never safe for epilleptics. [more inside]
posted by blasdelf on Sep 28, 2008 - 42 comments

"If the emergence of techno and the proliferation of its related genres thrust DJs and producers into the spotlight, it also spawned artists who, like Kraftwerk before them, chose to remain anonymous and distant. The Scottish duo Boards of Canada (Marcus Eoin and Michael Sandison) is a case in point, an even more enigmatic presence on the UK's electronic music landscape than Aphex Twin and Autechre. Eoin and Sandison have consistently minimized their role in the commercial side of music-making and have avoided its attendant lifestyle: They've shunned city life for the rural seclusion of their Hexagon Sun studio and its local collective of artists. They claim to record primarily for themselves and their friends. They have reportedly amassed an enormous archive of unreleased music dating back to the early '80s (numerous apocryphal BoC tracks make the rounds). They seldom give interviews or perform live." [more inside]
posted by bigmusic on Nov 26, 2007 - 70 comments

While CD sales in the UK continue their upward march (nearly 8% this year) and UK music retailers show healthy profits, the Record Companies are gearing up to sue their British customers (ala The RIAA). Not all record companies, however, are taking the big stick approach: - Warp Records - (home of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and Chris Morris) steps up to the plate with high-quality music downloads, unencumbered by DRM. Go figure.
posted by Blue Stone on Jan 15, 2004 - 10 comments

autechre's new CD/DVD gantz_graf deserves a larger audience than it will most likely receive. not only a brilliant piece of what can be labeled "idm" music, a stunning confluence of hypermodern audio and video artistry.
posted by iceblink on Aug 2, 2002 - 33 comments