Insight » Label Spotlight # 2: Upset the Rhythm
Born as a promoter out of frustration with the London music scene in 2003, Upset the Rhythm has since gained a well-founded reputation for supporting the most exciting underground acts around. It was only natural for them to branch out into a record label in 2005, putting out releases from now established acts such No Age, Xiu Xiu, and Parenthetical Girls. I spoke to founder Christopher Tipton as Upset the Rhythm celebrates flying its heart-diagrammed banner for their 300th show.
Abe Vigoda at Upset the Rhythm
How did you get started? What was the first artist you put on as a promoter?
It was Deerhoof, they were touring the UK and we wanted to see them play London but I read on an internet message board that the guy booking the tour couldn’t find anyone in London who wanted to do it. So we got in touch with him and tried to make it happen. We never expected UTR to be anything more than that first party, but so many people were supportive and appreciative at that one show that we kept going.
In the Upset the Rhythm ‘about me’ section, you say that part of your motivation for starting up was being alienated by the past music scene.
What were you alienated by: the lack of an ‘underground’ music scene, or perhaps most promoters looking out for profit rather than putting on interesting artists?
From a number of perspectives. We had travelled a bit in the US and seen how shows were more varied, and audiences less static, and shows were generally more fun. We wanted to bring this idea to London. London has always been a difficult place to put on shows, not many venues, heavy noise restrictions etc and we thought we could have a go at making shows more interesting. We also have really strongly believed in supporting people at the start of their careers, or when they haven’t got support from anyone else, or who are doing things that aren’t necessarily fashionable, and putting their music on a platform regardless of whether a show is going to make money or whatever.
Do you think any of the above problems still exist in the music scene today?
I can only really talk about our experience in London. There are some really creative small promoters in London that didn’t exist five years ago, which is fantastic. The recession has meant that property prices have been coming down and as a result more venues are opening up, which should open things out a bit more and which will hopefully mean that such promoters can take risks. There are still loads of people putting on shows to look cool, or to make money, and ticket prices for some shows are getting ridiculous, but these are problems inherent to the music scene generally! I think that life is getting harder for musicians, particularly from overseas, due to the economic situation and the difficulty of making a living from your work. There is still the need for people to put on shows in London that are enjoyable for musicians and respectful of their work and that are fun and memorable for the audience.
Omar Souleyman at Upset the Rhythm
Is there one gig that you could pick out as your favourite, or has there been someone you always wanted to see that you managed convinced to do an Upset the Rhythm show?
There are too many amazing shows that we’ve seen to pick favourites! Even picking out highlights is difficult! There are so many experiences that have been incredible, last month’s Omar Souleyman show where the audience went wild at the sight of him, being freaked out by Lexie Mountain Boys performance on top of a medieval tower in Hackney, seeing Trash Kit perform to hundreds of singing and dancing friends and supporters at their album launch in a scout hut. Just too many examples and lots of incredible memories.
What artist would you love to do an Upset the Rhythm show with that you haven’t already?
We were completely gutted that we couldn’t do the Amps for Christ show earlier this year happen as a result of the ash cloud debacle. So he would be first on the list.
At what point did you decide to make the transition from promoter to label, and why did you?
We were given a Death Sentence: Panda CD by Kim West at a show for her other band Crack: We Are Rock. We loved it and asked if we could put it out. We wanted to do something constructive with the energy we had from our early shows and releasing the DSP record was the obvious thing for us to do.
Trash Kit – Cadets from Upset The Rhythm on Vimeo.
How do you go about finding artists for the label? A lot of the artists you sign seem to have a similar DIY ethic, is that something you look for? Do you have a specific idea of the kind of artist you want?
There are similar DIY ethics held by the artists we work with, though you’d struggle to tell that the Gay Against You record is on the same label as the Trash Kit record, and we’re not interested in having a signature label sound. Some people have pointed out that we gravitate to the noisy, lo-fi end of the spectrum, but it doesn’t hold true across the board. At the moment we are excited by how fertile the UK underground is, and we are working hard to document that, with records by The Sticks, Gentle Friendly, Trash Kit, Cold Pumas, Gay Against You, Chops and Helhesten already committed to wax, and records by Cleckhuddersfax, Drum Eyes, Peepholes, Apatt, Plug, Please in the pipeline.
What new artist and/or release are you particularly excited to have signed/released?
We are excited about a compilation to celebrate our 300th show that will be out this summer. It’s a past, present, future release with highlights from our roster, exclusive tracks from people we’ve done shows with but not necessarily released records by, and some sneak previews of the new records that are coming out in the next year. I never thought we’d have such an awesome body of work behind us or that we’d still be doing this!
What upcoming gig are you particularly excited about putting on?
I get excited about all the shows we do! I am really looking forward to seeing Oneohtrix Point Never. His last show for us was totally immense and we’ve been listening to the record all the time.
Dan Deacon at Upset the Rhythm
Trash Kit’s self-titled debut is out now on none other than Upset the Rhythm
This is the second of our label spotlight series, our first being an interview with rarities label Finders Keepers.
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