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The Spotify Playlist

10 Years Of Wichita: A Spotify Playlist
The Quietus , July 9th, 2010 10:38

Mark Bowen and Dick Green compile us a Spotify playlist

Hurrah for Wichita! For 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the London based label. During the last decade, they've released albums from the likes of Bloc Party, The Cribs, Sky Larkin and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, the label are having a few shindigs at The Garage in London starting on July 12 with Lissy Trullie, Those Dancing Days and Young Legionnaire. And the festivities will continue until July 15, taking in performances from Sky Larkin and The Cribs amongst others. Click here for more information.

In order to celebrate, we asked Mark Bowen and Dick Green - the good folk who set up Wichita - to lovingly furnish us with a Spotify playlist of the tunes that inspired them to start a record label.

Mark also gave us a few words on Wichita...

How did you and Dick meet?

Mark Bowen: I fell into the music business via my best friend Martin Carr and his band Boo Radleys and through him met Alan and Dick when the band signed to Creation Records. I then worked there for seven years alongside Dick.

Why did you decide to start Wichita?

MB: Alan and Dick had decided to end Creation and Dick had an idea to do another label but on a much smaller scale. It was very much "back to basics" and we worked for five years from our respective homes without an office.

What have the highlights been?

MB: Way, way too many to mention - mainly shows when you get this amazing sense of what some of the bands mean to people Many highlights from Yeah Yeah Yeahs and My Morning Jacket shows at the Freebutt in Brighton to Bloc Party playing to 25000 one weekend in London; from The cribs at Glastonbury last week to having our fierce punks The Bronx play the Barbican as a mariachi band...

How much influence do you think Wichita has had?

MB: Not for us to say! I'm proud that the releases have been so eclectic down the years and that we've done everything never having had a staff of more than two. If even one person has been inspired to do something in music by an artist we've worked with though, that would be amazing.

Mark and Dick's Spotify Playlist

Listen to the Wichita playlist here.

Glen Campbell - 'Wichita Lineman'

As near to perfect as a song can be and the inspiration for the label.

My Bloody Valentine - 'No More Sorry'

Maybe not the obvious My Bloody Valentine track, but it shows their fragile beauty rather than the full on aural assault.

The Smiths - 'Girl Afraid'

Everything that's great about this band in one song. Everyone at their very best.

Hüsker Dü - 'Sorry Somehow'

The first time I ever heard Hüsker Dü my life changed. My favourite band of all time.

New Order - 'True Faith'

Hard to choose a favourite track, but this is classic New Order.

Primal Scream - 'Higher Than The Sun'

Psychedelic dance dub of the highest order.

Neil Young - 'Cortez The Killer'

Timeless genius and can still cut it now. He can play one note and you know instantly it's him, and it's the best note ever.

Nick Drake - 'Fruit Tree'

Timeless beauty.

Jesus and Mary Chain - 'Upside Down'

I vividly remember going to retune the transistor radio in the kitchen of my parents house when Peel played it for the first time. Brilliant.

Big Youth - 'What's Going On'.

We probably listen to more reggae than anything when I'm not working. Big Youth might have the best voice of all time.

Slam - 'Positive Education (Richie Hawtin remix)'

There are few times in your life when you hear music like you've never heard before, but Hawtin at Sabresonic did that in spades.

Velvet Underground - 'The Gift'

Hard to explain the effect on a kid in Wales of discovering that one member of the coolest band of all time came from down the road.

Super Furry Animals - 'Mountain People'

We're biased, but we still think you can tell a lot by a person by whether or not they see Super Furry Animals as the best band of a decade. Impossible to sum their output though this track tries to...

Scud Mountain Boys - 'Silo'

We became quite obsessed with Joe Penrice's old band in the 90s and saw an incredible show at Tramp's in New York. For a couple of years people assumed we were an alt-country label...