On Saturday, December 10th The Quietus will be found at London’s historic Spitalfields Market spinning paper bags shut and shouting "three ferra paaaahhnd" as we help out with the Independent Label Market. The event follows the success of the first event on Berwick Street, which saw Mute’s Daniel Miller, Domino’s Lawrence Bell, Rough Trade’s Geoff Travis and other label bosses selling their wares direct to punters. This time, though, the market is taking place to help out those PIAS-distributed labels who lost stock in the Sony Warehouse fire during the summer riots.
As compulsive, wallet-busting buyers of records, The Quietus is excited to be involved in Independent Label Market, Christmas riots edition. Although independent labels are currently releasing album after album of wonderful, groundbreaking music, fewer and fewer people are investing in it buy putting their hands in pockets ot pay for it. This made the PIAS warehouse fire such a disaster for artists and record labels alike. The day after the fire we wrote a list of recommended records from PIAS labels that our readers should buy to help support those who had lost their physical stock. We’re glad to now be able to get involved in the nitty-gritty of selling at the Independent Label Market, even if the day will undoubtedly cost us a fortune, and leave our families hungry at Christmas.
We’ll be encouraging you to spend money at stalls run by the following labels, with more to be announced soon: Angular, Accidental, Big Dada, Borstal Beat, Brownswood Recordings, Chemikal Underground, Different, Domino, Double Six, Fabric, Fat Cat, Loose Music, Lucky Number, Mais Um Discos, Memphis Industries, Ninja Tune, One Little Indian, Play It Again Sam, Sonic Cathedral, Soundway, Southern Fried, Stolen Records, Weird World and X-tra Mile.
Friend of the Quietus and Angular Records boss Joe Daniel, who is running the market, said "We’ve spent the last couple of months getting back on our feet and I hope this market will be a chance for the labels to recover some of the ground lost in August and September when we had no stock. It will also be a great way to celebrate independent music in 2011 whilst wearing a silly hat and enjoying some nice mulled wine."
As well as helping out with the selling, the Quietus is taking over the Old Blue Last just round the corner for a free gig that evening. We’ve got our favourite new group Toy headlining, and industrial pop man Dave ID in support, with Quietus and possibly some other friends acting as Gramophone Technicians.