Label Fandango is the release process
stripped to its fundamentals, inspired by the driving
DIY dynamics of fresh-eared labels such as Transgressive,
Marquis Cha Cha and Dance To The Radio. The slogan for
our label is the eminently catchy “no frills:
all thrills”, because in the true orange-arsed
spirit of easyjet Label Fandango is a bring - your -
own - sandwiches operation with generic sleeves, a gently
unhinged disposition and a genuine passion for helping
bands reach somewhere else.
It started, as most of the best things in life tend
to, with a gig. In 2001 Club Fandango
crept onto the London music scene on a Tuesday night
in Camden’s Dublin
Castle and carefully unfurled its glossy new backdrop.
Four years down the line that Tuesday is a heaving
maelstrom of top sexy indierock behaviour with Keane,
Bloc Party, 22-20s,
Death Cab For Cutie, Kaiser
Chiefs, Go! Team
and Arctic Monkeys
all filling the venue at various points.
The
backdrop is looking a bit worse for wear after over
200 shows. But then again aren’t we all? So
what comes next? A record company, of course.
Pointy
Records and Fierce
Panda (your hosts for Club Fandango) are launching
Label Fandango as a Singles Club in its purest sense,
purveying thrillingly limited edition releases in
black & white sleeves with the aim of breaking
even and having a bit of fun with smashing new talent
along the way. Pointy Records is the refuge for cosmic
star chasers such as The
Clientele and Flotation
Toy Warning. The fierce panda recording company
is the indie escape hatch for sonic terrorists such
as Art Brut, Apartment,
Agent Blue and other bands beginning with ‘A’.
Together they are Label Fandango.
And together they have been gawping at the excesses
of the corporate machine. Indie Boomtime it may be
but what does that mean? £100k marketing spends
for ‘80s soundalikes, hysterical TV advertising
campaigns for half-baked debut albums and total catastrophe
if the latest over-hyped Libertines wannabes’
second single fails to crack the top 20, that’s
what. What are we doing, people? Is this really fun??
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