This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(January 2011) |
Blast Firstis a sub label of one-timeindependent record labelMute Records,founded in approximately 1985. It was named after a phrase taken from the first number of the radicalVorticistjournalBlast,published byWyndham Lewisin 1914. Lewis's "Manifesto" begins with the words "BLAST First (from politeness) ENGLAND".
| Blast First | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Mute Records |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | Paul Smith |
| Distributor(s) | Alternative Distribution Alliance(Back catalogue) Caroline Distribution,PIAS(New catalogue) |
| Genre | Alternative rock,indie rock,noise rock |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | London |
History
editThe label was founded byPaul Smithto give UK release to albums bySonic Youth,a US band with which he was then working closely. It went on to feature more hardcore rock bands than the master label of itssynthpop-oriented parent company. Before Mute Records was sold to the EMI group, Blast First fit into the company's profile, which included labels such as the Fine Line and the Grey Area.
The labels employees included the sisters Pat and Liz Naylor,[1]and the novelistAlistair Fruish.[2]
The label released a range ofalternative musicfromButthole SurfersandLabradfordthroughSuicideandSonic Youthto the William Fairey Band'sAcid Brasscollection. The latter, a departure for a label noted for its guitar based rock bands, was acoversalbum of tunes such asA Guy Called Gerald's "Voodoo Ray" and808 State's "Pacific," all replayed by a brass band. Blast First also organised the Disobey experimental club nights, withRussell HaswellandBruce Gilbert(aka DJ Beekeeper) of thePost-punkbandWire.
Artists
edit- A.C. Temple
- Acid Brass
- The Afghan Whigs
- Band of Susans
- Beme Seed
- Big Black
- Big Stick
- The Blue Humans
- Glenn Branca
- Caspar BrötzmannMassaker
- Butthole Surfers
- Common Language
- Dinosaur Jr.
- FM Einheit&Caspar Brötzmann
- Erase Errata
- Fushitsusha
- The Charles Gayle Trio
- Michael Gibbs
- H.O.D.I.C.A.
- Keiji Haino
- Head of David
- Hovercraft
- HTRK
- KaitO
- Richard H. Kirk
- Labradford
- Liars
- Lunachicks
- Maxine
- The Mekons
- Mother Goose
- Phill Niblock
- Pan Sonic
- Rapeman
- The Raincoats
- Rivulets
- Sonic Youth
- Stretchheads
- Suicide
- Sun Ra
- Jimi Tenor
- Ed Tomney
- 2K
- Ut
Compilation series
edit- Sonic Mook Experiment
- The Devil's Jukebox (Nothing Short Of Total War)– deleted limited edition box set; 3000 UK copies and 1500 US copies were made.
Noted albums
editAlbums on Blast First that either reached theUK Albums Chartor have become examples of the indie/alternative genre:
- Big Black –Songs About Fucking(1987) (BFFP 19)
- Sonic Youth –Daydream Nation2xLP (1988) (BFFP 34)
- Afghan Whigs –Gentlemen(1993) (BFFP 89)
- Butthole Surfers –Locust Abortion Technician(1987) (BFFP 23)
(Note: Blast First was merely the UK label for these US bands, which were all primarily signed to deals withAmericanlabels).
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Turner, Luke (25 April 2012)."How Soon is Now".The Quietus.
- ^"Epic four-hour reading of Alistair Fruish's novel is a return to arts as resistance".HeraldScotland.6 February 2018.Retrieved9 February2018.