Audio Antihero is a British independent record label formed in October 2009 and based in South East London. They have been the centerpiece of several radio BBC, PRI and international radio stories.

History

The label's first two releases, Nosferatu D2's ''We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones on to Block Out the Noise'' and Benjamin Shaw's ''I Got the Pox, the Pox Is What I Got'', brought the label attention and proved popular with alternative press like Drowned in Sound, The Skinny and Pitchfork and radio stations such as BBC 6 Music,

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and NME Radio. They also gained notable supporters in Gareth of

Los Campesinos! Los Campesinos! are a seven-piece indie pop band from Cardiff, Wales, formed in early 2006 at Cardiff University. Though the band formed in Wales, none of the members are Welsh people, Welsh. The band has gone through several lineup changes dur ...

and

Nic Dalton NIC may refer to: Banking and insurance companies * National Insurance Corporation, Uganda * NIC Bank, a commercial bank in Kenya Politics, government and economics * National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice a ...

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. In 2011, the label released a series of EPs from Ex- Hefner man Jack Hayter, Broken Shoulder, Wartgore Hellsnicker, Paul Hawkins & The Awkward Silences and Fighting Kites. The label also put together a well received charity compilation album, to raise money for Japan entitled ''Bob Hope Would,'' which they followed up with a charity busk for Japan in Greenwich, London from Jack Hayter. 2011 saw the label's profile slowly begin to rise. Label founder Jamie Halliday was interviewed by

Tom Robinson Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson ...

on BBC 6 Music and wrote a "Do and Don't" guide to running an independent label for the BBC site, while the label was featured in a short list of recommended labels on the

Johnny Foreigner Johnny Foreigner are an indie rock four-piece from Birmingham, UK, consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Alexei Berrow, bassist and vocalist Kelly Parker (née Southern), drummer Junior Elvis Washington Laidley, and guitarist and visual ar ...

blog, and described as "possibly the greatest one man label in the world" by the Another Form of Relief blog. The label ended 2011 with the debut LP from Benjamin Shaw (''There's Always Hope, There's Always Cabernet'') which was well received in the music press and by BBC 6 Music before kicking off 2012 with a second charity compilation, ''Some.Alternate.Universe'', this time for FSID to raise money for their efforts to prevent Infant Death Syndrome. The compilation featured more established artists like

Jeffrey Lewis Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist. Early life Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating i ...

Jonah Matranga Jonah Rzadzinski Matranga (born Jonah Sonz Matranga, August 11, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who has released a variety of solo material under his own name and onelinedrawing, and has previously been part of the bands ...

, Art Goblins, Internet Forever,

and more. They are now working on a year long series of singles from Jack Hayter entitled ''The Sisters of St. Anthony''. On 29 August 2012, Audio Antihero and Nosferatu D2 were featured in a retrospective piece for the BBC World Service/ PRI production "

The World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

" – which featured interviews with label founder Jamie Halliday and Nosferatu D2 vocalist Ben Parker. The Nosferatu D2 song "We'll Play 'The Power of Love' by Frankie Goes to Hollywood a Thousand Times Tonight" closed the show. In November 2012, Audio Antihero contributed the ''Hüsker Doo-wop EP'' to the Hear It for New York

pop-up shop Pop-up retail, also known as pop-up store (pop-up shop in the UK, Australia and Ireland) or flash retailing, is a trend of opening short-term sales spaces that last for days to weeks before closing down, often to catch onto a fad or scheduled e ...

. The EP was released to raise money for the Independent Music Community in New York that was affected by

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

and featured rare/exclusive songs from Nosferatu D2, Benjamin Shaw, Jack Hayter, Superman Revenge Squad and Wartgore Hellsnicker. They followed up this charity EP with ''This Christmas (I Just Want to Be Left Alone)'', a Christmas single from Benjamin Shaw & Fighting Kites to raise money for

Shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

. The single benefited from critical praise from online press/radio and support from Tom Robinson and

Jon Solomon Jon Solomon (born April 19, 1973) is an American radio DJ. He has been the host of "Jon Solomon's Annual 25-Hour Holiday Radio Show" at WPRB in Princeton, New Jersey, since 1988, when he was fifteen years old. Solomon's weekly three-hour radio ...

WPRB WPRB (103.3 MHz) is an FM radio station licensed to Princeton, New Jersey, and owned by Princeton Broadcasting Service, Inc. It broadcasts a freeform radio format, including shoegaze, slowcore, noise music, harsh noise wall, plunderphonics, ...

. When promoting the single, label founder Jamie Halliday co-hosted ''The Wrong Rock Show'' on the legendary Bush Radio, the appearance was endorsed by

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

. Audio Antihero kicked off 2013 with a new single from Jack Hayter entitled " Charlotte Badger," a live appearance on the local Croydon Radio station and two guest articles for the GoldFlakePaint music site, a guest interview with

in January and a retrospective "Paint It Back" feature on Gary Numan's ''

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'' album in February. Following the finale of Jack Hayter's "Sisters of St. Anthony" series, Audio Antihero released a charity compilation entitled "REGAL VS STEAMBOAT" to raise money for Rape Crisis England & Wales and Rape Crisis Scotland. The compilation featured artists such as Darren Hayman, Ace Bushy Striptease, Jeffrey Lewis,

Bored Nothing Fergus David Edward Miller (3 February 19909 October 2016), known professionally as Bored Nothing (2012–14), was an Australian musician. He released a self-titled album in October 2012. It received some international attention and together wi ...

, David Cronenberg's Wife and more and was praised by

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

, The Skinny and more. The label followed this with Cloud's "Comfort Songs" LP which was supported with airplay from Tom Ravenscroft, Gideon Coe and Tom Robinson at BBC Radio 6 Music, John Kennedy at XFM,

Simon Raymonde Simon Philip Raymonde (born Simon Philip Pomerance; 3 April 1962, in London) is an English musician and record producer. He is the son of the late arranger and composer Ivor Raymonde. He is best known as the bass guitarist and keyboard player ...

(

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/ Cocteau Twins) at

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, Eric Lawrence at

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and an on-air interview with Robert Rotifer for

FM4 FM4 is an Austrian national radio station operated by the ORF. Its main target is the youth audience, and much of the music output is characterised by an alternative rock and electronic music slant. Programmimg The programming of ''FM4'' is als ...

, the album was also greeted with a very positive response from press, including an 8/10 from Drowned In Sound, a 10/10 from

Contact Music Contactmusic.com is an online magazine of cultural criticism based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, and ...

, while Pitchfork called it "astoundingly accomplished." Retail were also supportive of the release, "Mother Sea" was included by Rough Trade and

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

in their Tracks of the Week subscription, "Cars & It's Autumn" was

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...

's Free Song of the Week while tracks were also featured by Napster and

Rdio Rdio (pronounced "r-dee-oh") was an online music streaming service that offered ad-supported free streaming and ad-free subscription streaming services in 85 countries. It was available as a website and via app for Android, BlackBerry, iOS, an ...

– Cloud was also featured as "New Band of the Week" by Fairsharemusic. Audio Antihero's final release of 2013 was The Superman Revenge Squad Band's "There Is Nothing More Frightening Than the Passing of Time" which reunited the label with Ben and Adam Parker of Nosferatu D2. The album saw a lot of support from BBC 6 Music with plays from

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academ ...

, Gideon Coe and Tom Robinson and very positive press response.

Artists who have released material on Audio Antihero

* Roster * Nosferatu D2 * Benjamin Shaw * Jack Hayter * Broken Shoulder * Wartgore Hellsnicker * Paul Hawkins & The Awkward Silences * Fighting Kites *Cloud *The Superman Revenge Squad Band *Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love *Frog *CHUCK *Magana *Broken Broken Bastard * Compilation guests *

* The Art Goblins * Still Corners * younghusband *

Ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

* Shoes & Socks Off * Darren Hayman * The Victorian English Gentlemens Club * Stagecoach * Extradition Order *

The Owl Service ''The Owl Service'' is a low fantasy novel for young adults by Alan Garner, published by Collins in 1967. Set in modern Wales, it is an adaptation of the story of the Welsh mythology, mythical Welsh woman Blodeuwedd, an "expression of the myt ...

* Runaround Kids * David Cronenberg's Wife *

Diane Cluck Diane Cluck is an American singer-songwriter. She describes her music as "intuitive folk". She currently resides in Virginia. Early life Cluck was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She began taking piano lessons at the age of 7, and was classi ...

*Ace Bushy Striptease *Internet Forever * Samira Winter *Melissa Lozada-Oliva *bedbug *Laptop Funeral * SuperKnova *HARDCOREBAE *Kahlil Ali *Brivele *Josaleigh Polett *PHONODELICA *Jonny Teklit *Nicholas Nicholas *mhauesh *Eddie Violet

Discography

*Nosferatu D2 – ''We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise'' (2009) *Benjamin Shaw – ''I Got The Pox, The Pox Is What I Got EP'' (2009) *Jack Hayter – ''Sucky Tart EP'' (2011) – 2011 EP SERIES *Various Artists – ''Bob Hope would.'' (2011) – digital charity compilation for Japan *Broken Shoulder – ''Broken Shoulderrr'' (2011) – 2011 EP SERIES *Wartgore Hellsnicker – ''Moderate Rock EP'' (2011) – 2011 EP SERIES *Paul Hawkins & The Awkward Silences – ''The Wrong Life – EP'' (2011) – 2011 EP SERIES *Fighting Kites & Broken Shoulder – ''Split EP'' (2011) – 2011 EP SERIES *Benjamin Shaw – ''There's Always Hope, There's Always Cabernet'' (2011) *Various Artists – ''Some.Alternate.Universe.'' (2012) – digital charity compilation for FSID *Jack Hayter – ''The Sisters of St. Anthony'' (2012–2013) – digital singles series *Various Artists – ''The Hüsker Du-wop EP'' (2012) – digital charity EP for New York's Independent Music Community *Various Artists – ''REGAL VS STEAMBOAT'' (2013) – digital charity compilation for Rape Crisis *Various Artists - ''Audio Antihero's Commercial Suicide Sampler''(2013) *Cloud – ''Comfort Songs'' (2013) *The Superman Revenge Squad Band – ''There Is Nothing More Frightening Than the Passing of Time'' (2013) *Benjamin Shaw – ''Goodbye, Cagoule World'' (2014) *Benjamin Shaw / Cloud / Jack Hayter / Broken Shoulder Split - ''You & Me'' EP (2014) *Various Artists - ''Five Long Years'' (2014) *Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love – ''Last'' (2015 – co-released with Other Electricities) *Frog – ''Kind of Blah'' (2015) *Frog – ''Frog'' (Reissue – 2015) *Nosferatu D2 – ''Older, Wiser, Sadder EP'' (2015) *Various Artists – ''BERN YR IDOLS'' (2016) – digital benefit compilation for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign *CHUCK – ''My Band Is a Computer'' (2016 – co-released with Old Money Records) *Magana – ''Golden Tongue EP'' (2016) *Magana – ''Pages – Single'' (2017) *Various Artists – ''Audio Antihero Presents: 'Unpresidented Jams' for SPLC & NILC'' (2017) *CHUCK – ''Frankenstein Songs for the Grocery Store'' (2017) *Magana – ''Oceans – Single'' (2017) *Cloud – ''Plays With Fire'' (2018) *Various Artists – ''The Desperation Club – A Cloud Tribute Compilation'' (2018) *Benjamin Shaw – ''Megadead'' (2018 – co-released with Kirigirsu Recordings) *Frog – ''Whatever We Probably Already Had It'' (2018) *Various Artists – ''Elder Statesman: Nine Long Years of Audio Antihero Records'' (2019) *Tempertwig – ''FAKE NOSTALGIA: An Anthology of Broken Stuff'' (2019 – co-released with Randy Sadage Records) *Benjamin Shaw – ''Exciting Opportunities: A Collection of Singles and Sadness'' (2019 – co-released with Old Money Records) *Tempertwig - ''Films Without Plotlines EP'' (2019 – co-released with Randy Sadage Records) *Cloud - ''Live at Kulak's Woodshed'' (2019) *Fighting Kites - ''Mustard After Dinner - An Anthology of Fighting Kites'' (2019 - co-released with Old Money Records) *Benjamin Shaw - ''Should've Stayed at Home: A Collection of Oddities and Outtakes'' (2019 - co-released with Old Money Records) *Broken Shoulder - ''Shark Islands: A Broken Shoulder Archipelago'' (2019 - co-released with Old Money Records) *Frog - ''Count Bateman'' (2019 - co-released with Tape Wormies) *Benjamin Shaw - ''Live at donaufestival'' (2019) *Benjamin Shaw - ''I Got The Pox, The Pox Is What I Got (Remastered & Expanded)'' (2020 - co-released with Old Money Records) *Benjamin Shaw - ''There's Always Hope, There's Always Cabernet (Remastered & Expanded)'' (2020 - co-released with Old Money Records) *Various Artists - ''From the River to the Sea: The Horrible Truth About Palestine - a Fundraiser for the United Palestinian Appeal'' (2021)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control British independent record labels