Chapter Music is one of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
's longest-running
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
s.
Chapter Music has worked with a broad range of mostly Australian artists, in genres such as
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
,
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...
,
post punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
,
country and western
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
and
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
. Between 1992 and 2013, the label released around 45 titles, including several compilation albums, such as ''Can't Stop It! Australian Post-Punk 1978-82'' and ''Songs For Nao''. The label's 2014 roster features bands such as Dick Diver,
Beaches
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
and
Twerps
''TWERPS'' (''The World's Easiest Role-Playing System'') is a minimalist role-playing game (RPG) originally created by Reindeer Games (whose sole product was the ''TWERPS'' line) and distributed by Gamescience. Presented as a parody of the co ...
.
History
The label was founded by
Guy Blackman
Guy or GUY may refer to:
Personal names
* Guy (given name)
* Guy (surname)
* That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart
Places
* Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet
* Guy, Arkansas, US, a city
* Guy, Indiana, US, an unincor ...
in
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
in June 1992, after he released several issues of a
Syd Barrett
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...
-inspired
fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...
called ''Chapter 24'',
started in October 1990, when Blackman was seventeen. Initially, Blackman released compilation cassettes of local Perth underground bands, the first of which was ''Bright Lights, Small City'' in July 1992. A
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
tribute tape
called ''Kill Yr Idols!'' was the label's next release, followed by a new fanzine called ''Salty & Delicious''. The label released a further eight cassettes (mostly compilations), one CD, and four issues of the fanzine prior to Blackman's relocation to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia. Blackman explained in 2012: "When I sold out of the first Chapter Music cassette on the night of the show, that was a huge success for me, as a 17-year-old boy."
Blackman relocated to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
in mid-1995,
where he released Chapter Music's first seven-inch vinyl single, pressed at
Corduroy Records, a new pressing plant in Australia at the time.
The single, a Molasses/
Minimum Chips
Minimum Chips were an Australian electronic and rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1993. They issued their debut studio album, ''Kitchen Tea Thankyou'', in November 2005. The group had disbanded by early 2007.
History
Minimum Chips ...
split single—Blackman is a member of the latter band—was released in September 1995.
This was followed by a seven-inch single by Perth band Sulk, with a third release, a split single for
Sleepy Township
Sleepy Township was an indie pop band which was formed in Perth in 1994 as a side project by Guy Blackman (guitar, electric organ, vocals), Mia Schoen (ex-Molasses) (guitar, electric organ, vocals), and Paul Williams (ex-Molasses) (drums, vocals) ...
/
Cannanes
The Cannanes are an Australian indie pop band formed in Sydney in late 1984. In the band's 30-year plus history the lineup has regularly changed, with Stephen O'Neil and Frances Gibson the only constant members.
History
The original 1984 line- ...
released in October 1996.
The label briefly closed for 18 months in 2002 when Blackman and his partner, Ben O'Connor,
relocated to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. In a 2013 interview, Blackman explained that he made connections with a "little underworld of Japanese underground psychpop" during his time in Japan, in addition to playing his own live shows and collaborating with local artists. Blackman said that by the time his visa expired he felt like his time in Japan was merely starting; however, at the time of the interview, he explained that he retained connections with artists like Tenniscoats following his return to Australia.
Chapter Music reissued the 1980 self-titled live recording of Melbourne post-punk/noise band
Primitive Calculators
The Primitive Calculators are an Australian post-punk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 1978. Described by British critic Everett True as sounding like "a very aggressive Suicide", True, Everett (8 January 2009)"True Tales: Melbourne's musi ...
in 2004, which was the band's sole official release at the time. The label released the 17-track ''Primitive Calculators and Friends'' compilation in 2007, which featured the only Primitive Calculators studio recording ever released and the ''Little Bands'' compilation. In a 2009 interview, Stuart, of Primitive Calculators, said: "I think Guy Blackman is a kind of angel to do what he does and stay who he is."
The label's 20th anniversary occurred in 2012 and the label was co-managed by Blackman and O'Connor by this stage. In an interview with the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') in November 2012, O'Connor explained: "We've only ever done things that we love and care about",
while Blackman expressed his view on the label's longevity openly:
I've found myself becoming very sensitive to any perceived indifference to the anniversary ... To me it seems like a big deal. There's not that many record labels that last this long; Ben and I have watched a lot of them come and go.
Chapter Music released a compilation of rarities, ''20 Big Ones'', as part of the 20th anniversary commemoration—including a song by Minimum Chips
—and an anniversary show was staged in Melbourne, during Melbourne Music Week, with performances from Crayon Fields, Twerps, Pikelet, Laura Jean and Primitive Calculators, among others.
In the 2012 ''SMH'' interview, Blackman described the label's health as "better than ever", and explained in an interview the following year that the label "can provide support for a long term career for a band ... The community aspect and the relationships are the most important thing about the label." During 2013, Chapter Music attended the
CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
and released albums by Dick Diver, Beaches, Primitive Calculators, Pikelet and Bushwalking.
The Primitive Calculators release, ''The World Is Fucked'', is the first-ever studio album by the band, which was 35 years old at the time of the release date.
An August 2014 announcement revealed that Twerps signed to US label
Merge Records
Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...
, while retaining their arrangement with Chapter Music for Australia and New Zealand. The ''Underlay'' EP—described by music journalist Anthony Carew as "the work of a band who’s already done a lap around the hype-bubble block and returned feeling jaded"—was released by the band in August 2014. Also in August 2014, Laura Jean released her self-titled album on Chapter Music, which was recorded in England, UK, with
John Parish
John Parish (born 11 April 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer.
Parish is best known for his work with singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. He has also worked with such artists as Eels, Aldous Harding, Tracy Chapm ...
.
Accolades
Beaches' 2008 debut album was shortlisted for the
Australian Music Prize
The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was made by Australian Music Pri ...
, and listed in the 2010 book ''
100 Best Australian Albums
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
''. In December 2013, Chapter Music artists Dick Diver, Primitive Calculators, Bushwalking and Beaches featured in the critics' lists of the ''
mess+noise
The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
'' 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 ...
'' websites, as they selected their best Australian albums of 2013. Dick Diver's ''Calendar Days'' was voted into the number 1 position by the ''Guardian'' critics; the album was then voted into the number 1 position of the ''mess + noise'' 2013 readers poll. In
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
's "The Very Best Australian Albums of 2013" list, published on 29 December 2013, both Beaches and Dick Diver appeared.
In 2019, Chapter Music won the
AIR Award for Best Independent Label.
Artists
* Always
* Andreas & Oscar
* Andrew Wilson
* Beaches
* Bum Creek
* Bushwalking
* Chris Robison
*
The Cannanes
* Clag
*
Clare Moore
* Coolies
*
Crayon Fields
* Danny & The Parkins Sisters
* Darren Sylvester
*
David Chesworth
David Chesworth (born 1958, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom) is an Australian-based interdisciplinary artist and composer. Known for his experimental and at times minimalist music, he has worked solo, in post-punk groups (Essendon Airport, Whadya ...
*
Dick Diver
* Driving Past
*
Essendon Airport
Essendon Fields Airport , colloquially known by its former name Essendon Airport, is a public airport serving scheduled commercial, corporate-jet, charter and general aviation flights. It is located next to the intersection of the Tullamarin ...
* Fabulous Diamonds
*
Frida Hyvönen
Frida Hyvönen (born Anna Frida Amanda Hyvönen; 30 December 1977) is a Swedish singer-songwriter.
Personal life
Hyvönen grew up in Robertsfors, located outside Umeå in the north of Sweden (which is also the hometown of her cousin Josephine ...
* Geoffrey O’Connor
*
The Goon Sax
* Gregor
* Gus
* Guy Blackman
* Hit The Jackpot
*
Jeremy Dower
Jeremy Dower (born 1976) is an Australia-born musician and visual artist. He is best known for contributing the soundtrack to the pixel art tribute to the iconic opening reel of The Simpsons in 2014. The video was created with fellow Aussie an ...
* Jonny Telafone
* Karl Smith
*
Kath Bloom
Katherine Bloom is an American folk songwriter based in Litchfield, Connecticut.
Biography
The daughter of oboist Robert Bloom, Bloom grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, where she studied the cello as a child and started playing the guitar when ...
* Kath Bloom & Loren Connors
*
Lakes
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
* Laura Jean
* Letraset
*
Maher Shalal Hash Baz
"Maher-shalal-hash-baz" (; he, מַהֵר שָׁלָל חָשׁ בַּז, ' – "Hurry to the spoils!" or "He has made haste to the plunder!") was the second prophetic name mentioned in Isaiah chapter 8– 9.
Biblical accounts
The name is menti ...
* Minimum Chips
* Molasses
* New Estate
* Ninetynine
* O!
* Panel Of Judges
* Pikelet
*
Primitive Calculators
The Primitive Calculators are an Australian post-punk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 1978. Described by British critic Everett True as sounding like "a very aggressive Suicide", True, Everett (8 January 2009)"True Tales: Melbourne's musi ...
* Richard Lockwood
* Riot Guy
*
Sachiko Kanenobu
* Sleepy Township
* Small World Experience
* Standish/Carlyon
* Sweet Whirl
* Sulk
*
Tenniscoats
Tenniscoats is a Japanese band with two members, Saya & Takashi Ueno, but they often have guest musicians (and non-musicians) playing and performing with them. The guest musicians are for example, Secai, LSD March, Eddie Marcon, Popo, Saibo ...
* The Ancients
* The Apartments
*
The Cannanes
* The Stevens
* Totally Mild
* Tracey Read
* Tully
*
Twerps
''TWERPS'' (''The World's Easiest Role-Playing System'') is a minimalist role-playing game (RPG) originally created by Reindeer Games (whose sole product was the ''TWERPS'' line) and distributed by Gamescience. Presented as a parody of the co ...
* Wagons
* Woelv
See also
*
List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Chapter Music
Chapter Music is one of Australia's longest-running independent record labels. Chapter Music has worked with a broad range of mostly Australian artists, in genres such as rock and roll, indie pop, post punk, country and western and folk. Betwee ...
Chapter Music
Chapter Music is one of Australia's longest-running independent record labels. Chapter Music has worked with a broad range of mostly Australian artists, in genres such as rock and roll, indie pop, post punk, country and western and folk. Betwee ...