Chapter Music is one of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

'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 and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

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, and 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 African ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

post punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, or d ...

and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

. 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 (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

and

Twerps ''TWERPS'' (''The World's Easiest Role-Playing System'') is a minimalist role-playing game (RPG) originally created by Reindeer Games in 1987 (whose sole product was the ''TWERPS'' line) and distributed by Lou Zocchi, Gamescience. Presented as ...

History

The label was founded by Guy Blackman in

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

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, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...

-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 enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

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 were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

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 language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, 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

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 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/ Cannanes 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 is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. 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 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, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

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 expand ...

, 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 ...

. In 2023, Chapter Music released The Native Cats' catalogue on streaming services.

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 $50,000 ($30,000 from 2005 to 2023) 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 ...

, and listed in the 2010 book ''

100 Best Australian Albums ''The 100 Best Australian Albums'' (a.k.a. ''One Hundred Best Australian Albums'') is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was ...

''. 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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 mass media, 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 Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

'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 Clare Christina Moore is an Australian musician, songwriter, arranger, producer and performer whose principal instrument is the drums. She has also performed as a keyboard player, singer and vibraphone player. Moore writes and performs with son ...

* Coolies * Crayon Fields * Danny & The Parkins Sisters * Darren Sylvester * David Chesworth * 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 Anna Frida Amanda Hyvönen (born 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 Forsman's band ...

* Geoffrey O’Connor * The Goon Sax * Gregor * Gus * Guy Blackman * Hit The Jackpot * Jeremy Dower * 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 wh ...

* Kath Bloom & Loren Connors *

Lakes A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

* Laura Jean * Letraset * Maher Shalal Hash Baz * Minimum Chips * Molasses * New Estate * Ninetynine * O! * Panel Of Judges * Pikelet * Primitive Calculators * Richard Lockwood * Riot Guy * Sachiko Kanenobu * Sleepy Township * Small World Experience * Standish/Carlyon * Sweet Whirl * Sulk * Tenniscoats * The Ancients * The Apartments * The Stevens * Totally Mild * Tracey Read * Tully *

* Wagons * Woelv

References

External links

* {{Authority control Chapter Music Chapter Music

History

Accolades

Artists

See also

References

External links