Alcopop! Records

Alcopop! Records
Founded 2006
Founder Jack Clothier (AKA Jack pOp)[1]
Kevin Douch
Genre Indie pop
Country of origin United Kingdom
Location Oxford, England
Official website www.ilovealcopop.co.uk

Alcopop! Records is an independent record label run by Jack Clothier and Kevin Douch. The label began in Autumn 2006 as an affiliate or sister label to Douch's main outfit Big Scary Monsters Recording Company. Now its own entity, the label is almost 100 releases old and works with the likes of Johnny Foreigner, Anamanaguchi, Fight Like Apes, The Crimea, Stagecoach and Get Inuit.

Inception

Alcopop! Records was formally created after a small loan was gambled on the Charlton vs Portsmouth match of 16 September 2006, with money for the first release and show generated from a successful bet on the match. This money was invested in a band from Yeovil called Encyclopedia,[2] with the first single 'Emily' (Alcopop001) kicking off the 2006/7 singles club (which also included the likes of Midget, data.select.party and 4 or 5 Magicians). Founder Jack pOp, in a recent interview with the Complete Music Update website, said "Alcopop! was born back in 2006 with a three figure loan from my Dad and a fuzzy idea to mix up some classic 90s indie and some awesome new stuff and – via a series of handmade, special three-inch CDs – do our bit to prove that physical music wasn’t dead. We got drunk, bet a large chunk of the money on a football match, and Congolese striker Lomana Lua Lua ensured that we had enough cash to get going!"[3]

Alcopop! Special Formats

As well as operating more standard album and EP releases on CD and vinyl, Alcopop! Records prides itself on releasing through a host of different formats, and has put out singles and EPs on the likes of frisbees (Johnny Foreigner 'Certain Songs are Cursed EP), scarves (My First Tooth 'Sleet and Snow' EP), bespoke watches (Gunning for Tamar Time Trophies EP) and a Minidisc (Stagecoach - Say Hi to the Band). When asked about motivation for producing these different formats in a recent interview, Jack pOp stated "For me the it’s more than what is on that record… It’s about the experience from the moment you get it, how the artwork makes you feel, being able to show it to friends – the anticipation of dropping the needle/ pressing the play button… I genuinely love it."[4]

In 2014 Alcopop! re-released the hit song Steal My Sunshine on cassette.[5]

Alcopop! on radio and TV

The label's bands have achieved a strong level of success given their resources with a plethora of artists receiving international airplay and positive reviews for releases. Highlights include Sam Isaac being Single of the Week on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 1 show, Anamanaguchi debuting at Number 1 in the Billboard Hype Charts[6] and Stagecoach soundtracking the trailer for popular film Killing Bono. Each current Alcopop! artist has received national radio play - whilst Pavilion had a two-page feature in the NME covering the recording of their debut single with Edwyn Collins and Ryan Jarman from The Cribs.[7] Alcopop! have been featured as Label of the week with Huw Stephens, Bethan Elfyn [8] - and taken over XFM with John Kennedy for an evening.[9]

Alcopopular

Alcopop! gained a reputation for their 'Alcopopular' compilation series. The series has even been branded 'The coolest compilation ever' by NME.[10] On its sixth offering, Alcopopular has been released as a 3" CD, a cassette tape, a message in a bottle, a restaurant menu and fold out 'Hithikers Guide to the UK' and has included tracks from the likes of Freelance Whales, The Xcerts, Unicorn Kid, Pulled Apart By Horses, and many more. Loud and Quiet also suggested "We need labels like Alcopop to offer us something a little out of the ordinary. There’s no character in a bunch of mega bites but there’s a hell of a lot in a bottle containing a modern day pirate treasure map that leads you to some audio booty." [11]

Festivals

With bands at festivals since their inception in 2006, Alcopop! had a festival summer in 2013, with official stages (many with Big Scary Monsters) and significant representation at The Great Escape, 2000 Trees, Truck Festival, Y Not? Festival, Arc Tan Gent and Southsea Fest.

Awards and Honours

Alcopop! Records were named as the best small label at the AIM Awards 2013, after being nominated in 2012.[12][13]

Alcopop! were also voted as the best record label in the UK at the Punktastic Reader Awards in 2012.[14]

Active roster

Alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Jack pOp". Virgin.com.
  2. ↑ Alterthepress.com
  3. ↑ Thecmuwebsite.com
  4. ↑ Justdip.co.uk
  5. ↑ Gibsone, Harriet (15 May 2014). "Debunking the one-hit wonder: Len's Steal My Sunshine". The Guardian.
  6. ↑ Ap.ign.com
  7. ↑ "Pavilion and Ryan Jarman featured in the NME! « Alcopop!". Alcopop.wordpress.com. 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  8. ↑ Amazingradio.com
  9. ↑ Ilovealcopop.co.uk
  10. ↑ "NME rate Alcopopular 3 the ‘coolest compilation ever’". 10 August 2009. Alcopop Wordpress blog.
  11. ↑ Alcopop.wordpress.com
  12. ↑ Musicindie.com
  13. ↑ Rocksound.tv
  14. ↑ Punktastic.com

External links

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