Playlist: Happy Birthday Antipop Records
Like your music fast and dirty? As Antipop celebrates 5 years of fist-pumping gigs and DIY releases, we ask them to make a special birthday playlist…
Hi Antipop! How and why did you get started?
The label started as a collective in 2009, from unique bands disillusioned with the music scene and the city. We formed in a recording studio with an idea to reshape a new community of like-minded people.
It’s a voice and a place for the alternative underground, where rockers, punks, moshers, goths, goons and geeks unite in a scene that people from around the world associate with Liverpool.
What do the next 5 years hold?
We’re still young and still learning as we go. The label is still taking shape. The scene is bubbling beneath the surface. The next five years will see more new music and more concerts.
What is the best thing about Antipop?
The best thing about Antipop is it’s still here after five years, fucking shit up!
Talk us through your tracks. First up: Old Radio — Them and Us
“Capitalism is a social construct to widen the divide between Them and Us.” The abrasive lyrics optimise Old Radio and their anarchic approach to songwriting.
Pete Bentham and the Dinner Ladies — Hey Yuri!
Not many bands released an EP to celebrate Yuri Gagarin. The Dinner Ladies nailed it with this one. The 7” vinyl is perfection. The artwork, the theme, the songs.
Vamos — Fives & Twos & Ones
The first time they played this live it was a watershed moment. Power and melody in equal measure. Too pop to be punk, too punk to be pop.
Fat Phace — Broke & Breaking
An amazing finished article that was recorded here in Liverpool. Fat Phace made a solid punk album that will be around for a long time.
The Drellas – Orchestra of Tears
The first recording from Antipop Records [7" with Violence is Art], and it still sounds amazing. This was their only release but there is a whole album of this just dying to see the light of day.
The Vermin Suicides — A Beat & A Melody
The album is cherished by the band’s fans. It actually took 18 months to make. The drummer wrote the baselines, the guitarist played them, the bass player did a rap. This song is a dub/punk classic.
Cut — The Light
Despite being Italian, Cut have toured the UK 10 times and recorded their live album here. It seemed only right they have a UK label. A breathtaking rock & roll band. A must see.
the dead class — The Loneliest Man In The World
This never failed to send the crowds bonkers every time the dead class closed a gig with it. A real knees-up, beer in the air, sing-along folk anthem.
Metro Manila Aide — Creation
An original Antipop band. This ‘epic’ track from their 40-song debut album optimised the progressive, experimental rock. One of the oldest Metro songs, one of the best.
Elmo and the Styx – Bearded Lady
There is a mistake in this track around 40 seconds. When we asked about it, Elmo and the Styx said it was “pretty good for one take though”.
As told to Laura Robertson
Image courtesy Pete Bentham and the Dinner Ladies. Playlist with kind permission of mma_army on Spotify
Celebrate with Antipop at their 5th Birthday Party, with Pete Bentham And The Dinner Ladies Album Launch, this Saturday 24 May at the Kazimier, 7.30pm-1am, £5 entry
Advance tickets come with a poster, CD and limited edition Antipop compilation disc – get tickets here
More vinyl, digital downloads and events here at antipoprecords.co.uk
