Blast First is a sub label of one-time

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 ...

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure (duo), Erasure, Einstürze ...

, founded in approximately 1985. It was named after a phrase taken from the first number of the radical

Vorticist Vorticism was a London-based Modernism, modernist art movement formed in 1914 by the writer and artist Wyndham Lewis. The movement was partially inspired by Cubism and was introduced to the public by means of the publication of the Vorticist mani ...

journal '' Blast'', published by

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''Blast (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His ...

in 1914. Lewis's "Manifesto" begins with the words "BLAST First (from politeness) ENGLAND".

History

The label was founded by Paul Smith to give UK release to albums by

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 ...

, a US band with which he was then working closely. It went on to feature more hardcore rock bands than the master label of its

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

-oriented parent company. Before Mute Records was sold to the EMI group, Blast First fit into the company's profile, which included labels such as the Fine Line and the Grey Area. The labels employees included the sisters Pat and Liz Naylor, and the novelist Alistair Fruish. The label released a range of

alternative music Alternative music may refer to the following types of music: *Independent music *Alternative rock *Alternative pop *Alternative R&B *Neo soul, sometimes known as alternative soul *Alternative reggaeton *Alternative hip hop *Alternative dance *Alter ...

from

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has ...

and

Labradford Labradford is an American post-rock group founded in 1992 in Richmond, Virginia.Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Labradford" in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 827 They have released six full albums from 1993 to 2001. Though not disban ...

through

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

and

to the William Fairey Band's ''

Acid Brass Acid Brass is a musical collaboration between Turner-Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller and the Williams Fairey Brass Band. The project is based on fusing the music of a traditional brass band with acid house and Detroit techno. History Aci ...

'' collection. The latter, a departure for a label noted for its guitar based rock bands, was a covers album of tunes such as

A Guy Called Gerald Gerald Rydel Simpson (born 1967), better known as A Guy Called Gerald, is a British record producer and musician. He was an early member of the electronic group 808 State, contributing to their debut LP '' Newbuild'' (1988) and hit single " ...

's "Voodoo Ray" and

808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. Taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the "state of mind" the members shared, they released ...

's "Pacific," all replayed by a brass band. Blast First also organised the Disobey experimental club nights, with

Russell Haswell Russell Haswell (born 1970, Coventry) is an English multidisciplinary artist. He has exhibited conceptual and wall-based visual works, video art, public sculpture, as well as audio presentations in both art gallery and concert hall contexts. ...

and

Bruce Gilbert Bruce Clifford Gilbert (born 18 May 1946) is an English musician. One of the founding members of the influential and experimental art punk band Wire,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 180-182 he branched ...

(aka DJ Beekeeper) of the

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 ...

band

Wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...

Artists

* A.C. Temple *

The Afghan Whigs The Afghan Whigs are an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were active from 1986 to 2001 and have since reformed as a band. The group – with core members Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), and John ...

Band of Susans Band of Susans was an American alternative rock No Wave band formed in New York City in 1986 and active until 1996. It originally consisted of Robert Poss (guitar/vocals), Susan Stenger (bass/vocals), Ron Spitzer (drums), with Susan Lyall (guit ...

* Beme Seed * Big Black * Big Stick * The Blue Humans *

Glenn Branca Glenn Branca (October 6, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was an American avant-garde music, avant-garde composer, guitarist, and luthier. Known for his use of volume, scordatura, alternative guitar tunings, minimal music, repetition, drone (music), dronin ...

* Caspar Brötzmann Massaker *

* Common Language * Dinosaur Jr. * FM Einheit & Caspar Brötzmann * Erase Errata * Fushitsusha * The Charles Gayle Trio * Michael Gibbs *H.O.D.I.C.A. * Keiji Haino * Head of David *

Hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

* HTRK *

KaitO Kaito is a popular masculine Japanese given name. The name Kaito is a male name of Japanese origin. (written: かいと, カイト, 海斗, 凱斗, 開士, 魁斗, 海翔, 海人, 快斗, 界人, 嘉惟人 or 海都) Notable people with the nam ...

* Richard H. Kirk *

* Liars * Lunachicks *Maxine * The Mekons *

Mother Goose Mother Goose is a character that originated in children's fiction, as the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. She also appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as ...

* Phill Niblock * Pan Sonic * Rapeman * The Raincoats * Rivulets *

** Ciccone Youth **

Lee Ranaldo Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a co-founder of the rock band Sonic Youth. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Ranaldo at number 33 on its "Greatest Guitarists of All Time" li ...

Stretchheads Stretchheads were a punk rock, punk band from Erskine, Renfrewshire, Erskine, Scotland, active between 1987 and 1991, releasing two albums in that period. History The band was formed in 1987 by Richie Dempsey (drums).,Strong, Martin C. (2003) "T ...

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

* Jimi Tenor *Ed Tomney * 2K * Ut

Compilation series

* '' Sonic Mook Experiment'' * ''The Devil's Jukebox (Nothing Short Of Total War)'' – deleted limited edition box set; 3000 UK copies and 1500 US copies were made.

Noted albums

Albums on Blast First that either reached the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

or have become examples of the indie/alternative genre: * Big Black – '' Songs About Fucking'' (1987) (BFFP 19) * Sonic Youth – '' Daydream Nation'' 2xLP (1988) (BFFP 34) * Afghan Whigs – ''

Gentlemen ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

'' (1993) (BFFP 89) * Butthole Surfers – ''

Locust Abortion Technician ''Locust Abortion Technician'' is the third studio album by American rock music, rock band Butthole Surfers, released in March 1987. The album was originally released on both gramophone record, vinyl and CD on Touch and Go Records, Touch and Go, ...

'' (1987) (BFFP 23) (Note: Blast First was merely the UK label for these US bands, which were all primarily signed to deals with American labels).

References

External links