Bad Vugum is an independent record label originally based in

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. It was founded in 1987 by some of the members of the hardcore punk groups Kansanturvamusiikkikomissio and Radiopuhelimet for releasing the latter's music. The label's name comes from an

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

invented by

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

, heard uttered during his song "Sue Egypt". By the early 1990s it had grown into one of Finland's relatively higher-profile indie labels, with releases frequently getting positive reviews in American music fanzines such as

Forced Exposure ''Forced Exposure'' was an independent music magazine founded by Jimmy Johnson and Katie The Kleening Lady (Goldman) (zine). It was published sporadically out of Boston from 1982 to 1993, edited by Jimmy Johnson and Byron Coley. It was printed on ...

and Flipside. Many releases were also championed by the BBC radio DJ

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, who went on to invite such Bad Vugum bands as Deep Turtle,

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is cons ...

and

Aavikko Aavikko is a Finnish synth music band, formed in Siilinjärvi in 1995. Their hallmarks include a campy, decidedly "East European" style and plastic-sounding synthesizer themes. The band themselves call their style "''muysic''" (a portmanteau o ...

to record

Peel Sessions John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

for his radio show as the first ever Finnish acts to do so. John Peel also invited

Mieskuoro Huutajat Mieskuoro Huutajat (Men's Choir Shouters) is an internationally famous shouting choir from Oulu, Finland. They were established in 1987 and originally comprised 20 shouting men, since expanded to 30. Led by conductor Petri Sirviö, the choir is ...

to perform at the

Meltdown Festival Meltdown is an annual festival held in London, featuring a mix of music, art, performance and film. Meltdown is held in June at Southbank Centre, the arts complex covering and including the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and ...

when he curated it in 1998. Some bands were also featured on notable American indie labels:

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent labe ...

released ''Hygiene'', a compilation EP of Radiopuhelimet's early material, Drag City commissioned

Liimanarina Liimanarina is a Finnish folk-punk band from Helsinki. Fronted by singer-guitarist Olli Pauke, Liimanarina are known for their absurdist political lyrics, expository song titles, and abrasive lo-fi sound that has drawn comparisons to bands like ...

's debut album ''Spermarket'', and several Bad Vugum acts were compiled for two ''If It Ain't The Snow, It's The Mosquitos'' double EPs on

Sympathy For The Record Industry Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by Long Gone John. The first Sympathy release was the Lazy Cowgirls' ''Radio Cowgirl'' ...

. In 2002 one of the original founders, Kari Heikonen, bought out his two co-owners' shares and moved the company to Helsinki. Bad Vugum has continued to re-release and license out some of the old music, but all new music has been released under the BV² Produktions sublabel. Some of these include acts as diverse as Cleaning Women, Hotguitars, Chainsmoker, Sekunda, Astro Can Caravan, Räjäyttäjät, and

Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The ...

who licensed an abridged version of their album ''

The Getty Address ''The Getty Address'' is an album by American experimental rock group Dirty Projectors. The album is a concept album and is described as "a glitch opera" about musician Don Henley, although it also explores themes like ancient Mexico, post-9/1 ...

'' called ''Highlights from the Getty Address'' for the Finnish market. BV² also published the Finnish edition of

Daniel Clowes Daniel Gillespie Clowes (; born April 14, 1961) is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. Most of Clowes's work first appeared in '' Eightball'', a solo anthology comic book series. An ''Eightball'' issue typic ...

' acclaimed graphic novel '' Ghost World''.

Artists

* CMX * Deep Turtle * Dr. Gunni *

Jimi Tenor Jimi Tenor (born Lassi O. T. Lehto, 1965) is a Finnish musician. His artist name is a combination of the first name of his youth idol Jimmy Osmond and the tenor saxophone. His band Jimi Tenor & His Shamans released its first album in 1988, whilst ...

Keuhkot Keuhkot ( en, Lungs) is a Finnish one man avantgarde band whose only member is Kake Puhuu (aka Kalevi Rainio) from Pomarkku. Keuhkot started in 1988. Keuhkot's music has been described as post-punk, industrial or antimusic. Keuhkot concerts are ...

Läjä Äijälä Veli-Matti ”Läjä” Äijälä (born 29 September 1958) is a Finnish musician, comics artist and poet. He is best known as the singer and primary songwriter of the legendary hardcore punk band Terveet Kädet. Äijälä has been associated wi ...

* Paska * Radiopuhelimet * Sweetheart, band founded by Janne Westerlund

References

External links

Bad Vugum at Discogs

BV² Produktions' at Discogs

Bad Vugum at FiniMusic

BV² Produktions' at FiniMusic
{{Authority control Alternative rock record labels Punk record labels Finnish independent record labels