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- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

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, Einstürzende Neubauten, ...

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

Vorticist Vorticism was a London-based 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 manifesto in '' ...

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,'' the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His novels include '' Tarr'' ...

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

History

The label was founded by

Paul Smith Paul Smith or Paul Smith's may refer to: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (rock vocalist) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of ...

to give UK release to albums by

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

, 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 subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

-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 Alistair Fruish is an English filmmaker, writer and novelist, born in Northampton. Work Fruish is known for his novel ''Kiss My ASBO''. Along with a number of other short stories by the writer, the initial section of ''Kiss My ASBO'', "Double Bub ...

. The label released a range of

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

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 a U.S. post-rock musical group from Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1992.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 d ...

through

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

and

to the William Fairey Band's '' Acid Brass'' 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 16 February 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 ...

's "Voodoo Ray" and 808 State's "Pacific," all replayed by a brass band. Blast First also organised the Disobey experimental club nights, with Russell Haswell 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 punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

band

Wire 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 diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

Artists

A.C. Temple A.C. Temple were an alternative rock band from Sheffield, England, formed in 1985. They released four albums before splitting up in 1991. History The band were formed in 1985 by guitarist Noel Kilbride (guitar) and Neil Woodward (bass) with Jayn ...

* Acid Brass *

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 Curl ...

* Band of Susans * Beme Seed *

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of ...

* Big Stick *

The Blue Humans The Blue Humans is the name used by experimental guitarist Rudolph Grey for the improvised performances he leads with a variety of other musicians. Grey first came to notice in the late-1970s New York City post punk and art scene which also produced ...

Glenn Branca Glenn may refer to: Name or surname * Glenn (name) * John Glenn, U.S. astronaut Cultivars * Glenn (mango) * a 6-row barley variety Places In the United States: * Glenn, California * Glenn County, California * Glenn, Georgia, a settlement ...

Caspar Brötzmann Caspar Brötzmann (born 13 December 1962) is a German guitarist, vocalist and bandleader. Brötzmann typically performs with the power trio lineup of Caspar Brötzmann Massaker (his early band), with guitar, bass guitar and drums. He uses rock ...

Massaker *

Common Language A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

* Dinosaur Jr. * FM Einheit &

Erase Errata Erase Errata was a band from San Francisco, California. The group favored improvisation as a compositional tool and each of their performances were a unique manifestation of established songs. History Erase Errata formed in Oakland, California ...

Fushitsusha Fushitsusha (不失者) is a Japanese rock band specialising in experimental and psychedelic rock genres. The band consists of electric guitarist and singer Keiji Haino, and a shifting cast of complementary musicians. The group released the majo ...

* The Charles Gayle Trio * Michael Gibbs *H.O.D.I.C.A. * Keiji Haino *

Head of David Head of David was a British heavy metal band that features vocalist Stephen R. Burroughs and ex-Napalm Death member Justin Broadrick (later of Godflesh and Jesu). The band's sound paved way to various music genres, including industrial meta ...

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

* HTRK * KaitO *

Richard H. Kirk Richard Harold Kirk (21 March 1956 – 21 September 2021) was an English musician who specialised in electronic music. His career began as a co-founder of the influential industrial music band Cabaret Voltaire, formed in 1973. He subsequently ...

* Liars * Lunachicks *Maxine * The Mekons *

Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howev ...

* Phill Niblock * Pan Sonic * Rapeman *

The Raincoats The Raincoats are a British experimental post-punk band. Ana da Silva (vocals, guitar) and Gina Birch (vocals, bass) formed the group in 1977 while they were students at Hornsey College of Art in London. Signed to the label Rough Trade, th ...

* Rivulets *

** Ciccone Youth ** Lee Ranaldo * Stretchheads *

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 Sean McLusky is a British music promoter, nightclub impresario and film producer. Early life The early 1980s saw Sean McLusky as a professional musician, first as a member of Switch, with his brother Graham and friends then original indie b ...

'' * ''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 a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

or have become examples of the indie/alternative genre: * Big Black – ''

Songs About Fucking ''Songs About Fucking'' is the second and final full-length studio album by the punk rock band Big Black, released in 1987 by Touch and Go records, and reissued in 2018. The album includes a rendition of Kraftwerk's "The Model" in a remixed ver ...

'' (1987) (BFFP 19) * Sonic Youth – '' Daydream Nation'' 2xLP (1988) (BFFP 34) * Afghan Whigs – ''

Gentlemen A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

'' (1993) (BFFP 89) * Butthole Surfers – '' Locust Abortion Technician'' (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