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 Blast or The Blast may refer to: *Explosion, a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner *Detonation, an exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front *A planned explosion in a mine, ...

'', 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 Paul Smith is the name of: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (English singer) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of British in ...

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 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 Bubb ...

. 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 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 Jay ...

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 Beme Seed was an American psychedelic noise rock band led by Kathleen Lynch, known for her collaboration with the Butthole Surfers. The band utilized guitar feedback and chanting to invoke a droning atmosphere in their music described as "panic ...

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded first as a solo project by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band became a trio with an initial lineup that included guitarist Santiago Dur ...

* 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 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 a ...

Massaker *

Common Language A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, the band was forced to change their name because of legal issues. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter) ...

FM Einheit Frank-Martin Strauß, better known as F.M. Einheit and also known as Mufti, (born 18 December 1958, in Dortmund) is an industrial and electronic musician and actor from Germany. While primarily known for his percussion work with the influentia ...

Erase Errata Erase Errata was a band from San Francisco, California. History Erase Errata formed in Oakland, California, in 1999, and quickly earned national attention after the release of their first eponymous 7-inch single, and via tours with electro- rio ...

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

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

Keiji Haino Keiji Haino ( ''Haino Keiji''; born May 3, 1952) is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise music, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism and drone music. He has been active since th ...

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

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 HTRK (pronounced "hate rock", formerly Hate Rock Trio) is an Australian band formed in 2003. The band is currently a duo of vocalist Jonnine Standish and guitarist Nigel Yang; bassist Sean Stewart was a member until his death in 2010. The ban ...

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 Richard Harold Kirk (21 March 1956 – 21 September 2021) was an English composer, musician and producer. He is best known for his work in electronic music, and for co-founding the influential music group Cabaret Voltaire in 1973. As a solo art ...

* Liars *

Lunachicks Lunachicks are an American punk rock band from New York City. The band formed in 1987 and had been on hiatus since 2001, with the band reuniting in 2019. The band cited influences including the Ramones, Kiss, and the MC5. Biography Theo Ko ...

*Maxine *

The Mekons The Mekons are a British Post-punk band formed in 1976 as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of co ...

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 Phillip Earl Niblock (October 2, 1933 – January 8, 2024) was an American composer, filmmaker, and videographer. In 1985, he was appointed director of Experimental Intermedia,Alan Licht, ''Common Tones: Selected Interviews with Artists and Music ...

Pan Sonic Pan Sonic was a Finnish electronic music group founded in Turku in 1993. The group consisted of Mika Vainio, Ilpo Väisänen, and Sami Salo. Salo left in 1996 leaving Pan Sonic a duo. The group was originally named Panasonic until 1998. In Dec ...

Rapeman Rapeman was an American noise rock band founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of Steve Albini (formerly of Big Black) on guitar and vocals, David Wm. Sims (formerly of Scratch Acid) on bass and Rey Washam (formerly of Scratch ...

The Raincoats The Raincoats are a British post-punk band formed in 1977. They were founded by Ana da Silva (vocals, guitar) and Gina Birch (vocals, bass) while the two were students at Hornsey College of Art in London. Other prominent members have included ...

Rivulets Rivulets is the stage name of minimalist singer-songwriter Nathan Leavitt Amundson. Biography Rivulets was the first artist signed to Low's Chairkickers Union record label in 2001. He then released his first, self-titled album in 2002 and DEBR ...

Ciccone 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 ...

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 Jimi Tenor (born Lassi O. T. Lehto, 1965) is a Finnish composer and a musician. His artist name is a combination of an instrument and the first name comes from Lassi's childhood. When he was little next door neighbour girls used to call him Jimi ...

*Ed Tomney * 2K * Ut

Compilation series

* ''

Sonic Mook Experiment Sean McLusky is a British music promoter, nightclub impresario and film producer. Early life Sean grew up in Welwyn Garden City. After leaving school he attended art college in Stratford upon Avon. The early 1980s saw Sean McLusky as a pr ...

'' * ''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 ''Songs About Fucking'' is the second and final studio album by American rock band Big Black, released in 1987 by Touch and Go Records. The album includes a rendition of Kraftwerk's "The Model" in a remixed version from that which appeared on B ...

'' (1987) (BFFP 19) * Sonic Youth – ''

Daydream Nation ''Daydream Nation'' is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth, released on October 18, 1988. The band recorded the album between July and August 1988 at Greene St. Recording in New York City, and it was released by ...

'' 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 American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

labels).

References

External links