Big Scary Monsters Recording Company
Encyclopedia
Big Scary Monsters Recording Company (often known simply as Big Scary Monsters or BSM Records) is a British
based independent record label
. Probably the most well-known acts associated with the label are This Town Needs Guns
, Kevin Devine
, Pulled Apart By Horses
, Walter Schreifels
, Andrew WK and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
, whose self-titled debut EP
was one of BSM Records' earliest releases.
, but it was some time before it began to release music, existing purely in name for some time.
Much of the label's back-catalogue was made available in the iTunes Store
in 2007. Later in the year the label launched a minisite entitled Friend Of The Family which gives users access to free MP3s, exclusive offers and extra content. Also in 2007, BSM organised a 5-a-side football tournament, taking place at the Linford Christie Sports Centre in London
. BSM has gone on to launch a blog
and monthly podcast
.
In early 2010 BSM announced the release of Walter Schreifels
(Rival Schools/Quicksand/Gorilla Biscuits) solo album as well as a limited edition square-shaped 7" single from Andrew WK.
On 7 September 2010, the label celebrated its 100th release, a landmark for a one-man, DIY indie label. Partied Hard was a DVD/CD compilation featuring over thirty promo, live and bonus videos from the label's history. It was only available between 7 September (the day after BSM099 came out) and 24h October 2010 (the day before BSM101 is due out).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
based independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
. Probably the most well-known acts associated with the label are This Town Needs Guns
This Town Needs Guns
This Town Needs Guns, are a math rock band originating from Oxford in the United Kingdom. They were formed in 2004, and are currently signed to Sargent House , Zankyo as well as Big Scary Monsters which ended in August 2009.Their debut full length album, Animals, was released in UK via Big Scary...
, Kevin Devine
Kevin Devine
Kevin Devine is an American songwriter and musician from Brooklyn, New York, who is known for alternately introspective and political lyrics and melodic acoustic guitar songs...
, Pulled Apart By Horses
Pulled apart by horses
Pulled Apart by Horses are an alternative rock band from Leeds, England. They formed in late 2007, and released their debut self-titled album Pulled Apart By Horses on 21 June 2010.- Formation and debut release "Meat Balloon" :...
, Walter Schreifels
Walter Schreifels
Walter Schreifels is a rock musician and producer from New York City.In the late 1980s, he played in many New York hardcore bands, most notably Youth Of Today and Gorilla Biscuits . After Gorilla Biscuits broke up, he formed the short lived Moondog...
, Andrew WK and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is the stage name of English artist Sam Duckworth and his band. He is sometimes referred to as Get Cape, Cape, GCWCF and Slam Dunkworth . According to Duckworth, his stage name comes from a ZX Spectrum magazine...
, whose self-titled debut EP
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly (EP)
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is the debut EP of Sam Duckworth, who performs under the name Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. It was released in tandem with a video for "Whitewash is Brainwash", which sees Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly travelling around on the London Underground and performing a secret show in Bank...
was one of BSM Records' earliest releases.
History
Big Scary Monsters was started by Kevin Douch whilst still in sixth formSixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
, but it was some time before it began to release music, existing purely in name for some time.
Much of the label's back-catalogue was made available in the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
in 2007. Later in the year the label launched a minisite entitled Friend Of The Family which gives users access to free MP3s, exclusive offers and extra content. Also in 2007, BSM organised a 5-a-side football tournament, taking place at the Linford Christie Sports Centre in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. BSM has gone on to launch a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
and monthly podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
.
In early 2010 BSM announced the release of Walter Schreifels
Walter Schreifels
Walter Schreifels is a rock musician and producer from New York City.In the late 1980s, he played in many New York hardcore bands, most notably Youth Of Today and Gorilla Biscuits . After Gorilla Biscuits broke up, he formed the short lived Moondog...
(Rival Schools/Quicksand/Gorilla Biscuits) solo album as well as a limited edition square-shaped 7" single from Andrew WK.
On 7 September 2010, the label celebrated its 100th release, a landmark for a one-man, DIY indie label. Partied Hard was a DVD/CD compilation featuring over thirty promo, live and bonus videos from the label's history. It was only available between 7 September (the day after BSM099 came out) and 24h October 2010 (the day before BSM101 is due out).
Current bands
Bands currently releasing music on the Big Scary Monsters record label.- Kevin DevineKevin DevineKevin Devine is an American songwriter and musician from Brooklyn, New York, who is known for alternately introspective and political lyrics and melodic acoustic guitar songs...
- Walter SchreifelsWalter SchreifelsWalter Schreifels is a rock musician and producer from New York City.In the late 1980s, he played in many New York hardcore bands, most notably Youth Of Today and Gorilla Biscuits . After Gorilla Biscuits broke up, he formed the short lived Moondog...
- Shoes And Socks Off
- Pulled Apart By HorsesPulled apart by horsesPulled Apart by Horses are an alternative rock band from Leeds, England. They formed in late 2007, and released their debut self-titled album Pulled Apart By Horses on 21 June 2010.- Formation and debut release "Meat Balloon" :...
- Yndi HaldaYndi haldaYndi Halda is a post-rock band from Canterbury, England. 'Yndi Halda' is Old Norse for "Enjoy Eternal Bliss", also the name of their self-titled debut...
- Andrew W.K.Andrew W.K.Andrew W.K. is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, entertainer, and motivational speaker. He is the host of the television series Destroy Build Destroy.-Early life & career:Andrew Wilkes-Krier was born in Stanford, California, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
- This Town Needs GunsThis Town Needs GunsThis Town Needs Guns, are a math rock band originating from Oxford in the United Kingdom. They were formed in 2004, and are currently signed to Sargent House , Zankyo as well as Big Scary Monsters which ended in August 2009.Their debut full length album, Animals, was released in UK via Big Scary...
- Get Cape. Wear Cape. FlyGet Cape. Wear Cape. FlyGet Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is the stage name of English artist Sam Duckworth and his band. He is sometimes referred to as Get Cape, Cape, GCWCF and Slam Dunkworth . According to Duckworth, his stage name comes from a ZX Spectrum magazine...
- JenifereverJenifereverJeniferever is a band from Uppsala, Sweden formed in 1996. Their music could be described as ambient indie rock or post-rock; it is slow-paced, melodic, and frequently building to an orchestral-like climax. Their sound has been compared to bands such as The Appleseed Cast and Sigur Rós. Their name...
- BlakfishBlakfishBlakfish were a mathcore band, also described as 'death pop' by the NME, The band from Birmingham, England formed in the year 2000 after meeting and becoming friends at school, contrary to their frequent fabricated claims that they all met in juvenile prison....
- MimasMimas (band)Mimas is a Danish band, based in Aarhus. The band comprises Iceland-born Snævar Njáll Albertsson , Daniel Malling Beck , Gert Hoberg Jørgensen , and Lasse Dahl ....
- Shapes
- Talons
- Tall Ships
- Grown UpsGrown Ups (band)Grown Ups is an emo/pop punk band from Chicago, Illinois, USA.They have released one album, More Songs, under the London, Britain-based Big Scary Monsters label.They have toured Europe and the United Kingdom....
- Adebisi ShankAdebisi ShankAdebisi Shank are a three-piece instrumental experimental rock trio from Wexford, Ireland.-History:In 2011 the band won Best Album, Best Rock Act and Best Design at The Digital Socket Awards 2011, a music awards show organized by Irish music bloggers. In 2011 they were also nominated for a Choice...
- Hold Your Horse IsHold Your Horse Is (band)Hold Your Horse Is are a three piece rock band originally from Fleet, Hampshire and Frimley, Surrey. The band is made up of Robin Pearson on guitar and vocals, James Penny on bass and Chris Rouse on drums...
- Tangled Hair
Previous bands
Bands who have previously released records on the label include:- Meet Me In St. LouisMeet Me In St. Louis (band)Meet Me In St. Louis were a post-hardcore band from Guildford, Surrey. They were signed to Function Records & BSM Records in England and Denovali Records in Germany, the band's name originates from the 1944 film of the same name....
- The Tupolev Ghost
- Richard Walters
- Itch
- Jairus
- House of BrothersHouse of BrothersHouse of Brothers is an English indie pop band founded by Andrew Jackson. It was originally a solo project by Jackson, whose first EP Deadman was released in 2007...
- Cats and Cats and Cats
- The Campaign for Real Time
- Chariots
- Days Ago
- Sparks Lights and Flames
- The Remarkable Rocket
- Pictures Paint Words
- Boom in the Diamond Industry
- Stories and Comets
- Face for Radio
- Written From Negative
- The Dudley Corporation
- Querelle
- The Next Autumn Soundtrack
- My Favourite Co-Pilot
- Hiding With Girls
- Through Silence
- My Awesome Compilation
- The CaretakerThe Caretaker (musician)The Caretaker is a long-running project by electronic musician James Kirby alongside his better-known project V/Vm. Initially the project was inspired by the haunted ballroom scene in the Stanley Kubrick film The Shining, with the first several releases consisting of dark ambient with intermittent...
- Econoline
- Mountain Men Anonymous
- Teflon Monkey
- TubelordTubelordTubelord is an Alternative Rock band from Kingston upon Thames, England, formed in 2006. The band consists of Lead Singer and Guitarist Joseph Prendergast, Backing vocalist and Drummer David Catmur, Bassist Tom Coulson-Smith and Keyboardist and Sampler James Elliot Field.In 2009, the band signed a...
- Colour
- Secondsmile