Household Name Records is a DIY punk rock record label, based in London, UK founded in 1996. [1] It has been home to notable artists including Capdown, Howards Alias, Lightyear, and Adequate Seven. [2]
Household Name Records was started in 1996 by David "Lil" Giles and Katherine "Kafren" Vik to promote unknown UK bands. Encouraged after successfully releasing their first compilation the team planned several more releases. To begin with the label focused on hardcore punk. [3]
In May 2000, the label released Capdown's debut album Civil Disobedients . The album featured hardcore, but also mixed in ska and dub. According to Drowned in sound the album kick-started an underground punk scene. [3] The album went on to be listed at 76 in the NME's top one hundred list for the decade. [4]
The success of Capdown allowed the record label to diversify its roster with more experimental punk bands. In turn the label had a great impact on the UK punk scene. [3]
Punk rock is a music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles with stripped-down instrumentation. Lyricism in punk typically revolves around anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian themes. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent labels.
The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of music, ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom, and the DIY ethics, the culture originated from punk rock.
Hardcore punk is a punk rock subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk scenes in San Francisco and Southern California which arose as a reaction against the still predominant hippie cultural climate of the time. It was also inspired by Washington, D.C., and New York punk rock and early proto-punk. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the established music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock" and often addresses social and political topics with "confrontational, politically charged lyrics".
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced.
Taang! Records is an independent record label with a roster of hardcore punk, punk rock, Oi!, power pop, ska, indie rock, psychedelic, and ambient artists and bands founded by Curtis Casella in Boston, Massachusetts in 1983.
Capdown is an English punk rock band from Milton Keynes. Originally known as Soap, their songs have political themes as alluded to by their name, which is short for Capitalist Downfall. Mixing ska, punk, hardcore, dub, drum and bass, and reggae, Capdown built a reputation around their independent releases and numerous tours.
NoComply were a metal-influenced punk rock sextet hailing from Plymouth, Devon in the south of England. They took their name from the skateboarding trick known as "no comply". On 23 January 2006, the band announced their intention to split up.
Lightyear is a seven-piece British ska punk band formed in Derby, England, in 1997. They were part of a UK music scene that mixed ska punk with other genres including funk, indie-rock and hip-hop. The band signed to Household Name Records in 2001, and released two full-length albums before splitting in 2003. Since 2006 the band have had a number of reunions.
Adequate Seven were a Welsh band who blended music styles such as hip hop, hardcore, punk, and funk. They formed in 2000 and split in December 2006.
Captain Everything! were a British punk band from Watford, England. Formed in 1998, the band play high tempo pop-punk, which was branded "Bubblegum Thrash". Renowned for their heavy touring schedule, they have played all over the UK and Europe, touring with bands such as The Vandals, Capdown, and Nerf Herder. They were part of the roster of London punk label Household Name Records.
Beat Heart, Beat is the third full-length album recorded by the Southampton-based Ska punk band Howards Alias.
¡Forward, Russia! are an English rock band from Leeds, active between 2004 and 2008, before re-forming in 2013. The band's debut album, Give Me a Wall, was released in 2006. Until 2006, the band only named tracks with numbers, in the order that they were written. The band had used faux Cyrillic, with its name occasionally typeset as ¡FФЯWДЯD, RUSSIД!. The band went on hiatus after the release of their second album, Life Processes, in 2008. They re-formed in 2013 for a show at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds in November 2013 for its 10th anniversary, and then played the Live at Leeds Festival at Leeds Town Hall in 2014.
The Music in Leeds encompasses a variety of styles and genres, including rock, pop and electronic. While groups like Soft Cell, the Kaiser Chiefs, the Wedding Present, Utah Saints and the Bridewell Taxis have gained success in the mainstream, Gang of Four, the Sisters of Mercy, Chumbawamba and the Mission have helped to define genres like punk rock, gothic rock and post-punk.
Grown at Home was a British ska punk band, tipped as "the new market leaders for their genre in this country, with a nationwide fanbase to back their unsurmountable popularity". The band formed in 2002 in Stafford.
Pound for the Sound is the second full-length studio album by UK ska punk band Capdown, released on 10 September 2001 by the London-based indie label Household Name Records. It is the follow-up to the previous year's Civil Disobedients. The songs are a mix of hardcore and the ska-core sound. The lyrics in the album show a positive attitude towards life and lyrical themes include overcoming tough situations and racism. "Dub #2" is the only instrumental. The album peaked at #43 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. Pound for the Sound received critical acclaim from publications such as Kerrang! who described it as "damn near perfect" and awarded it 4 K's out of 5.
Howards Alias were a band in the turn-of-the-millennium UK underground punk scene. They formed in 1999 in Southampton, England, and blended an eclectic mix of rock, progressive, punk and ska influences into their own musical output. They permanently disbanded in April 2008.
Since the mid-1970s, California has had thriving regional punk rock movements. It primarily consists of bands from the Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, San Diego, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco, Fresno, Bakersfield, Alameda County, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Oakland and Berkeley areas.
Hawk Eyes are a rock band from Leeds, England. They formed in late 2004 and released their official debut album Modern Bodies on 1 November 2010 through Brew Records.
Revenge of the Psychotronic Man are an English punk band with hardcore influences based in Manchester and formed in 2004. They are sometimes referred to as Revenge Of..., Revenge, or RPM. The band has had music released in the UK, mainland Europe, and the US, and has toured the UK and Europe extensively. At the start of 2018, the band announced they would be splitting up in December of that year, but would be playing dates for the remainder of the year. Their final gig was at Rebellion in their hometown of Manchester, which sold out four months in advance.
Upset The Rhythm is an independent record label based in London with a varied roster of leftfield artists and bands; they also operate as a diverse DIY live music promoter. Huw Stephens featured Upset The Rhythm as "purveyors of interesting indie" on his BBC Radio 1 show as part of his ongoing 'Label Of Love' feature. As of 2015, Upset The Rhythm had 85 releases.