V/Vm Test records was a record label based in Stockport, England and was started by James Leyland Kirby (V/Vm) and Andrew Macgregor (Jansky Noise, Animal) in 1996. It did not have an overseas division, so releases on it tend to be collectable outside of the United Kingdom.
V/Vm Test Records were notable for their rebellious approach, often involving blatant copyright infringement, the most notable of which were the artists V/Vm themselves, often taking a popular song and running it through various filters, the end result being a de-tuned and distorted version of the original. The album Sick Love contains several notable examples of this style, as well as the frequent references to pigs that colour most V/Vm releases.
V/Vm Test was instrumental in giving away free and unrestricted downloads since 1997 on his website and via various V/Vm Test associated Microsites. In 2006, V/Vm set up an additional label, Vukzid, and also a number of extra microsites which gave away free audio and visual content along with working on a unique daily project which saw the artist V/Vm record at least one piece of audio per day which was then uploaded and given away for free (for the whole of 2006).
In 2007, V/Vm Test also launched the Freenoise Archives, which has over 3GB of out of print noise releases available for free download via a microsite.
At the end of 2008, V/Vm Test Records ceased its operations and changed to History Always Favours The Winners.
Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, which featured cut-up samples of hip-hop, soul, funk, spoken word and various other types of music, as well as video and multimedia. According to Spin, "in '87 Coldcut pioneered the British fad for 'DJ records'".
Drum and bass is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast breakbeats with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre grew out of the UK's jungle scene in the 1990s.
Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments and punk provocation". The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by members of Throbbing Gristle and Monte Cazazza. While the genre name originated with Throbbing Gristle's emergence in the United Kingdom, artists and labels vital to the genre also emerged in the United States and other countries.
Breakcore is a style and microgenre of electronic dance music that emerged from jungle, hardcore, and drum and bass in the mid-to-late 1990s. It is characterized by very complex and intricate breakbeats and a wide palette of sampling sources played at high tempos.
Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1980s built on the post-punk and new wave movements, incorporating different sources of inspiration from subgenres and what is now classed as world music in the shape of Jamaican and Indian music. It also explored the consequences of new technology and social change in the electronic music of synthpop. In the early years of the decade, while subgenres like heavy metal music continued to develop separately, there was a considerable crossover between rock and more commercial popular music, with a large number of more "serious" bands, like The Police and UB40, enjoying considerable single chart success.
Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened as Meat Beat, Manifesto or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens that was formed in 1987 in Swindon, United Kingdom. The band, fronted by Dangers, has proven versatile over the years, experimenting with techno, breakbeat, industrial, dub and jazz fusion while touring the world and influencing major acts such as Nine Inch Nails, the Chemical Brothers and the Prodigy. Some of the band's earlier work has been credited with influencing the rise of the trip hop, big beat, and drum and bass genres.
Derek Walsh Webb is an American singer-songwriter of Christian music who first entered the music industry as a member of the band Caedmon's Call, and later embarked on a successful solo career. As a member of the Houston, Texas-based Caedmon's Call, Webb has seen career sales approaching 1 million records, along with 10 GMA Dove Award nominations and three Dove Award wins and six No. 1 Christian radio hits.
Power noise is a form of industrial music and a fusion of noise music and various styles of electronic dance music. It should not be confused with "power electronics", which is not influenced by electronic dance music and is closer to harsh noise. Its origins are predominantly European.
RRRecords is a record label and used- and new-record shop based in Lowell, Massachusetts. RRRecords was the first American record label to publish underground "noise music" in the early 1980s as well as publishing the first American vinyl by Merzbow, Masonna, Hanatarash, Violent Onsen Geisha, and various other artists. In its first twenty years, the label issued hundreds of releases. RRR's owner, Ron Lessard, is a supporter of new artists who has created several sub-labels and series to specifically highlight unknown and underground musicians.
Lo-fi is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The standards of sound quality (fidelity) and music production have evolved throughout the decades, meaning that some older examples of lo-fi may not have been originally recognized as such. Lo-fi began to be recognized as a style of popular music in the 1990s, when it became alternately referred to as DIY music.
Controlled Bleeding was an experimental music group based in Massapequa, New York. The group was founded by Paul Lemos, the group's only consistent member. Most of Controlled Bleeding's released recordings feature two main collaborators, Chris Moriarty and vocalist Joe Papa, who both died in the late 2000s. In February 2020 Lemos announced that the band had dissolved.
Prospero is a Canadian industrial/rhythmic noise band based in Toronto, Canada. Born as a solo project in August 2001 under musician and DJ Wade Anderson, Prospero’s music fuses traditional industrial electronics with a variety of acoustic percussion and exotic instruments. Since 2011 and the addition of Steve Sandford the band has evolved into a two man act with heavy influences from tribal noise, IDM, neofolk and other post-industrial music movements.
Brainwashed is a not-for-profit music website supporting eclectic music. Brainwashed features news, reviews, a podcast, hosts websites for many musical artists and record labels, and has organized two music festivals, Brainwaves. Over fifty people contribute to the archives of Brainwashed. Brainwashed also releases music as Brainwashed Recordings.
V/Vm is the experimental music and sound collage project of Leyland James Kirby, from Stockport, England. Although starting out mainly in the style of noise music, Kirby is also a composer of original electronic music and remixes. His vast output is released primarily on his own V/Vm Test Records label. Alongside the work of the V/Vm project, James Kirby also recorded as The Caretaker. He currently resides in Kraków.
Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an active roster of over 30 bands playing various musical styles, though according to the label, each artist "in one way or another bridges the gap between pop and noise."
Sick-Love is the debut remix album by V/Vm, an alias of English musician Leyland Kirby. Released in 2000, it samples and distorts several 1980s pop songs about love, distorting them to create a sinister atmosphere. The album is mostly unavailable physically because of copyright laws; V/Vm later released the similar album The Green Door. Met with a positive reception from music critics, the album and its single received airplay on various radio stations, achieving the NME title of single of the week.
NoiseTrade was a global online audio and book direct-to-fan distribution platform. It was based in Nashville, Tennessee. It enables its users to upload original music and books and give away for free without digital rights management to anyone who provides at least an e-mail address and zip code. It was established by Derek Webb and artists he knew after he became one of the first major label artist to give his digital album away. Over 80,000 free copies were downloaded. He used those mailing addresses to book shows. After attendance at his shows had increased dramatically he decided other artists could benefit from the same idea. He decided that the data would be more valuable than money made selling digital albums. Artists upload music with their free account, and then anyone can download ZIP files of mp3 and album art, only requiring an e-mail address and zip-code or country code for an opt-in newsletter from the artist. The media can be shared using various social media or pay artists via a tip-jar. The site takes a 20% cut of the proceeds.
A Stairway to the Stars is the second studio album by the Caretaker, an alias of musician Leyland Kirby. Released in 2001, it was created after one of Kirby's pop manipulations as V/Vm gained attention. Following Selected Memories from the Haunted Ballroom, A Stairway to the Stars features new genres such as darkwave and elements such as reversed vocals. The record was met with positivity from music critics, who praised its ambiance. It is regarded as Kirby's best album in his haunted ballroom trilogy, which spans his first three releases.
Persistent Repetition of Phrases is the seventh studio album by the Caretaker, an alias of musician Leyland Kirby. Released on 1 April 2008, it was his first record to cover themes of Alzheimer's disease. The album was also the first Caretaker release to present looping of short segments within tracks. It marked Kirby's change of record labels from V/Vm Test to History Always Favours the Winners, which he felt might have helped with the record's success.
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