YUK Records gets ready for label launch show in Corby

“Our entire mission since we've worked in this industry is just to get people listening to new music."
MundaysMundays
Mundays

Mundays, Flash Peasants and Jimmy & The Moonlights will be helping celebrate the launch of YUK Records this weekend.

The record label was set up last year by Alex Horne and Marc Collins, both familiar names in Corby’s music scene who have previously promoted gigs under the YUK banner in and around the town.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The onset and impact of the coronavirus on the live music scene helped the pair decide to launch YUK Records.

Flash Peasants.Flash Peasants.
Flash Peasants.

Talking about the forthcoming launch show at The KK Club on Saturday, Mr Horne said: “We're insanely excited. I think because of Covid, we were maybe thinking ‘is this actually going to happen’, but yes, it really is and we can’t wait.

“We can’t wait to get everyone back in a room together again to see the artists we've got on the roster.

“Our entire mission since we've worked in this industry is just to get people listening to new music.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We can’t wait to bring back together the community we developed back when we were promoting.”

Jimmy & The Moonlights.Jimmy & The Moonlights.
Jimmy & The Moonlights.

All three acts playing at the launch event are currently signed to YUK Records.

However, the first release by the label was a lathe cut 7” single by King Purple, the band’s final release before disbanding, which came out in June.

Mr Horne said: “Starting a label was one of those things you’d always chat about but think, ‘it’s not meant for me’, it’s what ‘other people’ do.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“However, when we couldn't put on gigs, we weren't going to sit around idle.

“Me and Marc talked about it at great length to make sure it was going to be something worthwhile for ourselves and for the people we’re hopefully going to attract.

“It’s different to promotion, but the fundamentals are the same.

“We want to get music out there whether that's in front of a room full of people or into people's ears.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

For YUK, working with Corby psychedelic grunge quartet King Purple on Need Your Love allowed the label to learn the process and iron out problems associated with putting together a physical release. The single sold out within 48-hours of going on sale.

Mr Horne said: “It was nice to have a bit of a risk free first run, now we've got the practice in, it’s given us that additional confidence to be able to approach new artists.”

Need Your Love was lathe cut, rather than the more common ‘pressed’ method of producing vinyl records.

With larger runs, it’s more economic to use the latter technique, despite having to content with ever increasing lead times due to the demand for releases on vinyl.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

YUK is now working on a release with Corby hip-hop duo Flash Peasants, and while the pair have long been part of Corby’s music scene, Mr Horne said working with them on the label was an unexpected one.

“If we'd had this conversation a year ago when we first put the label together, I don't think Flash peasants would have been on our radar because it's a genre we're not particularly experienced in,” explains Mr Horne.

“I can’t say I've ever really worked on a hip-hop release, but we've been mates with them forever and they've been part of the YUK community since we've been putting on gigs.

“We were chatting to them about starting a label and they said, ‘we've got a release ready to go'.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“As soon as we heard it, we knew it was something we wanted to put out there.”

The new single by Jimmy and The Moonlights, Feet Of Clay, was released last week and is the first track from an EP due to be released in the first part of 2022.

While YUK Records is very much the project of Alex and Marc, the pair wanted to thank the music community in Corby and across wider Northamptonshire for supporting YUK in its different guises.

Mr Horne said: “I really want to shout out the community that we have, they've pitched in in ways which have saved us.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Damon Tang has been instrumental in getting artists’ artwork over the line on multiple releases and Jay Russell has been involved in every release we've done in an engineering sense.

“But, from a label perspective, it's me and Marc against the world.”

Joining Mundays, Flash Peasants and Jimmy & The Moonlights on Saturday will be DJ OP1.

Tickets for the YUK Records launch party cost £5 in advance before fees and are available via https://www.yukrecords.co.uk/shop/p/yuk-launch-party.

For more information about YUK Records, visit https://www.yukrecords.co.uk

Related topics: