18 Music Week 10.08.12 FEATUREOH MERCY
hands on, he was on the frontline for the artist 24/7. And in the past when I’ve done A&R, and people have said, “You did really well with The Libertines,” or whatever, well that’s because for the first six-nine months I was in those bands, I really felt that, you have to. And that’s what we do with the artists we’ve got, we jump right into their lives, and there are managers out there who don’t go that far. MS:We definitely didn’t set out with a remit of
signing a load of indie guitar bands. Artist-wise, I’d like to think we could spot an Adele. I think that kind of artist would fit perfectly into our roster and our view of what we want Oh Mercy to be.
You both clearly consider your relationship with artists as key to everything… JE: We can do the business side, but we can do the personal side as well. We’re artist-friendly people and we’re really honest – I’ve met managers who aren’t honest with their acts and that’s terrible. We don’t promise them the world because the world’s just not on offer any more. Things have changed. MS: Transparency at that level is hugely important. We work with young artists quite a lot, people from their late teens to mid-20s, and you’d be lying to these kids unless you said to them, “Look, these are the statistical realities, you need to be prepared for that.” It’s important we don’t lead anyone up the
garden path and that’s important for record labels as well. Our relationship with the labels we work with is really tight, open and honest, because I don’t think there’s any room for bullshit any more, for over-loading deals and expectations so that people feel thwarted at the first hurdle.
So do you think that the recalibration of expectations has been one odd positive from the fall out of the decline of sales? MS: Without a doubt. The deals that were happening used to make your eyes water.
With your different backgrounds, you’re probably well-placed to say how a label views managers and how managers view labels... MS: In my experience, things have changed enormously over recent years. I’ve dealt with labels based on the climate at the time. When I started, one of the main goals was to get
as much money as you possibly could from labels up front – partly to get as good a deal as possible for the band but also to put the label in a position where it wasn’t something they could just shrug off if it didn’t work straight away. Plus this was a time when selling 80-100,000
units of an average record was pretty normal – and they were making margin on all those sales. Now we live in much more realistic economic times, there is, finally, a sense of what things are worth. I actually feel very sorry for record labels now.
It‘s a very tough time for them – especially if you’re dealing with artists like ours who are borne of the leftfield and trying to move over to a position of commercial sustainability. That all takes time so I treat them quite gently to be honest. We need them, still, and it’s best to have a great
relationship with them. We don’t walk in and do the Don Arden thing. It’s about making the relationship work for the artist.
UNDER NEW(ISH) MANAGEMENT
Eugene McGuinness Label: Domino / Publisher: Domino Signed in 2005 at the age of 19, Eugene has released one mini-album and two critically acclaimed albums before this year. New album Invitation To The Voyage is just out,
produced by Clive Langer with additional production and mixes by Dan Carey, Lexx Dromgoole and Tom Elmhirst. The first two singles off the album - Lion, released Nov 2011, and Shotgun, released March 2012 - were both A-list at BBC 6Music and daytime playlist at XFM and Absolute Radio. The duo also scored numerous spot plays on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. Current single Harlequinade has been added straight to B-List at 6Music and Oh Mercy expect it to rise accordingly. McGuinness has recently toured and played with Marina & The Diamonds, Miles Kane, Futureheads, Maximo Park, Spector, White Denim, The Wombats and Anna Calvi.
Malachai Label: Domino / Publisher: Domino Discovered by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and signed in 2005 to Island Records as Malakai, the Bristol duo have since released an album on Barrow’s own Invada Records before finding a home at Domino
from where two further albums have emerged. Anthemic, cinematic, post-hip-hop-driven psychedelia, Scott Hendy, Malachai’s DJ and producer continues to create music for vocalists Internationally.
Coves Label: Cross Keys Leamington Spa duo Coves create pop driven melodies and hooks shrouded in psychedelia and baggy dance rhythms. A limited edition release of the Cast A Shadow EP on London based Cross Keys
Records has earned the support of Huw Stephens and Nick Grimshaw both having played the title track five times on Radio 1 so far. The band have become a favourite support act to Echo & The Bunnymen who have taken them to Europe on tour.
FILTHY BOY Label: AED Records At the tender average age of 19, Filthy Boy from Peckham have already picked up support from the NME, The Fly and Drowned in Sound as well as Edwyn Collins who has released the band’s first
single on his brand new AED Records. Blending strange storytelling with big chunks of macabre yet catchy guitar music, the band have become live favourites and supported The Vaccines, Jamie N Commons, Zulu Winter and Toy, Palma Violets.
SWANTON BOMBS Publisher: Domino Label: Domino Fronted by Eugene McGuinness’ brother Dominic, this Essex four-piece bring stadium rock anthems and fuse them with the dance grooves of early
Talking Heads. Electric and passionate live performers, they have recently signed a long term recording contract and publishing deal with Domino. Expect a single to be released before the year is out.
THE DEATH RAYS OF ARDILLA Discovered and recorded by legendary Sheffield dance producer DJ Parrot, The Death Rays Of Ardilla blow away all expectations of how rock ‘n’ roll should be played. Currently gathering interest from gig-goers around the country as well as the NME, a
self released 10” single is due in September.
So James, what’s a label view of managers? JE: What I can tell you, to indicate how important the relationship is, is that when you have an A&R meeting and one of the young scouts plays you a brand new band, one of the first questions that gets asked is: “Who’s the manager?” If the answer is a decent manager or
management company that you know you can work with, it’s such a relief, but there are less and less of those around. There will always be discussions and rows, because a manager will always want more spent on marketing for their band than another band; that’s the nature of the beast. But at the same time, the label needs to trust
and believe in a manager. We need to be in it together rather than in an ‘us and them’ situation, which you often get with managers and labels.
How has the management landscape changed since you started? MS: Well I think most of what I can say has been well documented: unless you’re an artist that sells CDs through supermarkets, there’s not a lot of money to made at retail. But the live market’s healthy, the sync market’s healthy and our job as managers is to adapt to that environment and take these leftfield artists with potentially great long term careers and sustain them through to that goal.
Is there a typical Oh Mercy band? MS: I don’t think so, no. It’s about spotting opportunities, and there are only two criteria: do we love them and do we see a commercial future? But both those things are quite broad because our taste is eclectic and commercially there is such a wide range of opportunities. We certainly didn’t set out to sign a load of ‘indie’ bands, and if you look at the roster, that’s not what we have.
What is a bright commercial future for, say, a leftfield guitar band these days? MS:Ten years making music and making a living out of it; maybe attracting a core of fans with the first couple of albums, fans that will stay with you as you grow; building up a really strong live reputation along the way; maybe sync deals; maybe some co- writing and collaborations.
Do you think the indie world, the NME world or whatever, will continue to throw up bands that initially seem niche and odd but then somehow break into the mainstream and get to the toppermost of the poppermost? MS: I don’t see why not. When people say guitar music’s coming back or the hiatus is over, I don’t know if that’s true - but I still think at some point [the indie guitar scene] will spawn a band that transcends that argument. JE: We spoke just now about what the ambition
might be for a young leftfield guitar band these days, and for me it would be to have a No.1 album. I did it at Rough Trade, I did it at 1965 and the buzz you get at that moment is unbelievable. When all the hard work culminates in a No.1,
even if it’s just for one week, even it’s the lowest selling week of all time, I don’t give a fuck, it’s No.1. It’s our band at the top of the pile. Can that come from an indie band, for want of a better phrase? Of course it can.
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