OGGUM RECORDS
Adam Anonymous looks at the ‘spaced out’ Ceredigion label in the last Spotlight feature, plus we look back at previous businesses given the once-over
[originally published in Sound Nation magazine - Nov 2005]
Forget look-at-me Myspacers or schmoozing independent industry players, because some of the most interesting, trend-defying music still originates from tiny self-starter labels. Wales’s very own self-proclaimed snoozy avant hobbyists Oggum Records are among the best examples of that theory, quietly releasing spaced out yet tuned in transmissions from deepest Ceredigion since, in typically unworried fashion, 1997-ish.
“We were inspired originally by fanzines like Organ and Ptolemaic Terrascope, and the DIY ethic they were writing about,” Oggum architect Dr Daf Roberts reveals. One four-track recorder purchased later and his band Alphane Moon was born.
“We started making links with like-minded labels, and through the goodwill of the Terrascope made a connection with New York label Spiffing. Spiffing planned our first tape as a CD; eventually they released a 7-inch, A Circle of Four. Spiffing did a lovely job of it: hand-made curtain sleeves, silkscreen printed cover, 50 see-through green vinyl. This EP sparked the interest of Norbert Schiller’s Plate Lunch label, and Norbert released our second tape. We were inspired to start Oggum because of the slowness waiting for these CD releases to happen. We imagined we could get things going quicker. We also thought it would be good fun to release music we like in our own way.”
Oggum maintained those early aesthetics, beginning a lovingly crafted back catalogue with Yew Dark On Doze by Alphane Moon / Our Glassie Azoth, each 7-inch on coloured vinyl with home-made sleeves. As with many micro-budgeted labels, cash has been reasonably tight, however.
“The very first 7-inch was self-funded,” explains Dr Roberts. “We consequently got a lottery grant for some releases leading up to the Yr Agor compilation. Since then we’ve used the income from releases – including releases of our music on other labels – to finance things. It’s very shoestring.”
“We tend to like doing things on our own,” he replies, when asked if Oggum feel part of the Welsh music industry. “We have a very relaxed schedule, and certainly don’t feel part of any industry, although I can see benefits in working in a more focused way, and it could be useful to have more support. Distribution is very hard for odd music.”
The late, great John Peel latched onto the label through Electroscope’s 7-inch, a record Dr Roberts cites as his favourite Oggum project so far. “They were lovely to work with and it was the first one Peel played. He went on to support Nimbus 2000 and heavily plugged our Yr Agor CD. Good lad.”
Dr Roberts’ closing wish for the future is to “just follow our own interests”, which says everything you need to know about Oggum. Gloriously unconcerned by what’s fashionable, this is a label for people for whom music is truly a way of life.
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