Artist	Song
The Divine Comedy	Something For the Weekend (Casanova, 1996) Setanta Records
Guided By Voices	Gonna Never Have To Die (Half Smiles Of The Decomposed, 2004) Matador Records
Jets To Brazil	Conrad (Orange Rhyming Dictionary, 1998) Jade Tree Records
Clinic	The Second Line (Internal Wrangler, 2000) Domino Records
Laika	Diamonds & Stones (Wherever I Am I Am What Is Missing, 2003) Too Pure Records
The Beta Band	I Know (Champion Versions E.P., 1997) Regal Recordings
Bj÷rk	Hunter (Homogenic, 1999) One Little Indian
Joy Division	Twenty Four Hours (Closer, 1980) Factory Records
Super Furry Animals	Night Vision (Guerilla, 1999) Flydaddy Records
The Mars Volta	Concertina (Tremulant E.P., 2002) Gold Standard Laboratories
Ben Folds Five	Video (Ben Folds Five, 1995) Caroline Records
Morrissey	I Like You (You Are The Quarry, 2004) Attack Records
Death Cab For Cutie	Photobooth (Forbidden Love E.P., 2000) Barsuk Records
Animal Collective	Who Could Win A Rabbit (Sung Tongs, 2004) Fatcat Records
Momus	The Gatecrasher (The Poison Boyfriend, 1987) Cherry Red Records
Daniel Wylie	Brighton Beach (Ramshackle Beauty, 2004) Measured Records
Mogwai	A Cheery Wave From Stranded Youngsters (Young Team, 1997) Chemikal Underground Records
Portishead	Cowboys (Portishead, 1997) Go! Beat
The Apples In Stereo	Strawberryfire (Her Wallpaper Reverie, 1999) spinART Records
Belle and Sebastian	Electronic Renaissance (Tigermilk, 1996) Electric Honey Records

Comment:

This one's for Claude - I'm really looking forward to hearing his mix of Swiss folk music, and in return, he asked for an indie-flavoured disc; I really hope he enjoys this one!Before making this, I was thinking: have I ever made a 100% pure, uncut, indie mix, with "indie" referring not simply to the catch-all term which is often used for any type of music which is remotely alternative, but more to the artists and labels of a truly independent nature? The answer is, probably not. Looking through my CDs, it was quite stunning how many of them are by artists who are, in some way, governed by the "Big Four" - Sony/BMG, Universal, EMI and Warner Music, whose annual music revenues are as follows:


Sony / BMG Music Entertainment: $9 billion
Universal Music Group: $6.8 billion
EMI Group: $3.8 billion
Warner Music Group: $2.6 million


(Source: The Economist) This in itself is rather depressing for the average music lover who knows that their pioneering, independent label of choice probably couldn't stand up to these figures. However, for most it would be extremely difficult to simply boycott the Big Four: while independent record labels are more likely promote sounds which might otherwise be ignored by the mainstream companies, some musicians which are considered to be "indie" aren't actually signed to an independent: Warner publishes The Flaming Lips' CDs; EMI owns Idlewild; even The High Llamas didn't escape Sony. Furthermore, it's not hard to see why musicians are lured to the larger companies: more money = more airplay, more promotion and, crucially, a bigger studio budget for the sound you want to create on your record.

That said, even the fact that "indie" has become a synonym for "alternative" in the collective consciousness shows that independent labels and their independent attitudes have some clout. The origins of the term lie in labels which consciously established themselves apart from the major labels, and strove towards a small-scale approach which appealed on a personal level to music fans. As independent labels became more common and people began to associate the sound of certain musicians with them, regardless of whether they were independently-signed artists or not, "indie", to my mind, really came to have two separate references:
1. the indie "ethic": this aforementioned independent spirit which wanted its labels and bands to stay away from the commercialism and facelessness of the mainstream2. indie music: the common, if inaccurate, term referring to bands whose sound is unlike mainstream pop and rock.

So, as the term has made its way into common usage, many independent labels have grown and some are now virtually run on the scale of a large multinational company. The key is that they have managed to keep the sound - not the commercial success - at the heart of their ventures, and some labels, such as Jade Tree or Gold Standard Laboratories, have focused on a particular sound and tend to sign like-minded musicians.
This mix includes bands who have some affiliation with "indie" - i.e. they are, or at some point were, signed to independent labels in one country or another. Some are labels which have achieved considerable success and have offices in various parts of the globe; some have a roster of only a few bands; some had their origins in people's garages. Most have their own idiosyncrasies of some kind. Factory Records' contract stated that it did not actually own its musicians. Chemikal Underground was set up, and is still run by, The Delgados. Meanwhile, Electric Honey Records is run by students at Stow College, Glasgow, who have an annual "audition" for their next signing.
However, in all, "indie" is a difficult term to define, and moreover, label-hopping and publishing rights make things confusing, but this hopefully sticks to its premise!

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