Check the label: The Instinctive Racoon

Play: French Wives - Dog Fight


Nature or nurture?

The Instinctive Racoon boss Jamie Webster is a fan of both. After naming his indie label in honour of TV hero David Attenborough, Webster decided to go on and nurture some local talent in his home city of Glasgow.

Founded in 2007, The Instinctive Racoon’s inaugural release was Ross Clark’s debut EP, Anthems in Clams. Since then the label has reeled out four more gorgeous records, including singles by Washington Irving and The French Wives and two more of Clark’s efforts.

Alongside these, Webster promotes sold out local shows on both sides of the M8 under the guise of his Racoon-shaped brainchild.

“I pick acts that excite me and that I believe have potential to develop whilst being conscious of not expanding too quickly,” he explains. "There isn't a specific genre that I adhere to. I think it’s important that we have diversity both in our live shows and our roster to keep the public interested in what we’re doing.”

And to top off this beehive of industry, The Instinctive Racoon also runs a monthly club night called Thankyou Frankley at Glasgow post-grad clubhouse Research Club.

Clearly passionate about the Scottish music scene, Webster’s aim is uncomplicated and true: to work with new bands he enjoys. He says: “Bands I like just now are Over The Wall and John Knox Sex Club. I have worked with both bands before on live shows and will continue to do so.”


Words: Aimi Gold

Instinctive Racoon’s next shows are ‘Thankyou Frankley’ at the Research Club on 31 October and 1 November at Sneaky Pete’s to launch The French Wives Single.


Play: French Wives - Halloween


Play: John Knox Sex Club - John the Revelator


Play: Washington Irving - It Creeps

Check the label: Bedevil

Bedevil founder John Wills has a challenge for bands thinking of approaching his label: bring something new.

"I worked in a record shop in London in the early '80s. Nearly every week, there would be a new band that was totally unlike anything that had gone before," Wills says.

"Think about it - Joy Division, The Fall, The Slits - even in the charts you had the New Romantic stuff. Like it or hate it, it was 100% original. To be innovative was really important to musicians. I really want to encourage that way of thinking again."

With the brand new label, he wants to provide "a resource for bands whose first priority is to be interesting and individual with a community, rather than competitive spirit."

As drummer in Loop from 1987, Wills himself was in a group which sounded like nothing else - and for the last decade he has been working with Pinkie Maclure in the similarly adventurous and critically lauded Pumajaw.



An amicable split with Fire, which put out the band's Favourites retrospective earlier this year, opened the door to set up Bedevil.

"It's been something I have been thinking about for a long time" Wills says. "The whole digital release thing has put the power back in the hands of the musicians and I think large record companies will soon be relevant to just the middle of the road. There are exceptions, but really all the big players want hits and that's it."

But with digital downloads, and plenty of advice for fledgling musicians available online, Wills says the positive is that it's "never been easier" for bands to release their own tracks:

"My advice is to ask questions. Nobody will expect you to know everything. When Rough Trade first started to release singles, the bands would write down all the information about the costs and who they used to make the record on the sleeve. This spurred other bands to release their own music as the whole thing was demystified.

"Helping and talking to other small labels is the answer to making your label a success," Wills adds.

Pumajaw's single 'Featherdown Quilt' - which will be a download-only release on 2 November - was recorded and mixed at home by Wills. He promises "a departure from our last album for sure, but it is much more exciting for us. It's fun and energetic".

Future plans include a follow-up single in the new year, and a Pumajaw album in spring.

In the meantime, anyone interested in joining in the Bedevil revolution can email Wills on info@bedevil.org.uk.

Words: Elaine Liddle

Check the label: Lucky Number Nine

In the first in our new series of record label profiles, Elaine Liddle speaks to the man behind Lucky Number Nine...

It's notoriously difficult to agree on a good band name. It turns out that naming a record label is tricky too.

Even more so if your chosen title's already taken by one of the Stone Roses. "I was trying to come up with a name and quite liked North Country Records - but I Googled it and John Squire had it" explains Stevie McCaffrey, founder of Glasgow-based Lucky Number Nine [LNN] records.

"In my frustration, I named the label after the song I was listening to at that moment. I nicked it from Moldy Peaches."

Dave Beaton joined as a partner, Liz Eeuwes to contribute artwork and Stuart Purcell to pitch in with press, and in September 2007 LNN released The Metro-gnomes' I Have a Photograph EP.

An exciting and prolific two years since has seen co-releases with Say Dirty Records (Zoey Van Goey, Peter Parker) and Electric Honey (Wake the President, Je Suis Animal) as well as singles by Golden Ghost, Symbolics, Mike Hastings & Solveig Askvik and Punch & the Apostles.

Play: Punch & the Apostles - I'm a Hobo


"The accepted practice for starting a label seems to be to pick a genre, stick to it and forge a niche in the market, but we aren't trying to make a living out of it so we have the freedom to showcase any act we like," says Stevie.

"Scotland has loads of talented musicians playing many different styles of music. Our Seven Inch Club singles series seemed a good way to feature as many as possible.

"Picking the bands is always done after seeing them live - sometimes recommended by friends, but for the most part luck and coincidence has led to us finding them".

The next release - in conjunction with Say Dirty Records - is single 'Doris Day' from UtR-tipped Paper Planes, available on October 12th on 7" and download.

Play: Paper Planes - Doris Day


"I really love Paper Planes," Stevie enthuses. "They have loads of great tracks, are amazing live and are nice folk too."

The label's sole LP thus far is by Rags & Feathers - former Dead Fly Buchowski member Tom Davis plus friends - which Stevie is "really proud of. Tom's a great lyricist and there's not one mediocre song on there".

Stevie also runs gig night Silence Can Break Your Heart - "a good way to see the bands I like or have heard good things about. I'm studying, working and running the label, so I don't get to gigs very much," he admits.

"It's been great as we've found two bands through it - Peter Parker and Paper Planes".

Words: Elaine Liddle

The Paper Planes singles launch is at the Grand Ole Opry on Oct 8 with She's Hit and DJ sets from Gerry Love and Stephen Pastel.

Silence Can Break Your Heart presents Wave Pictures, Stanley Brinks and Freschard at Mono on Oct 19.