So, here we are deep into December, another year about to be over, and it feels like it’s very much a case of limping over the finish line, ready to collapse in a heap. Certainly not much cause for celebration – that can wait until Sonic Cathedral’s 20th birthday next year.
That’s a very negative introduction, but it’s realistic. The label I run single-handedly has released some incredible records this year by legends (Emma Anderson, Dot Allison) and newcomers (deary, Whitelands) alike and I couldn’t be prouder of my achievements, but it has also somehow felt like harder work for ever-diminishing returns.
If there even is such a thing as the music eco-system, then it is completely out of balance these days – post-Covid, post-Brexit, post-everything else. There’s a huge disconnect between the relentless positivity we must maintain for social media, and the reality of barely covering the ever-increasing manufacturing costs on each physical release. And this is before we get to Bandcamp being bought up by an evil entity and Spotify stopping royalties for tracks with less than 1,000 plays. But that’s it, there is always something new to worry about; the threat level is permanently set to Damoclean.
Such cognitive dissonance is everywhere though – we are always reading about how the music industry is making more money than ever, and how live music is resurgent, with Taylor Swift pocketing over $1billion from her Eras Tour and selling out eight nights at Wembley in minutes, while Moles, the storied grassroots venue in Bath announced its closure because it was “impossible to continue”, according to co-owner Tom Maddicott.
Talking of Taylor Swift, her theoretical emancipation from her old contract has meant that record shops are constantly full of numerous reworked versions of her own albums. Taylor’s version of the music industry is fine, if you’re a fan, but this constant land-grab of indie spaces by major labels is depressing and dangerous. The other day, The Last Dinner Party, who appeared from nowhere back in March, already inked to Island and supporting the Stones, were awarded a £5,000 grant by Ticketmaster as one of their breakthrough acts of 2024. What is the point of this? Who is it benefitting, aside from some reflected glory for Ticketmaster? Everything is already in place for The Last Dinner Party. Why not give someone else a chance? Money really does breed money.
Their parents are no doubt rich enough for them not to need second jobs to supplement their income from music, but as a recent Guardian article revealed – to some people’s surprise – most musicians aren’t so fortunate. It’s not just musicians either, some record label owners also need to find additional work in order to make ends meet – so if you have anything going, then please do get in touch. (Seriously.)
Another thing causing massive inequality is the TikTok effect. This is of particular relevance, because shoegaze (the genre Sonic Cathedral was born out of) is very big on there. Much as I think it’s incredible that a new generation of fans have discovered Slowdive on the platform, there’s something a bit galling that major labels like Interscope are snapping up artists like Wisp on the basis of one song, when they wouldn’t have cared for a grungy take on MBV this time last year. It’s a route to success that doesn’t reward hard work, touring the world, having a back catalogue, or anything really, it’s just luck. And let’s face it, we all need a bit of luck, and I’d love it if a Sonic Cathedral band became TikTok famous, but it’s moved the goalposts to such an extent that no one is even sure what game we are even playing any more.
But, despite this, we still play because we don’t know what else to do. It’s been so long now, I don’t know how to stop, and every so often something comes along that floors you and off we go again. This is why 2023 has actually been an amazing year for new music.
I’m duty bound to mention the new Slowdive album Everything Is Alive, which is a wonderful and ever so slightly weird record that took them to Number Three in the Billboard charts, something I would never have imagined, even in my wildest dreams.
I’ve also enjoyed the resurgence of sounds somewhere between trip-hop and Bowery Electric, where beats and beauty combine. Check out the excellent eponymous debut by A.S.O. – a duo of Berlin-based Australians Lewie Day and Alia Seror-O’Neill – and Lashes by Hysterical Love Project, the LA-based pairing of Ike Zwanikken and Brooklyn Mellar, who add a dark, dubby twist, reminiscent of Dif Juz or A.R. Kane.
There have been amazing returns from James Holden and Nathan Fake, and plenty of atmospheric sounds to lose myself in from the likes of Johnny Nash, Mary Lattimore, Faten Kanaan, Not Waving, Spivak and more. I loved the latter-day Elliott Smith stylings of Greg Mendez, Blonde Redhead’s comeback with Sit Down For Dinner and there was some great shoegaze, too – albums by Bélver Yin, Tanukichan, Blush and Sunnbrella all immediately spring to mind.
So, here we are deep into December, another year about to be over, and now I can’t wait for the next one. Bring on 2024. We’ve got this!
Nathaniel Cramp
