With over 500 local bands and 150 places to see them, music fans in Brighton have never had it so good.
It’s perhaps because of the sheer amount of music that the city’s DIY scene goes largely unnoticed but its nothing new. It all began when Brighton’s first punk bands turned an abandoned church crypt into a club and rehearsal space.
Today the city is home to a diverse assortment of DIY musicians, promoters and record labels making connections with collaborators and fans across the globe. Promoter, Richard Phoenix believes a key feature of DIY music is its opposition to the established norms of the mainstream music industry.
“The industry is what it says, an industry, with the aim to make money out of music. It’s synonymous with bland music designed to sell, rather than a space to support people to create and communicate ideas, which chimes more with people involved in DIY.”
Richard supports bands from the city’s learning disabled community who are now sharing stages with punk icons. Another aspect is DIYs political flavor. Groups such as Slum of Legs and Daskinsey 4 are using music to highlight causes such as the growing trans rights movement. Dr Helen Reddington is a senior lecturer in music cultures. In the late 70s she was better known as Helen McCookerybook and played bass in three punk bands. For her, operating beneath the radar is a major source of DIY’s character.
“I think people feel oppositional now but there is no big media interest in what they’re doing. But that can be good because it allows stuff to happen and become quite developed without it being controlled by what the media says.” So if there is no media coverage how do musicians, promoters, audiences and labels meet up and make things happen? For many it’s a case of bumping into likeminded people at gigs. But equally significantly, the internet has created possibilities that would have unimaginable 20 years ago. In a keynote address veteran musician and recording engineer Steve Albini said that thank to the internet: “people can only listen to music they’re ecstatic about. All of the time.” For Brighton shoegazers, Playlounge, this has allowed them to collaborate with other DIY groups around the country and create their own independent infrastructure: “If I had to book an entire tour by phone calls that would be an impossible task. Now we just send one or two emails and its super easy to sort out,” says drummer and singer Sam Watkins. Operating under the name Reeks of Effort, the collective puts on DIY gigs nationwide and releases records for all of its bands:
“There are very few hardships in DIY and that’s why its so amazing. You get to play with your friends’ bands and usually the people who put your records out are also your friends. Its just like hanging out with them all the time,” he adds.
But DIY musicians still face challenges. Most make little if anything from their work. Playlounge say bottlenecks caused by major labels in the run up to Record Store Day delayed their album’s release by three months. Equally scenes which provide platforms for the learning disabled and experimental musicians are partly funded by the Arts Council. This development has been criticised by Andy Sylvester, campaigns manager from influential think tank and pressure group, The Taxpayer’s Alliance: “We have to be very concerned at a time when we’re trying to find necessary savings across government that the Arts Council continues to spend money with reckless abandon.” As a councilor in the 1970s, Lord Bassam famously bussed groups of punks to Grunwick to support striking lab workers and help them set up sqauts. Today DIY’s relationship with local authorities is much more distant. Responding to a Freedom of Information request by BNDIY, Brighton and Hove Council had no data on the value of live music to Brighton’s economy. But what is about Brighton that makes it such a fertile DIY territory?
“There’s loads of venues and people who are really enthusiastic about what they’re doing. I have the sense that there’s a momentum here that perhaps doesn’t exist in other towns which might centre around a particular venue,” says violinist Maria Marzaioli.
So where does BNDIY fit in? In a sense, this website is a beginner’s guide to the scene. It explores in-depth, the stories behind the songs, the issues affecting musicians and promoters through features, podcasts, exclusive sessions and interactive elements.
READ MORE GOING UNDERGROUND: The unlikely origins of Brighton's first DIY scene BEYOND LIMITATIONS How DIY music is changing attititudes towards learning disability
INTERACTIVE: Where to find DIY music in Brighton