The History Of Nightbreed (So far)
THE NIGHTBREED STORY.
Introductions are in order
So I hear you ask, what is "Nightbreed" exactly? Well, the basic history is contained below, but before you start reading it is worth considering what "Nightbreed" has become in regards the UK Gothic (if not global) Gothic underground. To say the word "Nightbreed" in the Gothic scene is to put an image in people's minds. To me "Nightbreed" is a way of doing things, it is an attitude, it is a support mechanism, and above all it is positive and progressive. I started the ball rolling and still play a major part, but anyone who wants to help out and get involved is welcome. (see the page on Nightbreed Radio). So with that said, gentle reader, cast your eyes upon the story of the Gothic organisation that is, "Nightbreed".
In The Beginning
I started Nightbreed way back in 1990 as a hobby. I was still in the post punk/Gothic/Death Rock band “Every New Dead Ghost”, and as part of my activities of networking in the Gothic scene, I thought it would be a good idea to put out a compilation LP made up of some of the bands I was in communication with. A few months of hard work later the “New Alternatives” LP came out. I stood back and waited for the expected avalanche of reviews and interest such a quality project was bound to receive from the press. I waited and waited, but the music press at that time were at their most repressive and reactionary whenever the “G” word was mentioned in connection with a band. So the attention from the mainstream never came, and the sales of the LP were slow as a result.
I promptly lost all faith in the idea of running a Gothic record label and went back to concentrating on the band only.
However… as the months rolled by I kept on getting letters from all over the world concerning other releases from some of the bands on the LP. At first I wrote back and said that they had better contact the bands directly themselves. Eventually the idea came to me that I could sell the merchandise myself, and after talking to some bands on the LP as well as a few other bands of my acquaintance, I put together the very first Nightbreed “catalogue”.
It was one side of A4 and as I remember, I was offering demo tapes and vinyl records in the main. I also followed this with a simple photocopied flyer advertising the mail order service, which I sent out to fanzines and like-minded people in the Gothic underground.
The response I got was amazing! Orders for demos, LPs and singles started coming in every day. And to cut a very long story short, I put everything I earned back into the catalogue and looked constantly to expand the range and selection of music I carried.
All of this was happening at the very same time as the scene was being “killed off” by the music press. There was no Gothic music being played on the radio, nothing in the music press and definitely nothing on TV! I suppose it could be said that the Gothic scene suffered a cultural clampdown in this country tantamount to a kind of racism!
Anyway, in this atmosphere it seemed a little foolish, to put it mildly, to start an underground Gothic-based company! However, I quickly discovered that the “scene” had a great heart, despite the attitude of the music press, and that significant numbers within the scene were up for supporting the rapidly developing underground. People started buying CDs and records from me based on my own reviews, and on the whole they were not disappointed with what they bought. Gradually things grew and another avenue for new Goth-based music developed in the form of gothic “discos”. Gothic club-goers began to demand new underground material from the resident DJs and as a result more and more people became exposed to the new, and generally German Gothic music. It was a slow process, which took several years. But the Goth club phenomenon helped to advance the scene greatly in an atmosphere where it was, and in all honesty, still is, the only real avenue in this country apart from the fanzine network and Internet, to get new music exposed.
The scene gradually developed, Nightbreed was constantly expanding and later I was joined by more and more people. As a company we began to expand and diversify at an amazing rate. Our mail order catalogue was becoming almost a directory of the dark underground and many people used and still use the old catalogues as a reference book for bands and their releases.
The Label Proper and Mail order service
After a few years of the new organisation’s existence we decided to re-activate the “label” side of Nightbreed. From a philosophical point of view we separated the label from the mail order service. The mail order service was our main activity, and within that realm we decided to take anything as long as it was dark and underground. Embracing everything from Swedish synth pop to black metal, but keeping the main focus of us as being a progressive Gothic organisation.
The label became our contribution to keeping the Gothic scene going and growing, but allowing for, and encouraging, progressive elements to have a platform within the genre. We have always believed that diversity is strength, and that to attempt to place a “Gothic template” on the scene was the road to musical inbreeding and eventual extinction. Hence our very bold collection of releases, and our continued vision in the genre. Our view is best experienced via the “Gothic Sounds Of Nightbreed” label samplers.
As time moved onwards, as it always does, we developed the mail-order catalogue and continued to take everything that was dark underground, but also found ourselves selling more mainstream material, although still connected in one way or another to our basic vision. Hence, although mostly underground, we were taking other things. The label similarly widened its horizons to include releases that were from EBM or industrial roots, however again there was still a connective seed of family which in our eyes and ears made the releases consistent with our founding philosophy.
www.churchofnightbreed.com
Then along with the constant wave of change came the Internet, MP3s and CDR coping. It became obvious that such a small genre as ours could not support a full-scale mail order service and shop, so we initially downsized to just the label alone. After a year or so we realised that another more radical change was needed in order for Nightbreed to continue, and that is why we formed “The Church Of Nightbreed” whereby we encapsulated the idea that the Gothic scene was a community and “Nightbreed Recordings” was part of that community. We offered a subscription service whereby you become a member of the “Church” and can access selected downloads of our releases, as well as to be able to post on our forum area.
However, after about 18 months or so it became obvious that this system was not, in that current cultural climate, going to work! The people, who wanted the music for free, still wanted the music for free and were not at all interested in becoming part of “The Church”. And a large part of our former fan base still wanted “physical” CD’s. So in 2005 we embarked on a dual release programme whereby we released ltd edition CD’s in conjunction with download versions of the same albums. Seemingly, this system is beginning to work, and we have plans to continue the ltd edition system.
However, in early 2006 external pressures on us as an organisation, and the lack of amount of time needed to keep the “Church” running caused us to downsize again. Thusly loosing the whole download side of the “Church”, but keeping the very popular forum section, and making membership of the “Church” free.
The “Church” carried on for another three years as a forum only site until eventually in the wake of other more high powered social networking sites it finally collapsed. As at that time I did not have either the time or money to keep it going in it’s then current form.
In May 2009 The Church of Nightbreed merged with a social networking group called “Pray Silence”, which was at that time a promising all gothic + dark culture social networking site + we here at Nightbreed threw ourselves into the promotion and development of the site and partnership organisation. This collaboration bore the most exiting fruit in the form of the compilation CD “The Gothic Sounds Of Nightbreed Volume 5, Pray Silence for The Church Of Nightbreed” which was a compilation CD of all of the bands who were associated with the site and the Nightbreed label. Plus the short lived “Radio Nightbreed” which in turn evolved into “Nightbreed Radio” (www.nightbreedradio.com) once the partnership with “Pray Silence” was over in June 2010.
So let’s bring everything up to date. The Nightbreed label still exists as a platform to release occasional CDs. The Nightbreed Ebay shop sells all of the labels releases plus other connected relesases + stock from the old Nightbreed shop in Nottingham. (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Nightbreed-Recordings)
And “Nightbreed Radio” (www.nightbreedradio.com) continues and vastly improves the work of the old “Church” by promoting the dark underground and reflecting the positive and supportive attitude that the Nightbreed organisation is famous for the world over. But not only that, there is a "new" church right here on this site. Click this link to visit our beloved new restored Church of Nightbreed.
Also, by way of moving with the changing tide, Nightbreed Recordings has now launched "Nightbreed Digital" as its new format for making music available to everyone due to the changing nature of music consumption. Expect a number of digital release only "EP's" and mini albums.
All the best
Trev Bamford
Written on a cold-ish evening Jan 2011 and edited on a day of sleet and sunshine April 2012
Introductions are in order
So I hear you ask, what is "Nightbreed" exactly? Well, the basic history is contained below, but before you start reading it is worth considering what "Nightbreed" has become in regards the UK Gothic (if not global) Gothic underground. To say the word "Nightbreed" in the Gothic scene is to put an image in people's minds. To me "Nightbreed" is a way of doing things, it is an attitude, it is a support mechanism, and above all it is positive and progressive. I started the ball rolling and still play a major part, but anyone who wants to help out and get involved is welcome. (see the page on Nightbreed Radio). So with that said, gentle reader, cast your eyes upon the story of the Gothic organisation that is, "Nightbreed".
In The Beginning
I started Nightbreed way back in 1990 as a hobby. I was still in the post punk/Gothic/Death Rock band “Every New Dead Ghost”, and as part of my activities of networking in the Gothic scene, I thought it would be a good idea to put out a compilation LP made up of some of the bands I was in communication with. A few months of hard work later the “New Alternatives” LP came out. I stood back and waited for the expected avalanche of reviews and interest such a quality project was bound to receive from the press. I waited and waited, but the music press at that time were at their most repressive and reactionary whenever the “G” word was mentioned in connection with a band. So the attention from the mainstream never came, and the sales of the LP were slow as a result.
I promptly lost all faith in the idea of running a Gothic record label and went back to concentrating on the band only.
However… as the months rolled by I kept on getting letters from all over the world concerning other releases from some of the bands on the LP. At first I wrote back and said that they had better contact the bands directly themselves. Eventually the idea came to me that I could sell the merchandise myself, and after talking to some bands on the LP as well as a few other bands of my acquaintance, I put together the very first Nightbreed “catalogue”.
It was one side of A4 and as I remember, I was offering demo tapes and vinyl records in the main. I also followed this with a simple photocopied flyer advertising the mail order service, which I sent out to fanzines and like-minded people in the Gothic underground.
The response I got was amazing! Orders for demos, LPs and singles started coming in every day. And to cut a very long story short, I put everything I earned back into the catalogue and looked constantly to expand the range and selection of music I carried.
All of this was happening at the very same time as the scene was being “killed off” by the music press. There was no Gothic music being played on the radio, nothing in the music press and definitely nothing on TV! I suppose it could be said that the Gothic scene suffered a cultural clampdown in this country tantamount to a kind of racism!
Anyway, in this atmosphere it seemed a little foolish, to put it mildly, to start an underground Gothic-based company! However, I quickly discovered that the “scene” had a great heart, despite the attitude of the music press, and that significant numbers within the scene were up for supporting the rapidly developing underground. People started buying CDs and records from me based on my own reviews, and on the whole they were not disappointed with what they bought. Gradually things grew and another avenue for new Goth-based music developed in the form of gothic “discos”. Gothic club-goers began to demand new underground material from the resident DJs and as a result more and more people became exposed to the new, and generally German Gothic music. It was a slow process, which took several years. But the Goth club phenomenon helped to advance the scene greatly in an atmosphere where it was, and in all honesty, still is, the only real avenue in this country apart from the fanzine network and Internet, to get new music exposed.
The scene gradually developed, Nightbreed was constantly expanding and later I was joined by more and more people. As a company we began to expand and diversify at an amazing rate. Our mail order catalogue was becoming almost a directory of the dark underground and many people used and still use the old catalogues as a reference book for bands and their releases.
The Label Proper and Mail order service
After a few years of the new organisation’s existence we decided to re-activate the “label” side of Nightbreed. From a philosophical point of view we separated the label from the mail order service. The mail order service was our main activity, and within that realm we decided to take anything as long as it was dark and underground. Embracing everything from Swedish synth pop to black metal, but keeping the main focus of us as being a progressive Gothic organisation.
The label became our contribution to keeping the Gothic scene going and growing, but allowing for, and encouraging, progressive elements to have a platform within the genre. We have always believed that diversity is strength, and that to attempt to place a “Gothic template” on the scene was the road to musical inbreeding and eventual extinction. Hence our very bold collection of releases, and our continued vision in the genre. Our view is best experienced via the “Gothic Sounds Of Nightbreed” label samplers.
As time moved onwards, as it always does, we developed the mail-order catalogue and continued to take everything that was dark underground, but also found ourselves selling more mainstream material, although still connected in one way or another to our basic vision. Hence, although mostly underground, we were taking other things. The label similarly widened its horizons to include releases that were from EBM or industrial roots, however again there was still a connective seed of family which in our eyes and ears made the releases consistent with our founding philosophy.
www.churchofnightbreed.com
Then along with the constant wave of change came the Internet, MP3s and CDR coping. It became obvious that such a small genre as ours could not support a full-scale mail order service and shop, so we initially downsized to just the label alone. After a year or so we realised that another more radical change was needed in order for Nightbreed to continue, and that is why we formed “The Church Of Nightbreed” whereby we encapsulated the idea that the Gothic scene was a community and “Nightbreed Recordings” was part of that community. We offered a subscription service whereby you become a member of the “Church” and can access selected downloads of our releases, as well as to be able to post on our forum area.
However, after about 18 months or so it became obvious that this system was not, in that current cultural climate, going to work! The people, who wanted the music for free, still wanted the music for free and were not at all interested in becoming part of “The Church”. And a large part of our former fan base still wanted “physical” CD’s. So in 2005 we embarked on a dual release programme whereby we released ltd edition CD’s in conjunction with download versions of the same albums. Seemingly, this system is beginning to work, and we have plans to continue the ltd edition system.
However, in early 2006 external pressures on us as an organisation, and the lack of amount of time needed to keep the “Church” running caused us to downsize again. Thusly loosing the whole download side of the “Church”, but keeping the very popular forum section, and making membership of the “Church” free.
The “Church” carried on for another three years as a forum only site until eventually in the wake of other more high powered social networking sites it finally collapsed. As at that time I did not have either the time or money to keep it going in it’s then current form.
In May 2009 The Church of Nightbreed merged with a social networking group called “Pray Silence”, which was at that time a promising all gothic + dark culture social networking site + we here at Nightbreed threw ourselves into the promotion and development of the site and partnership organisation. This collaboration bore the most exiting fruit in the form of the compilation CD “The Gothic Sounds Of Nightbreed Volume 5, Pray Silence for The Church Of Nightbreed” which was a compilation CD of all of the bands who were associated with the site and the Nightbreed label. Plus the short lived “Radio Nightbreed” which in turn evolved into “Nightbreed Radio” (www.nightbreedradio.com) once the partnership with “Pray Silence” was over in June 2010.
So let’s bring everything up to date. The Nightbreed label still exists as a platform to release occasional CDs. The Nightbreed Ebay shop sells all of the labels releases plus other connected relesases + stock from the old Nightbreed shop in Nottingham. (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Nightbreed-Recordings)
And “Nightbreed Radio” (www.nightbreedradio.com) continues and vastly improves the work of the old “Church” by promoting the dark underground and reflecting the positive and supportive attitude that the Nightbreed organisation is famous for the world over. But not only that, there is a "new" church right here on this site. Click this link to visit our beloved new restored Church of Nightbreed.
Also, by way of moving with the changing tide, Nightbreed Recordings has now launched "Nightbreed Digital" as its new format for making music available to everyone due to the changing nature of music consumption. Expect a number of digital release only "EP's" and mini albums.
All the best
Trev Bamford
Written on a cold-ish evening Jan 2011 and edited on a day of sleet and sunshine April 2012
