Netlabel years

I started an early netlabel called Hippocamp in my mid-20s in May 2000, here’s some of the music I released through it. I used to use the name Blue Sky Research, or BSR. I had no idea what I was doing and was drinking far too much but somehow Hippocamp developed into an active community based in Manchester with a regular night at The Green Room on Whitworth Street (sadly closed now) called HCGreen.

The dates are approximate, especially the earlier ones, but I think these were no earlier than 2000. There’s some good stuff here, and plenty that’s terrible.

Kindertransport (HC199), 2009

The first track is called ‘Saturday morning without a hangover’, which must have been a rare enough occasion to be notable. I remember being proud of track 2, Everything. Track 7 was played live at STFU 2006 in Glasgow. STFU was a collective of artists from the em411.com website, with active members from all over the world. This album has a couple of remixes by Damien Shingleton who (I think) was from Kernow and friends with the koept.net crowd who I knew through iermoc.

A community compilation, everyone was given the same .zip with a collection of samples to build a track from:

Back garden

Ebb and Flow (HC163), 2006

I remember the title was suggested by a Bristol friend, Emer, so I must have been staying there visiting iermoc at the time of this release. Track 6 has fantastic guitar from Talking Makes No Sense. Holding Hands has a sample in the middle DRGS were playing with, not sure if they used it in a track. Manchester to Scotland was built around a piano sample from an Olly Farshi track.

Pleroma (HC153), 2005

A 6 track EP from 2005. I think ‘Sunshine snow’ samples The Sunshine Family who were an active part of the Hippocamp community. ‘Of the bees’ was named after The Lake of the Bees by Theodor Storm which I remember reading at the time.

Winter compilation (HC151), 2009

Dark Corner from December 2009, a track for the Winter compilation (HC151) with a brief of ‘dark, haunted, atmospheric’:

Dark corner

Thin places (HC106), 2005

Track 1 was a remix of a soundtrack piece by my Brother-in-law, track 3 is a remix of One Two On by Anirog (Chris McGrath), track 5: the good bits are by Batfinks and iermoc. Track 8 is a remix of a DNCN track. Track 2 was some early reactive Processing project that played samples when movement was detected in different screen segments via a webcam.

CD insert pdf: ## Blue sky research (HC057), 2005

Losing It (HC039), 2004

The first track Fehm Crosslet is a sample of a melody by my Brother-in-law, with a ‘love you’ at the end by my (then) young nephew, it also feature a circuit bent Speak n’ Spell I’d hacked together.

Inshore Waters (HC026), 2004

See things (HC009), 2004

King Hiks features double bass by Paul Greenhalgh (Kid Mingus) and a drum loop made by Alex Mills (who went by Diesel Fitter):

Various pissheads (PRE06), 2000

Recorded in the cellar at an almost communal house at Moss Lane East. Tracks 2 and 4 are mostly Duncan (DNCN), maybe with some bad harmonics and acoustic lead noodling from me, plus Jake, Bex, and Noah in the background playing a games console (track 4: Go on Noah). I think we had a couple of acoustic guitars and a melodica, all recorded on a Roland SP-808 (zip disks!):

Xmas Compilation Mix1 (PRE01), 2000

Winterlong, from 2000 I think, guitar and melodica, or possibly harmonica.

Winterlong