THE LADIES ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES

The music industry is dying! Record companies in crisis, sales of CDs falling...

If they're counting sales of mainstream artists and outlets, this is probably true. But is anybody taking into account the growing number of labels and artists producing music - and more - off their own backs? Because - look around kids - there are loads of 'em! Not to mention all the Soundclouders and Bandcampers and artists who used to be with labels but now manage their output themselves (Marillion, The Alarm... hello After The Fire!)

Take a look at online retailer Boomkat: they stock big name artists like Radiohead and Bjork, but the majority of what they sell must surely be independent stuff. I'm not convinced we're buying less music at all, but rather branching out, both in terms of what we listen to, where we get it from and what format it comes in. There is a wonderfully diverse musical world developing, consisting of labels, collectives, sub-genres... it can take a while to track down the stuff you like initially, but if you find something, get in there quick! Some of these labels are producing stuff in very limited quantities indeed.

Here are a few labels and artists worth checking out:

"Second Language is a record label sans frontiers, dedicated to bringing you genuinely exclusive and collectible new music by a wonderful international roster of hand-chosen artists...Once a Second Language record has sold out it’s really gone forever."

So, can you really not get hold of sold-out Second Language material? Not a chance mate, unless you want to monitor Mediafire for years in the hope that some kind soul takes pity on you. Good luck with that. In some ways, this exclusivity is good - the label sells what it makes and the customer gets something unique to treasure - but a part of me thinks it is a real shame that such wonderful music won't find a wider audience. I grabbed The Edge Blown Aerophone, by Littlebow, an excellent classical album of sorts, which really should get airplay. Alas, limited to 400 copies. I've listened to several podcasts on the Second Language website and, judging by some of the tracks included, we've missed some seriously good releases. A minute's silence for them, please.

With the mighty First Fold Records, at least when the limited run of 100 physical copies of an album are sold out, you can still buy the catalogue as downloads - direct from First Fold themselves, or from iTunes, emusic and all the usual suspects. And, trust me, that's a good thing. First Fold boss man and artist Papa November (real name Stuart!) describes First Fold as "a collective of artists whose focus is to maintain a self regulating and enthusiastic approach to the creation of music and visual media and aims to encourage a dialogue that constantly challenges the people involved to generate exciting and relevant work". The label's music has encompassed electronica, library, classical, folk and krautrock - without getting bogged down by genre. The label is also not constrained by media, as its journal of "words, images and sounds inspired by a theme" Premier Pli attests. Fans of Hauntology and library take note: Premier Pli volume 2 will have a particularly special contributor... you have been warned! Oh, and First Fold are branching out into books now too... I urge you to check out First Fold artists in the flesh at one of their 'Bring Out Your Dead' events, now held monthly (more or less) at the Bulls Head in Moseley, Blighty - more details at the First Fold news page. (That image up there at the top, by the way, is First Fold's Plague Doctor, doing a spooky dance at the first BOYD event and, er, handing out sweets. Photo courtesy of Craig Earp.)

Moon Wiring Club - here's something proper bloomin' special, and it's largely down to one fella. Just take a look at the gorgeous, charming, slightly spooky website Blank Workshop. Stunning artwork, a made up - or is it? - northern town with characters, shops, tea cakes and special nougat, and some really mad albums peppered with vocal samples from old telly programmes. Some of these albums come in unusual shapes and sizes - a mini CD, or a vinyl-only release - while others can be found on iTunes. If you want to find out more but are not yet ready to shell out your sponds, head over to YouTube where you'll find several Moon Wiring Club videos. But if you want some of the rarer, non-iTunes stuff, don't hang about...

Ghost Box. Now these guys really are the masters. Ghost Box is a label that specialises in music which takes its cues from stuff like the Radiophonic Workshop, old library music, Public Information Films, folk, scary kids telly from the 70s...and yet manages to surpass it all. I could wax lyrical about the label's artists, but I'm not going to, because a quick online search for Belbury Poly, The Advisory Circle, The Focus Group - and more - will show that others have already waxed lyrical, at length. But I will mention the album covers, beautifully designed by Julian House, inspired by old publications, the like of which we haven't seen for some years now. [Nostalgic sigh.] Don't let the length of this short paragraph fool you. Ghost Box are special with a capital Spesh. Check them out right this very now!! More info at the Belbury Parish Magazine.

Cafe Kaput. To some extent you could call this is an offshoot of Ghost Box, it being the brainchild of Jon Brooks, aka The Advisory Circle. But it is a whole lot more: Brooks is a gifted fella who turns his hand to different styles on his digital-only Cafe Kaput label. Check out 'Music For Dieter Rams' for example: every last sound on that record originated from a Braun AB-30 Alarm Clock. If you're expecting some weird experimental collection of badly recorded bleeps and ticks, you're wrong - this is a spectacularly atmospheric, rather relaxing electronic album - wholeheartedly recommended.

There are a lot more independents and special little fellows out there, I could go on all night, but I won't. Okay, maybe a bit.  I urge you to google the following: Pye Corner Audio (imagine an unreleased Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis, committed to tape, lost, rediscovered 25 years later in a slightly knackered state of repair, cleaned up and finally released - brilliant. And there's more to it than that too - visuals, atmosphere...new album coming in January!), Trunk (one of two labels curated by top chap Jonny Trunk, specialising in library, jazz, lost soundtracks, religious music and... rude stuff. His other label, OST, looks set to be just as good and so far has done what it says on the tin) and Finders Keepers (like Trunk to some extent, but while Trunk digs up Bagpuss, Bod and Ivor the Engine, Finders Keepers manage to unearth obscure European horror and Bollywood soundtracks, and more - they can describe themselves better than I).

Oh, just for once, to be able to walk into a music shop on a high street and to find the racks full of this stuff...