Label Focus: Reverb Worship

Without doubt one of my very favourite labels is Reverb Worship and one of the very few from whom I greedily grab every release. For close on 500 releases (including sister labels Future Grave and Sleep FUSE) main (only) man Roger Linney has unleashed on the world a veritable smorgasbord of aural delights; as the label's website states "Purveyors of quality limited edition psychedelic folk drone wonderment since 2007."

From a personal perspective RW has introduced me to so many new artists, many of which have become perennial faves (Joseph Allred, Northern Lighthouse Board, David Briggs, Kitchen Cynics - the list is almost endless) as well as releases by old faves (Makoto Kawabata, Trappist Afterland). I can safely state, with hand on heart, that RW has never released anything I have not loved!

Aside from the music, one of the things that sets Reverb Worship apart from other labels is the love and attention that obviously goes into the presentation. Each and every release is a little work of art in its own right. The CDr's all maintain the RW 'look' but all have unique artwork and inlays and as for the lathe cuts of Future Grave imprint, they are truly things of beauty.

Roger was kind enough to take some out of of his busy schedule to answer some questions:

S&V: When you started, what were your aims? Did you think you would still be releasing with such regularity after 15 years?

RL: Honestly no idea how long the label would continue. I always wanted to do an indie label . It was not until I moved to a different area in the country that I decided to give it a go. I'm originally from the Black Country (Tipton).
My heroes were Dom (Earworm) and Geoff Dolman (Static Caravan). I just loved the way they did stuff and were always approachable.
At one time the Birmingham music scene was amazing. Pram, Broadcast, L'augmentation, Avrocar, Magnetophone and many others. Every week it seemed to be amazing gigs and new music coming out. I seemed to be either at the Jug Of Ale or Flapper & Firkin every few days. There were other venues of course.

S&V: Reverb Worship is now up to, what? 464 (at the time of writing) releases plus various editions – that is a huge achievement by anyone’s standards. How do you keep yourself motivated?

RL: Music has always been a big thing in my life. My earliest memories were of my mum having the radio on whilst getting ready for school as a very young kid. Then I heard T.Rex and it basically blew my mind. I never tire of listening to music.

S&V: You’ve added the Sleep FUSE and Future Grave imprints – what was the thinking behind these? Do they have a different ethos behind them?

RL: Future Grave is purely a folk based lathe cut imprint. Sleep FUSE is based just on electronic music.



S&V: During the vinyl boom of recent years you have stuck resolutely to the CDr format, have you never been tempted to ‘cash in’ on the boom?

RL: Releasing records is mega expensive now. I always wanted to preserve the DIY ethic. So lathe cuts seemed ideal for me to work with.

S&V: One of the special things about RW, in my opinion, is the whole package – the music and the artwork – almost like mini works of art in their own right – is this something in the forefront of your mind for every release?

RL: I went to art college for a while and really did'nt like it much. It did'nt put me off art or music thiough. To me music is an ideal thing for combining both things.

S&V: The RW roster is impressive to say the least – how do you go about finding artists to release?

RL: Sometimes folks contact me or I contact them. My eyes are everywhere.

S&V: You seem to have a little pool of artists that you release on a regular basis; it must be very gratifying that they want to keep coming back?

RL: Seriously I am so happy to have a wonderful pool of musical friends and associates. We seem to get on so well. At one time Sproatly Smith and The Hare And The Moon were my house bands of choice.

S&V: What have you found are the pitfalls to running a label such as this?

RL: Money plus as well at one time folks were very snooty about cdr releases.

S&V: Is the material on RW/SF/FG a true representation of your musical tastes?

RL: Yes but as you know sometimes you hear something and it blows your mind. I'm always hearing new things.

S&V: Do you find that you have a regular audience who almost religiously snap up anything released (I speak from a personal standpoint)

RL: I have a lot of folks who have purchased my releases over many years. Having said that I seem to be picking up new folks with each release.



S&V: Are there any artists who have slipped through your fingers and any you would dearly love to release?

RL: Off the top of my head Ben Chasny. there are loads really.

S&V: A bit of an unfair question but any favourite releases?

RL: Thats a tough question ?

S&V: Do you have a long-term goal for the label?

RL: Keep going really. Its very tough at the moment

S&V: Can you give us a clue as to what’s coming up?

RL: Black Swan Triad, Black Moon Tape and Adam Geoffrey Cole amongst many others.

Links:

Reverb Worship Website

Reverb Worship Facebook (this is a group rather than a page but well worth joining for the heads-up on upcoming releases)