Local Colour Records are a DIY label from the South of England putting out emo/punk bands, but mainly “any bands [they] like and think are cool.” The label is run by twin brothers Alex and Charlie Flowers who grew up and live in a tiny town, suffering the struggles a lot of us face: a non existent punk scene. After joking around for a while about launching a label they decided “fuck it, let’s just do it” and Local Colour was born. They began in October 2014 with their first release on cassette Wait Here by (the bloody brilliant) Cheshire punks Bohica and have recently announced LCR012 and their first 7” release, Noose, by Downers, due to be released on the 1st of August.
Local Colour have quickly built up a great and diverse roster of artists and releases including Jaded, Honey Pot and a CROWN / Scared of Everything split, but they put it all down to luck. “We were so blessed when Bohica agreed to be our first release” they said, “it set us up so well.”
Bohica have recently blossomed into the scene and have been featured on larger punk websites such as Already Heard and Punktastic, allowing the label behind them to get traction from this and hence, get the ball rolling for further releases. Releasing some of the bands has been a bit of a surprise for Alex and Charlie though, commenting that sometimes they think “damn, can you believe we’re putting this out?” But that’s what makes it all the more rewarding – reaching above and beyond what you had previously imagined.
Local Colour have taken the traditional DIY method of releasing music through producing cassettes as, “it’s fucking cool to have a physical collection of all the bands you like and your friends bands.” But the guys both wanted to take it to the next level – away from tapes and start releasing vinyl for a while when the opportunity of working with Downers arose. They were excited about the prospect of working with Downers as “they’re the coolest band, coolest dudes and from a business point of view have so much potential to grow and go somewhere.” Despite feeling anxious and hesitant about taking this risk for both band and label, Local Colour have already had some pre-orders, making it look promising for both parties to succeed.
Over their short period of time, the label have managed to turn business relationships into real friendships which has to be one of the best things about the DIY punk scene. “The DIY scene is all about supporting each other and helping out people and bands you like – so there becomes a cool mutual appreciation between labels and bands or fans.” It’s true that we are all connected through our niche likes, dislikes, wants and needs and we have such a great community because of it.
Both Alex and Charlie will be starting uni in September, but that isn’t going to deter them from continuing with the label. Their plans for the future include releasing more music, possibly a 12” and bringing awesome DIY punk bands to your ears.
How about some Southampton Local Colour shows too?
Check out all of Local Colour’s releases:
LCR001: Wait Here – Bohica
LCR002: Alaskan Pipeline/Square Peg/Restrooms Split EP
LCR003: S/T – Jaded
LCR004: The Safety Of Your Passenger Car Seat – Home schooled
LCR005: Demo 2014 – Honey pot
LCR006: Ruin/Sunshine – Beesley
LCR007: Throw Away The Key – Colder Bones
LCR008: Mixed Nuts EP – Sheep Among Wolves
LCR009: CROWN/Scared of Everything Split
LCR010: Doctor Said That You Don’t Exist – Selfchase
LCR011: Take This For What It’s Worth – Home Schooled
LCR012: Noose – Downers
