A Domino Birthday – An Interview with Laurence Bell of Domino Records

Domino Records Pavement, Sebadoh, Folk Implosion, Clearlake, Elliott Smith, Four Tet, The Kills, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Clinic, Royal Trux, The Pastels…have I got your attention yet?.

Domino Records Pavement, Sebadoh, Folk Implosion, Clearlake, Elliott Smith, Four Tet, The Kills, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Clinic, Royal Trux, The Pastels…have I got your attention yet?.

Wanna know a great party trick? Have a look around the house until you find the resident ‘indie kid’ (Every good house party will have one). They’re normally to be found standing by the cd rack mumbling under their breath and tutting in disapproval at whatever records they happen to dislike. Sneak up behind them, whisper the words "Domino Records" into their ear and watch them drool. Continue by reading out the Domino band roster (Pavement, Sebadoh, Folk Implosion, Clearlake, Elliot Smith, Four Tet, The Kills, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Clinic, Royal Trux, The Pastels) and you’ll have them bouncing around the living room like a rabid chipmunk. They can’t help it.This Pavlovian effect is no mere coincidence, Domino are one of the very few indie labels that actually deserve the name. They are the consummate DIY label and like the artists on their books they have never sold up and never sold out. Perhaps it is this love and dedication that allows their ethic to shine through everything they do, from the way they conduct business through to the records they put out. Each release gives you the feeling of receiving a small gift, personally made for your listening pleasure. You can tell that there’s been no corporate smudging when you see the Domino stamp, as you know that the record, and everything inside it will be pure and holy. In other words, Domino stand for everything that music, and labels in particular, should be about.Therefore it was my great honour to talk to Domino’s founder/owner/A&R man (you can refer to him as the head honcho) Laurence Bell whilst he was vigilantly planning Domino’s week of celebratory festivities in London. After working at Fire records, Bell started Domino with just a chair, a desk, a phone, and an ethos which he has stuck by almost religiously. The following is a discussion between two music lovers, about a label and a couple of bands they both obviously adore:

IN: Domino is turning 10 in October, congratulations!

LB: Thank you.

IN: If you could meet yourself ten years ago, while you were just starting out Domino Records, what would you say to yourself?

LB: Be careful! [breaks out into laughter] What would I say to myself? I have no idea…I’m sorry.

IN: What do you think has made Domino so successful?

LB: I like to think its karma. We definitely stay true to the original vision. We never released music we didn’t love, we never released music for the wrong reasons, and we never released music just for making money. We just followed our hearts really.

IN: You left Fire records to start Domino, why?

LB: I think I was putting a lot of energy into releasing records of another company and I just didn’t feel happy there anymore. I had a teeny bit of money and some ideas, and we had our first band called Sebadoh and they were up for working with us. So I just decided to start something in my basement flat really, on my own. I just started hustling on the telephone.

IN: How did you connection with American record label Drag City [North American home of Royal Trux] begin?

LB: When Sebadoh came over to play the first time they stayed at my house and they played me some Royal Trux music and they were telling me stories in hushed tones about these guys, Royal Trux, and the wild music they made and how their legend kind of preceded them. I got hold of a record and I just called up Drag City and told them I was interested and we got along pretty well. I know they had some other interest, but they chose me, and it just went from there really. Will Oldham [AKA Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy] called up a few months later to say that he’d like to come and join us and it went like that really. If you treat artists well, more of them tend to want to be with you.

IN: At Fire, you worked with a lot of British bands such as Spacemen 3 and Teenage Fanclub, yet with Domino you worked almost exclusively with American underground artists to start with. What attracted you to the American bands?

LB: Well, it’s quite simple; I had a lot of connections with American people at the time. I had worked with a lot of American artists as well as those people. It was actually cheaper because we were just licensing, we didn’t have to spend money recording the records. It was just a lot of the music I was listening to. We couldn’t really compete financially with the big A&R and there wasn’t a lot of music that I was enjoying coming out of Britain. That was the time that brit-pop was coming out, I didn’t really relate to that that well. I was just relating to what was going on in America, and there were lots of exciting things going on at the same time.

IN: How was the decision made to expand the roster into UK bands such as The Pastels and Clinic?

LB: The Pastels we got involved pretty early on. They always had their ear to the ground, just in terms of being very close to the heart of the independent music scene. I know Stephen [McRobbie, The pastels’ Songwriter/singer/guitarist] from the Fire records days. He approached us to say that they’d like to work with us. I wanted to get involved with them as a sort of flagship band. I think they represented something important because they were an independent band in every way. Then, I think, we just wanted to be known as a label that didn’t just represent American music and we just waited for something to come along.

We wanted to send music back out into the world, I suppose, instead of just presenting great American music here, so good things just started to come through. Also, I think I just got less interested with the things coming out of America.

IN: In the last year Domino has put out two albums that have made a reasonable impact, but yet are very different in style. I’m referring to the Kills’ Keep On Your Mean Side, a largely analogue album which was recorded on the ‘back to basics principle’ and Four Tet’s Rounds, which relies heavily on computers. Why do you think Domino can get away with releasing two such diverse albums and not take a certain amount of flack for it from either faction?

LB: [laughs] Wow, I dunno. I’d like to think that the spirit isn’t too far dissimilar. [Long pause then slight sigh] I dunno. I’m glad we can get away with it. It’s all we wanted; to get away with. It just reflects our listening tastes and the artists we work with. We were listening to electronic music and we stumbled upon Four Tet and you know, he [Kieran Hebden AKA Four tet] grew up on Domino Records. It just seems so completely natural. In the same way The Kills seems completely natural. Everybody we work with, it’s just so organic and natural. The artists seem to gravitate towards us and we gravitate towards them. I just imagine that there are a lot of people out there who listen to electronic music the same way they listen to rock and roll music.

Especially now that the two are closely mixing into each other.

IN: Exactly, yeah. I always thought the two were very similar. I’ve always thought the Low-Fi/DIY whatever you wanna call it were pretty similar to electronic music. They were both people making music at home with whatever was around. As well as owning Domino, you’re also the head of A&R. What do you look for when you receive a demo or when you go out to sign a new band?

LB: I like to be surprised and excited. I’d like it to be something I’ve never heard before but that’s pretty tough these days. I just like it to be as unique as possible. I’d also like to meet the people as well, just know the spirit in which they go about it. I just like the idea that people would make music if there were record labels or not, which is the garage aesthetic I suppose.

IN: Where do you see Domino heading in the next ten years?

LB: Hopefully it’ll keep changing and developing. Personally, I think we’re gonna head into a more Motown influenced faze. A few more

IN: So, in your estimation, what’s the next big Domino band?

LB: We’ve just signed a band called Franz Ferdinand from Glasgow; I think they’re going to do really well. They’re like a sorta pop rock/early Joseph Cane art school band. They’ve got great songs and they’re very colourful and fresh, so I’ve got high hopes for them.

…

IN: As the interview ends, Laurence and I discuss some of his past signings, and what the future holds. He tells me he’s very excited for the opening of Domino America (formerly headed by Interpol guitarist Daniel Kessler, who’s band got too big) and I note that for Domino to release their English band’s in America is strangely ironic and almost pleasingly going full circle. Laurence agrees and laughs and after a short discussion on how he was expecting some thickly accented Dutch guy and got a Canadian instead, we sign off.

So that, my friends, brings us to what this article is all about. Our good friend is turning ten. Domino records, from all of us here at Incendiary and on behalf of anyone that’s ever listened to a good indie-record:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Everyone now: Happy birthday to you, happy birthd….