Held every third Saturday in April is Record Store Day (taking place on Saturday 16th April this year). Physical formats are very important to us, and with RSD approaching, we wanted to properly celebrate the all mighty vinyl record. So in the lead up, we decided to catch up with a few of our favourite record labels to discuss their cherished memories with the medium, and the RSD release that catches their eye the most. Today’s label in focus is Sports Day Records.
Written by Theo Lloyd-Hughes, Founder of Sports Day Records.
About six months after leaving university, in Spring 2015, I attempted to start a music community/label out of my bedroom in London. A platform to cultivate artists and curate releases. I begun by releasing my good friend’s band Lion Bark from Brighton. I found a photograph of his Mum and my Mum at our school sports day in the year 2000, so I named it Sports Day records. I didn’t really have any genre or style in mind, more a bedroom/lo-fi aesthetic that could apply to all types of music.
The record that resonates with you the most…
There are many to choose from but I’ll settle with Teen Dream by Beach House. That record has followed me around a lot. Six years, two different romantic relationships, secondary school, university, an exorbitant amount of aimless evenings with my headphones on. I have a long drawn out break up story with that record – which I won’t tell – but did end up re-telling to Robin Guthrie from Bella Union, and so he gifted me a special edition of Teen Dream on vinyl. I still haven’t opened it.
The Record Store Day release this year that you’re most excited about…
Sort of a boring choice but the Sensible Record Labels Vol.2 compilation. The record is 11 tracks, each one from a different brilliant artist and label. It also comes with a bunch of bonus content, including downloads, art, photos, notes and videos. It’s a great way to discover labels you don’t know about and also get an inside scoop on one you already admire. Compared to a lot of other RSD releases, this one is a steal at only £10. Not to fire shots at anyone…
For more on Sports Day Records, head to Facebook and Twitter.
For more on Record Store Day, visit their website here.
