Music Features

Playlist: Things We Lost In The Fire

In the last week, a shocking wave of rioting has shaken the United Kingdom to its core. Our beloved independent music scene became an unlikely victim of the riots on Monday night, when a fire decimated North London's Sony DADC warehouse, which served as the PIAS distribution centre. This has left countless independent labels facing a bleak and uncertain future.

A lot has been written about the fire and its consequences, and a lot of individuals and organisations are doing some great work to raise awareness and drum up support for the labels likely to be hardest hit. Here are a few links for those keen to learn more about the efforts being made to have those directly affected by this terrible tragedy:

[PIAS] and the Association of Independent Music (AIM) launch emergency fund to support labels

iTunes Supporting Independent Music: a portal featuring download links for a selection of albums from the affected labels

LabelLove: a new fundraising campaign, which aims to "rally the music industry"

. . .

In this special playlist, which has been compiled by David and Joe, we share some of our favourite tracks from the labels hit by the disaster. Every song featured here can be found on a 2011 release, and it's no coincidence that a healthy proportion of their parent albums are featured in our Believe the Hype section. Please buy a digital copy or two and help to support some of these great labels at what is undoubtedly a critical time.

1. tUnE-yArDs - Gangsta (4AD)

2. Little Roy - Sliver (Ark Recordings)

3. Wiley - 100% Publishing (Big Dada)

4. Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - Let's Stop Here (Chemikal Underground)

5. Junior Boys - Banana Ripple (Domino)

6. The Go! Team - T.O.R.N.A.D.O (Memphis Industries)

7. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx - I'll Take Care Of U (XL)

8. Destroyer - Chinatown (Dead Oceans)

9. Wild Beasts - Bed Of Nails (Domino)

10. The Sea and Cake - Covers (Thrill Jockey)

11. The Phoenix Foundation - Bitte Bitte (Memphis Industries)

12. Kurt Vile - Society Is My Friend (Matador)