First things first, everything you see on these pages still works perfectly! But, from now on you will only find out what we got up to next over here. We're now called Indiecater Records if you don't mind so if we sound all high and mighty we apologise and promise to still speak to you from behind our blackened limousine windows.

Browsers set to STUN!

This one is a departure of sorts for us (again) in that ‘Youth Is Wasted On The Young’ is neither deleted nor hard to find. In fact if you still believe that mp3s are the devil’s spawn you can buy the CD from here. But, as you’ve probably suspected by now we are 100% digitally minded round these parts so are proud to offer Michael Knight’s fabulous debut for the all inclusive price of €3.50. For that you get the music, the original artwork and the cosy feeling that you are directly supporting Richie and the gang. That and the fact that once you’ve crossed our palms with paypalness the whole package can be yours within minutes (or seconds if hyper broadband be thy name). No wasteful packaging, no aimless rummaging, just good music in an instant.

‘Youth Is Wasted On The Young’ came out in 2005 and since then it has hasn’t strayed too far from our attention. In fact for most of December that year Mr and Mrs Indiecater danced around like mad things with the album as our private disco. At the time I was a Belle & Sebastian obsessive (wavered a tad since) so the perfect little cherubs that were ‘Waves To The Shore’, ‘Leaving Town’ and ‘Seasons’ put a spring in our step and a glow in our heart. But, the delights didn’t end there, no ‘Youth Is Wasted On The Young’ is scattered with genius like moments that never lose their sense of fun or sweet melody. You’d have to look long and hard to find an album so well endowed with winning tunes and that’s why we are intent on doing our best to bring it to as many new people as possible.

Anyway, enough of my blathering, it’s always better to hear it from the horse’s (or foals in this case?) mouth so here is lead singer Richie Murphy’s version about how ‘Youth Is Wasted On The Young’ was brought to life.


"To the minority in any way familiar with my working methods, that the first Michael Knight album's journey from genesis to completion was inordinately long should not come as a surprise. To the remainder, presumably, it will be simply a neutral fact at the start of an already increasingly dreary sales pitch.

It took approximately two years of rampant inefficiency to complete the record, which began after the release of the No More Lonely Knights EP at the end of 2003. It took seven or eight months to rehearse the (mostly already written) songs, recording was relatively swift (more on that later), mixing dragged on a little but then artwork dragged on A LOT. Mainly because it took stupidly long to figure out a suitable "concept" on my part – the artists and design people involved were infinitely more organised. Depressingly, this pattern was to be repeated with the next record. The recording was probably the most fun, no, interesting, no, expensive part, as is inevitable for anyone's first experience in a REAL STUDIO.

Was it exciting? Being the sort more easily shaken than stirred, I can't claim to have been rabidly and uncomplicatedly enthused, if for no reason other than that the time spent in the studio alternated between ecstatically listening back to newer recordings (a pox on flattering studio monitors) and disappointedly listening back to older recordings (...whose flattery could only go so far). Being an actual three-piece band who were all good friends and mostly sequestered for the recording period was a fun aspect, and contrasts with the more piecemeal approach of the second album (which brought its own rewards too, I must confess).

In terms of the music itself and how it sounds now…it's hard to say. It often sounds like someone else's record now, which is what one hopes for if they're to progress artistically (though there may be other explanations, such as personality disorders). It's clearly quite a different record to the newer one in some respects, but I often recognize similarities, or anticipations, or echoes (in the other direction), and then there are the moments of joy that are entirely unique to it. In some respects it's like reading an old diary and lamenting forgotten aspects of oneself.

Finally, a pointless anecdote about the recording itself…the engineer received a text from the owner, informing him that if someone identifying themselves as Bono were to call the studio phone, they were Bono, and he should take the call. Given the utter pointlessness of such a directive, you can probably guess whether he called. If not, the answer can be found in the sleeve notes."

Listen to Youth Is Wasted On The Young!




Press Quotes

'they sound like a charming hybrid of Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura and delicately sung Burt Bacharach numbers'

Gareth Maher, Cluas

'redress the indignity of this album's criminal disregard and pick it up now'

Lauren Murphy, Entertainment.ie

'This is quite a lovely debut'

IndiePages

'the only musical kitt you’ll need for your home, portable or, of course, your car stereo'

Indiecater ;)

In an attempt to appear a little more swish we’ve just introduced a new shopping cart system on the site. Now you can buy as many products as you want in one go and view what’s in your shopping cart at the click of the button! It’s amazing the little things that get us excited so to celebrate we are introducing a discount for those who plump for more than 1 album. So if you decide to buy any 2 albums on the site just use the code ‘twindiecater’ to get 5% off your total price. For those who go a step further and pick up a hat-trick (or more) of indiecater’s finest there is a 10% discount available once you use the code ‘trindiecater’. Just type the relevant discount code in the discount section of the shopping cart and press the 'update cart' button. Not only will you have sweet sounds but you’ll also have more money for pints!

To Sum Up (or down as in this case):

twindiecater (2 items) = 5% off
trindiecater (3 items or more) = 10% off

What started out as a once-off compilation consisting of unreleased tracks from some of our favourite bands has quickly mushroomed into something resembling a record label (!). For the most part it has been great fun and a lovely way to give something back to the talented musicians who fill our evenings with such sparkling soundtracks. So after a couple of compilations and a couple of reissues we are proud to present our latest offering Indiecater Vol. 3. As ever we are indebted to all 10 contributors who have very kindly offered up their work to us. We hope that somewhere deep inside this compilation you'll find something that meets with your approval. We think it's a good one but that won't matter a whole lot unless you do too.

Here is the track listing:

1) Sa Sevol - The Little Ones (Michigan)
2) Ral Partha Vogelbacher - Birthday in Beijing (San Francisco)
3) Ian Love - The Only Night (Brooklyn)
4) Bakers At Dawn - Hopeful (Malmö)
5) Cats On Fire - Higher Grounds (Åbo/Turku)
6) Celestial - Fragile Heart (Örebro)
7) The Dying Seconds - I'll Make The Best Weapon (Dublin)
8) Starfucker - German Love (Portland)
9) Ravens and Chimes - General Lafayette! You Are Not Alone (New York)
10) Angel Pier - Sprites (Gorey/Ottawa/Dublin)

All this including some unique artwork for just €4.50!

Listen to Indiecater Vol. 3 in its entirety!






If you don't have a paypal account or credit card just email me and we can sort something out.

Please remember you will need to use Winrar to extract the mp3s, information sheet and artwork from the file you have purchased. If you don't have Winrar you can download it for free from the Winrar website.

If you are having any problems purchasing or downloading the compilation please give me a shout.

This is our second reissue and this time it comes from an act much closer to home. Back in the mid-90's Sunbear were touted as future kings but in the end it all came to naught. Wasn't for the lack of quality output however as their debut album remains an incandescent example of a young band pulling out all the stops to dramatise what was buzzing around their heads. 'Sunbear' was a remarkable achievement that pushed the boundaries in an already vibrant indie scene in Dublin at the time. Sadly a miniscule marketing budget didn't help and despite numerous replays of 'Notebook' on RTE's seminal 'No Disco' programme 'Sunbear' faded from view. Of course the boys from Sunbear went on to form the very much alive and thriving Ruby Tailights so who are we to rule out a one-off 'Sunbear' extravaganza. Many thanks to Paddy and Martin for their efforts in making the reissue of this important record possible. The album is selling for €3.50.

To give 'Sunbear' some context the band's vocalist Martin Kelly has kindly pieced the story of the album together for us.

"Well, way back in 1993 Sunbear made its first attempt at playing a couple of songs live in front of a somewhat bemused audience. Lyrics weren’t the problem, as I never saw the necessity to write too many of them in one song, but singing was a major issue! I never wanted to be a singer (I still don’t actually!), but we all gave it a go and it was decided that I would take the role and try my best to weave my mumblings somewhere between the distortion of all our crap instruments. The only reason being our uncontrollable desire to be in a band and play really loud music.

As well as smothering our ears in My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Swervedriver and Pale Saints amongst others, we were all so influenced and impressed by the amazing bands that played, what seemed like, every weekend in Dublin at that time (In Motion, The Idiots, Luggage, The Mexican Pets, Pet lamb). After a while we were lucky enough to share gigs with all of them.

We also played a lot with Whipping boy, and in time started to pull quite a few punters into the support gigs we were playing. It was all very shambolic if I remember correctly! Someone said once that the reason they liked seeing us live was our unpredictability – things could go to shit at any point and swing to a moment of sonic bliss the next. I’m not even sure if we ever really enjoyed it as we were never happy with the gigs and I seem to remember lots of arguments and drunken stupidity!

So after a year or so hauling our gear to every venue in the city, and playing as many gigs a week as we could, we decided to record an album. It was a kinda spur of the moment thing in a way. A conversation with Og Crudden, from Dead Elvis records, who were just about to put out the In Motion album “The language of everyday life” planted the seed in our minds. Dead Elvis were working with Marc Carolan, who was the main engineer and producer in a basement Studio in Parnell Street called Fuse. It had an 8 track machine and a live room and was producing some really great records, despite its impoverished surroundings, like the In Motion album and the Wormhole album. So we all saved £200 or so each (which was fucking hard seeing as myself and Moss were struggling in really shit paying jobs at the time!) and paid for a week in the studio & 1000 copies of the album. And away we went!

I think we set out to be as unconventional as we could (It doesn’t seem that way listening to it now I think) and wanted lots of mood and little interesting bits all over the place. I think we took things quite seriously. Marc was really great with us! We had done hardly any recording at that stage so he brought the ideas to life for us. We wanted all out fuzz-distortion on some songs and clear dream-pop melodies on others, and I think we got that. And I think all the influences are there, but I hope we still kept a feeling of originality. “Resin” and “Things to do” are fairly obvious indie rockers, but we loved loads of different kinds of music, so “Centre Page” was a really nice way to show that. It started out as a real dreamy sound-scape with delayed guitars and then Marc came in and started layering up sounds and we just kept going with it. The computer voice still sounds great even though people always say that we ripped off Radiohead! (They didn’t do it for another 3 years or so – Fuckers!!...only messing!)

The idea of having the two parts on the album (Opening notes and Closed book) came from our real want to bring out vinyl! But that never happened.

Anyway, nearly 15 years on we still love the album, and in a weird “not up our own ass” way, we’re all really proud of it. It’s a really lovely thing to think that other people do too! MP3Hugger has given us a great opportunity to get it to some fresh listeners. There were not huge numbers the first time around, maybe it can become an epidemic this time! It’s a strange little album with lots of flaws and production short-comings (Not Marc’s fault – we just didn’t have the fancy ass stuff folks have today!), but if you can look past these you might just get it….There’s 30 minutes of traffic noise at the end if you don’t!"

Listen to Sunbear in its entirety!





Press Quotes

‘One album that’s never mentioned in any top Irish albums of all time is without doubt one of the greatest. Way back in the early 90s a young Dublin band called Sunbear recorded a stunning debut album’

Totally Dublin Magazine, October 2006.

‘Sunbear is an album of exhilarating but mysterious guitar music’

Alan Corr, RTE Guide.

‘Sunbear wed that pure Byrds-like high intensity pop melody to wild and divergent surges of amped up craziness’

Hot Press, November 1994.

‘Sunbear have managed to create an enlightened, playful and powerful record’

Michael Ross, The Sunday Times, March 1995.

I spent the last day or so setting up an indiecater page on the newest thing called Bandcamp, a place where bands can upload their music for promotional and selling purposes. It’s a nifty tool for both the listener and the bands and for the moment it is completely free. Going to use it as a nice way to stream the indiecater compilations, test the waters as it were without getting your feet wet. If you feel they’re worth splashing out on then all you gotta do is come back here and within the click of a mouse you’ll be indie’d up and ready to go.

Released in the mid '90's Red Star Belgrade’s (yes, they were named after the football team) classic ‘Where The Sun Doesn’t Shine’ has been in hibernation for several years. But now thanks to RSB’s Bill Curry and indiecater it has been awoken from it’s slumber and you can buy it now in high quality mp3 for the grand price of €3.50.

Bill has been talking to us about the album giving a unique insight into how this great album was crafted.

I'll be honest with you: it always kind of broke my heart that Red Star Belgrade's records never reached a wider audience. I don't say that with any sense of self-pity, but it's true. (There I said it.) I'm certainly thankful for the 10-plus years that I spent playing music with my wife, Graham, and a cavalcade of friends, ne'er do wells, alcoholics, and manic depressives. I don't regret a moment, and I wouldn't change a thing. I just always believed that if more people could have heard our brand of despair-filled, self-loathing rock, they might have felt a little less alone.

If you'd have told me at the beginning that RSB would never be famous, I would have just given you a wry smile and went right back to my guitar. Although I never wanted to be famous in a "rock star" sense, I did want our music to be heard. I really thought we had something unique to say. I still do. Graham was a great drummer and we did everything with passion and a whole lot of heart. There were bands that could play circles around us (and my voice was never the most pleasing one on the planet), but we meant every word we said. I thought that was all that really mattered. I guess I was naïve—but then again, it takes a certain naiveté to start a band.

Red Star Belgrade was never an alt-country band—our music incorporated everything from pop to indie, rock and beyond—but somehow we ended up mostly playing on bills with other "No Depression" acts—some great (like The Ass Ponys and The Silos), others gutless poseurs (like Ryan Adams). There was nothing more rewarding than playing on a bill with a prima donna like Adams (complete with his expensive Keith Richards coiffe) and watching his crowd shit their collective pants as Red Star Belgrade's sonic onslaught began. Sometimes just terrifying an audience is its own reward.

Unlike Adams, we weren't there to entertain anyone (I never even opened my eyes while I sang). We were usually so hungover from the night before, we could barely stand. I was angry and drunk and filled with despair, but Red Star Belgrade kicked ass in a way that Adams can only dream about. The bewildered looks we got from Adams' A&R people after the show was worth it. Fuck 'em—they're all probably working in the film industry now, putting together another Jerry Bruckheimer production starring Nicholas Cage.

So here it is, our first full-length CD, "Where the Sun Doesn't Shine." After two critically acclaimed 7" EPs ("Lose Your Temper, Gain an Injury" and "Union, SC") and a 7" single ("Polpot"), we recorded this CD for a small Florida label called Put It On a Cracker (run by our longtime friend, Bill Bryson). Looking back, "Where the Sun" set the stage for RSB records that would follow. Themes of anger, betrayal, resentment, depression, loneliness, despair and disappointment permeate the record. I wonder why we never made it on the radio.

Released in 1994 or '95, "Where the Sun" was recorded on a digital 8-track at our then home in Pittsboro, North Carolina. A lot of the credit for this record goes to producer/engineer Tim Harper (who recorded a few gold records for The Connells). Tim's bass line for "Saddest Girl" made the song a real classic and his aggressive production and mastering really made the record jump out at you. We can never thank him enough.

Thanks now go out to Kevin and MP3 Hugger. Hopefully he'll turn a whole new generation on to Red Star Belgrade.

So pay your damn money and download the record already. And when you're done listening, buy a guitar and start your own band. And if you're not in it for the fame, it'll be worth every moment. That much I'll guarantee you.

--Bill Curry

Listen to the album in its entirety!






Press Quotes:

Allmusic ‘it's gritty, emotional, and occasionally unsettling material has an unimpeachable sense of musical (and cultural) purity’.

Puncture ‘Where The Sun Doesn't Shine recalls Neil Young at his most determined: if Young's voice betrays vulnerability and tenderness; Curry's voice cracks when he tears open an old wound’

Boston Globe ‘The simplicity of RSB's music underscores the first take feel of this indispensable music.’

Chicago Tribune ‘Red Star Belgrade's mournful and literate country defies comparison…’

Option Magazine ‘Consistently thrilling...the kind of richly detailed writing you'd equate with a Southern author...brimming with homespun witticisms and accented guitar rock’

And our very own eulogy via mp3hugger from 2006.

Christmas comes earlier every year. Hooray is what I say. At this rate of progress Christmas will only have ended and the next one will swing into action. So it being late September don’t be giving out because I’ve mentioned it. I’m not trying to sell hampers you see, it’s much cooler than that, I’m trying to gather a collection of the coolest indie Christmas tunes together for the festive version of indiecater. There are some stellar tinsel flecked ditties lined up already but there are still some gaps. So if you/your band would like to submit a seasonal number for consideration please get in touch. The normal indiecater rules apply and the income from the compilation goes straight back to the contributing artists. So close the blinds, stick on the blinking fairy lights and record something that'll be take Cliff's place this yuletide.

A slight departure for indiecater but a change of direction that will pay dividends for your ears I promise. It all started out as a result of a random conversation but has since sprouted Bolt like powered legs. So in a short while you’ll be able to start buying albums that have been lost to the mists of time. Album’s that deserve to flood the internet byways with their unwavering genius. And as is customary ‘round these parts the presentation will be cheap and cheerful which means that you’ll have a brand new digital copy of a classic indie album on your music player within seconds and all for the slimline price of €3.50. It’s all very exciting for us and if you’ve liked the indiecater compilations thusfar we hope it will be just as smile inducing for you too. Of course all of this is not going to disrupt the main thrust of this adventure and Indiecater Volume 3 will be along as promised in late October. And putting December’s Christmas compilation together in September is making us all feel very seasonal well before even the dastardly shops contemplate that first out of place tarted up tree.

That difficult second album eh! Volume 2 comes a couple of months after the indiecater series was hatched and will hopefully go some way to proving again what amazing talent is bubbling just beneath the surface. This can be your starting point for discovering each of the 10 talented artists on this compilation. Buy their albums, go to their shows and wear their t-shirts.

Here is the track listing:

1) Montag - Going Places (Montreal)
2) Ned Collette - The Country With A Smile (Melbourne)
3) The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock - In Country Dark (Dublin)
4) Mumblin' Deaf Ro - What's To Be Done With El Salvador (Dublin)
5) AM Syndicate - To The Peasants Of The Emperor (Austin)
6) Eagle Seagull - I'm Sorry But I'm Beginning To Hate Your Face (Nebraska)
7) The Van Allen Belt - The Status Quo (A Line Dance) (Pittsburgh)
8) The Very Most - Good Fight Fighting (Boise)
9) Venice Is Sinking - Pulaski Heights (Athens, Georgia)
10) The Ruby Suns - There Are Birds (Auckland)

All this including some unique artwork for just €4.50!

If you'd like to listen to the compilation before you purchase click here.

If you don't have a paypal account or credit card just email me and we can sort something out.

Please remember you will need to use Winrar to extract the mp3s, information sheet and artwork from the file you have purchased. If you don't have Winrar you can download it for free from the Winrar website.

If you are having any problems purchasing or downloading the compilation please give me a shout.

But that’s all you gotta wait until Volume 2 is unveiled. The shackles have come off a bit with this one in that the tracks won’t be confined to unreleased material. The reason being that it is quite a task trying to raid the archives and come back with something quality. I mean why would a band keep its jewels locked away in a dusty cupboard when the world could be trying them on? Choosing this path has inevitably led to more complicated arrangements with labels/bands because except for 1 track all the material has been previously released in some form. Despite the hurdles such was the rush of inspired music that flooded my inbox I already have enough tracks for a third release in October. That clears the way for what I am looking forward to most, namely an indie Christmas album! This will be a free gift to all those who have bought Volume’s 1 to 3 so start snapping up indiecater in an effort to make this December the most festive ever.

Hear Something You like?

Then Why Not Own It Forever?

Just a quick update on the state of play with Volume 2. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks writing to bands to see if they were interested in getting on board and the response has been brilliant. At this stage I almost have the full complement of 10 tunes and the standard is very high. As there is no restriction on the tracks (in other words they not confined to unreleased material this time) I was able to browse through the hugger archives and pick some of my favourites from the last few years. Again there will be a wide geographical spread in the artists contributing and this time you have may even have heard of some of them! As a bonus for those who bought Volume One there will a discount to reward your alarming blind faith. Expect the compilation to appear around this time next month.

3 days in and the sales and reviews are starting to pour in. The most satisfying thing has been the general thumbs up with which the music has been received. I spent a couple of hours over the weekend making submissions to several online music magazines and newspapers and although this is generally a hit and miss affair I am hopeful that one or two will take notice. If you have a blog or are involved in any online music resource that may be interested in featuring indiecater please give me a shout and I'll send you on a copy of the album. Given how things are panning out I have decided to start work on its successor (!) which will be released in late August. Once again if you are in a band and would like to be considered for Volume Two please get in touch. This time all submissions will be considered, even previously released tracks, on condition you own the rights to them or have received permission from your label.

Well it’s finally here! The lengthy preamble is over and it’s time to let the music do the talking. I hope you enjoy the 10 tracks on this collection. Just click on the buy icon below to purchase indiecater volume one for the princely sum of €4.50! If you don't have a paypal account or a credit card just email me and we can sort something out.

Here is the track listing:

1) Burning Codes - It's Alright (Belfast)
2) Slushco - Astronaut (Atlanta)
3) Storkboy Choons - Rockfield Symphony (Kells)
4) The E.L.F. - Cockroaches (Sydney)
5) Foreign Slippers - Packed The Car (Norrkoping)
6) Beaten Awake - You Remind Me of Me (Kent, Ohio)
7) Call To Mind - (Untitled) (Inverness)
8) Empty Rooms - We've Been Waiting for You (San Francisco)
9) Cymbals Eat Guitars - Share (New York)
10) Michael Knight - Dumbshow (Director's Cut) (Dublin)

If you'd like to listen to the compilation before you purchase click here.

Please remember you will need to use Winrar to extract the mp3s, information sheet and artwork from the file you have purchased. If you don't have Winrar you can download it for free from the Winrar website.

If you are having any problems purchasing or download the compilation please give me a shout.

Yeah, the first compilation is not even in the can and already my head is drifting onto what will come after it. Time is almost out for Volume One and I think it will be an impressive release. The artwork is coming along well too thanks to Lorna’s efforts. Volume Two is looking like a certainty now so if you are in a band and would like to contribute please get in touch. I think the unreleased side of things confused a lot of people so V2 won’t have this restriction. The only condition is that in submitting a song you have the rights to do so. Further down the line I’d like to release an indie Christmas album so if you have something that might fit give me a shout. More on this later.

Yep, strange that I can say that just 1 week on from that 3 a.m. thought that started all this. The songs have been flooding in and in the majority of cases have been truly wonderful. At this stage I am 90% sure about what the final 10 tracks will be but there are still some stragglers so the door won't be closed until Friday week (27th June). After that submissions will be only be considered for Volume Two (he says confidently and with little idea about how Volume One will work out). I think we are looking at a release date of Monday 7th July. I am currently deciding on a promo track that will be given to bloggers/media who wish to review the album. Promo tracks are useful as they can be used as a free download in conjunction with a review to promote an album, for example Sigur Ros used 'Gobbledigook' as a promo track for their newbie. All of mp3's on indiecater will be encoded at 256kbs which in layman terms means that they should be as good a quality as what you'd hear on a CD.

Seven great tracks have made the cut so far (I won't reveal them yet as I'm not 100%) and I have spent some time ordering and reordering them so that there is a natural flow to the way they play in sequence. I've listened to the chosen ones quite a few times and none have become tiresome which is always a good test for a song. Thus far some of the submissions have surprised, some have disappointed and others have been as good as I expected them to be. It is going to be difficult making the final selection and I hope I don't upset anyone who doesn't make the cut. If things work out this could be just the start of a series of compilations so it is quite likely that some songs submitted, but not selected, for volume one could pop up down the line. Currently I am waiting on about a dozen other bands to submit their work. These songs will be either brand new recordings or reworked versions of previous releases. With a bit of luck I'll have the final 10 tracks selected by the end of June with a release date not too long afterwards. All very exciting, my inner nerd is having a field day!

We are up to 15 tracks submitted, with about the same number promised! The quality has been outstanding and there is a nice variation in the tunes so far. The biggest issue now could be to choosing the final 10 songs! If it works out then this could perhaps be the start of a series of releases so those that don’t make it onto volume one could be part of a future collection. I can’t get over the generosity and enthusiasm of the bands, giving their work away to a blogger whom they’ve never met. Hopefully I can repay their faith and indiecater will turn out to be a success. I have been working on the backend over the last day, I wanted a nice clean pay-and-here’s-your-download process and thanks to the help from Simon at SVC I think I have something that will make buying the album a seamless process. You may be wondering how I’ve had so much time to do all this, well having a week off work helps. Music in the morning/afternoon and Euro 2008 in the evening, yep, it’s turning out to be the best week ever!

2 days in and the response have been overwhelming. We’re almost halfway there already with 4 really good tracks lined up. Several high calibre acts are recording new material this weekend especially for the compilation (gulp!), which will mean we will be in a very healthy position by this time next week. Someone asked me earlier what the CD would look like – well, I decided early on that this would be a digital release only. No point in introducing unnecessary delivery and packaging costs when a simple zipped file can do the business for free. The zipped file will include the 10 songs, a playlist (so the songs play in order), track listing, original artwork plus some background information and links about the bands taking part. It will probably sell for €4.50 with the income shared amongst all those taking part. As ever I would welcome any thoughts, ideas, guidance that you may have.

Sometime soon mp3hugger will have in its possession 10 brand new songs from 10 different independent artists. The songs will be packaged together to make a compilation to be titled ‘indiecater: volume one’. The collection will be low priced and sold directly from this site. Each participating artist will receive an equal percentage of the purchase price and so will be guaranteed an income once at least a single copy of the album is purchased.

Submit Your Song

As everyone knows a compilation is not really a compilation without songs so this is where you and your band come in. The only condition for submitting a song is that it is of good quality, hasn’t been released commercially already and will remain exclusive to this compilation. In return you will receive exposure to mp3hugger’s readership (currently 1K a day), receive income from every sale and benefit from any reviews on blogs/other media that the compilation may receive. If you are interested, have questions or would like to submit a song straight away please contact me.

Buying The Compilation

Those who buy the album will receive a zipped file containing 10 high quality mp3s that have been vetted by mp3hugger. This means there will be no filler whatsoever; every track will come with the mp3hugger seal of approval. Take it as read that there will be no compilation unless 10 tracks of high enough quality have been submitted. Also included in the file with be some unique artwork, a track listing as well as information relating to all the participating bands.

What Is Point Of This Exercise?

The number of great bands that receive little or no press whatsoever constantly surprises me. This collection will gather 10 of the best, which should prove to be an attractive proposition for indie music fans. The compilation will be of high quality and budget priced with profits going straight back to the music makers. If Volume One is a success further compilations may then become possible.

Early Days

As you’ve probably guessed I am winging it a bit here but I think that something like this is workable. If you have any suggestions or issues with any of the above please get in touch. I could do with all the help I can get.

Indiecater is an offshoot of the mp3hugger music blog. It's not really a record label in the traditional sense as we mostly put out records (not really records per se as everything you see on here is a digital only release - in other words you can't touch it, although we do hope you can feel it) by people who've paid for the recordings themselves. And because we're picky buggers we only put out a record if it's something that we'd buy ourselves, that way we can put our heart and soul into telling the world how great it is. Indiecater initially released compilations of songs that had appeared on mp3hugger but we soon realised that there was much more that could be done. That's why we will be reissuing albums that we've always loved but are no longer in circulation (but blood pumping all the same!) or are hard to find. We've tried to keep our prices low in the hope that people like you will take a leap of faith and end up finding some music that will stay with you forever. It's all very simple really and the best thing of all is that the majority of the income from every sale goes straight back to the bands.

P.S. The ‘we’ is really an ‘I’ but self-promotion is no promotion as some famous royal once said.

What is indiecater?
I’ve heard mp3s sound brutal so what’s the story?
Why are your releases so cheap?
Where does all the money go?
Tell me how I can buy an indiecater release?
I’ve downloaded the album, now how do I play it?
Can I download what I buy from indiecater as many times as I like?
I prefer music products you can hold in your hands such as compact discs, cassette tapes and vinyl so am I wasting my time with indiecater?
I’d like to sample the music before I buy it, is there any way I can do this?
I’ve flippin’ lost/deleted/can’t find the album I bought from you, I’m distraught, can you help me?
Why should I shell out my hard earned cash on more that one release?
Blast, I’ve bought several indiecater releases already and never copped that there was a discount available, is there anyway I can claim it back?
I’m in a band that has released an album/EP and I wouldn’t half mind having it on indiecater, is that possible?
I have a blog/website/radio show/newspaper/magazine/fanzine and I’d like to feature one of your releases, can I get a promo?
Do you stock the Stereophonic's latest triumph?










What is Indiecater?

indiecater is a digital record label run by music blogger mp3hugger. By digital we mean that every album for sale is available to buy in mp3 format only, there are no CD’s although at some stage we’d like to release something on vinyl.

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I’ve heard mp3s sound brutal so what’s the story?

All of the mp3s on indiecater are set to 256kbps (in laymen’s terms this means they sound just as good as what you’d hear on a CD, if you are a canine reading this I must convey our apologies) which ensures an extremely high sound quality.

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Why are your releases so cheap?

While there is nothing cheap about the quality of the material we believe that music has been overpriced for too long. Charging €20 for a CD album is reprehensible in our eyes despite how good the music might be. By setting a reasonable price we hope to get as many people as possible to experience these great artists. What we offer is only a sliver of their back catalogue so we hope that indiecater can be the starting point of your voyage of discovery of them.

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Where does all the money go?

Our primary objective when setting up this label was to give something back to the artists we love. So the majority of the income from every sale goes back to the artists in question. This will hopefully go some way towards helping them record even more wonderful music. What’s left is used to pay for the running of the site.

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Tell me how I can buy an indiecater release?

We understand that buying stuff on the internet can be daunting so we’ve gone to great lengths to make the experience as easy as possible. All of our transactions are handled through Paypal which is renowned as one of the safest internet shopping facilitators. If you are still a bit wary just give us a shout and we can work something out using more traditional methods.

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I’ve downloaded the album, now how do I play it?

After you’ve downloaded an album from indiecater it will appear on your computer as a zipped file. This file contains all the artwork, information and mp3s. The zipped file is characterised by a .rar extension (much like a word document would have a .doc extension) so if you’ve just bought Sunbear’s album it will be called sunbear.rar. The zipped file in itself is quite useless and it won’t emit as much as a single note no matter what way you click it. So to extract the mp3s from the .rar you need to have winrar installed on your computer. Winrar is a simple and free piece of software that you can download from here. Once this software has been installed on your computer just right click on the .rar file and chose the extract option and the mp3s will pour forth like honey from a summer beehive. With a bit of luck you’ll also be buzzing from the experience!

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Can I download what I buy from indiecater as many times as I like?

At the moment we have set the download limit to 3 times but if you need more just contact us and we’ll sort you out.

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I prefer music products you can hold in your hands such as compact discs, cassette tapes and vinyl so am I wasting my time with indiecater?

In our opinion CD’s have had their day (cassette tapes you say - where have you been living for the last decade, still have a smidgeon of love for them myself it must be said) but there is nothing stopping you printing out the artwork and burning the mp3s to a blank CD. At some stage we hope to release something on vinyl but not just right now.

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I’d like to sample the music before I buy it, is there any way I can do this?

Yep, every release on indiecater is playable through the website players dotted around the site. Just go to the release you are interested in and scroll down to the end. We’ll also have a radio page set up soon that will provide a nice sampler of everything available on the site. Also, when our catalogue is big enough we hope to offer a free downloadable sampler.

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I’ve flippin’ lost/deleted/can’t find the album I bought from you, I’m distraught, can you help me?

Of course, just get in touch using the same email address you bought the album with and we’ll send you a fresh download straight away!

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Why should I shell out my hard earned cash on more that one release?

Delighted you asked that because if you buy more than one release at a time you can get up to 10% off the price of your total order.

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Blast, I’ve bought several indiecater releases already and never copped that there was a discount available, is there anyway I can claim it back?

Crikey, well if you get in touch we can give you an instant 10% off your next purchase!

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I’m in a band that has released an album/EP and I wouldn’t half mind having it on indiecater, is that possible?

Please, please talk to us. Indiecater is constantly on the lookout for new and exciting stuff to release and we guarantee that if we like what you do your music will be appearing on these very pages in the quickest possible time.

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I have a blog/website/radio show/newspaper/magazine/fanzine and I’d like to feature one of your releases, can I get a promo?

We’d be over the moon for any exposure you can give so drop us an email straight away.

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Don't go there.......




Do you stock the Stereophonic's latest triumph?

Piss off!

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Solidarity and lickable covers, why it's gotta be the indiecater compilations series!


Hits In The Car gives the compilation the thumbs up by saying 'Indiecater Volume 3 is out now and features some absolutely wonderful artists!'

Man about town and self-confessed vinyl addict Matt had this to say 'features the best indie talent drawn from around the globe'.


Other Mentions

5acts

What is it about Vol. 2 and 8/10's? Not sure really but here is another one from the Clare People Newspaper.

8/10 ain't too shabby and that's what Volume 2 scores from the Clare People Interactive site, they also like the way it 'unearths some gems'.

Fresh Deer Meat prove that indiecater is certainly to their taste when they admit that 'few compilations this year will open your eyes to such a diverse range of quality artists'

indiecater gets its first review as gaeilge from slinky online mag nós* and in the process scores an impressive 4/5!

Matt Vinyl cuts to the chase and in the process hits the nail on the head 'reminiscent of old folk recordings in the way that it’s put together'.

'excellent tracks by some uniquely talented artists' is how our fav Danish blogger Stytzer puts it.

'a super affordable album of gleaming musical treasures' is how Gardenhead describes the album, extra points for acknowledging hugger's insatiable taste for punnery.

See what you hear likes what he hears 'the second part of this charming series has arrived'.


Other Mentions

5acts
Indie Limerick
Quiet Color
Side One: Track One
Silicon Republic
State Magazine
Tenacious T

indiecater achieves what appears to be a near perfect score, well 8/10 is pretty nifty don't ya think? from the newly revamped and now fully nationwide Analogue Magazine.

An ecstatic in-depth review from Tim at Tenacious T that culminates in ‘a good compilation is like sex and by god this one proves that point - the foreplay, the action and the sated yet yearning for more feeling at the end. God give me a cigarette now!’.

Album review which has comments on all 10 tracks from Pretending To Be Japanese.

From blogger come burgeoning record label Song, By Toad "a bloody good listen".

From the high priest of self-depreciation Matt Vinyl "a very diverse and wonderful range of music".

The Egocentric lads had this to say about indiecater "a compilation of underground music that's just too damned good to remain underground".

Jared from one of our favourite blogs 5 Acts had really nice things to say "I love it! And the best part: not one single track here is a letdown".

Danish Blogger Hits In The Car says "Now this could be very, very interesting!" in relation to indiecater.


Radio

mp3hugger was interviewed on Phantom FM on 29th July 2008 about the indiecater compilation, you can listen to some of it here hugger on phantom


Newspapers

The Clare People
The Irish Times
The Irish World & With Support From Emerging Mancs


Blogs

Asleep On The Compost Heap
The Bringer Of Song
The Devil Has The Best Tuna
Fabulist!
The Indie Hour
Indie Limerick
Keep Hope Inside
Largehearted Boy
Nialler9
Ohmpark
Pascal's Country Sounds
See What You Hear


Podcasts

Clare People Interactive