In October 2018, following a 24 hour trip to Porto to see Saturn & The Sun play live alongside John Duncan, Steve Kirby, emboldened by a few beers in the early morning autumnal sunshine, was persuaded by Joachim Nordwall (of SATS & the head of Ideal Recordings) to set up his own cassette label.
Inspired by the brutal, but beautiful North Eastern coastline, with vast expansive beaches, back dropped by the remnants of a proud history of coal and steel, Industrial Coast set out with the aim of releasing physical product for underground artists who's work was currently only available digitally, with a focus on drone, dark ambient, noise and experimental sound.
As the label grew, more established acts also saw releases on the label, with Nordwall himself serving up the brooding electronic drone of Saturn & The Sun, alongside the Dub Techno of his The Idealist alter ego. Gothenburg artist Johan Zetterquist provided drone heavier than Sunn O))), whereas limited run cassettes were also issued by Bloom Offering (Helen Scarsdale Agency), Radish Brothers (members of the Rod Modell led Our Lady of The Flowers collective) and US noise heavyweights Richard Ramirez/Black Leather Jesus & Autoerotichrist.
2019 also saw the Anarcho Punk: Deconstructed, Reconstructed release, with the Industrial Coast roster taking on classics from Crass, Discharge, Conflict and more...all, of course, with approval from the original artists. No bootlegs here! This was followed by A Tribute to Minor Threat (having badgered Dischord for a while to get the go ahead).
Currently, the label is in the midst of issuing the 3 albums by drøne (Mike Harding, Mark Van Hoen) on cassette for the 1st time, with reversing into the future and a perfect blind currently available.
There has been a collaboration with iconic clothing brand 6876, releasing and remixing material by early 80s Edinburgh post punk band Visitors, and tee shirt collabs with Glasgow based We are 1 of 100 and Steven Vogel's Black Lodges. It’s been a busy first year, and big plans are being made for 2020!
A bespoke distro is also in operation, with releases available from Enmossed, Noir Age, Primitive Languages, Bank NYC and Fantastique, often exclusive to IC in respect of European distribution.
Industrial Coast are also regulars at THE ZONE with the latest playlist on Spotify now, where foundations are laid with experimental techno from the likes of DJ Speedsick, Soren Roi and Bobby Flan, before we veer off down a much darker path with Deathprod, Skin Crime and more, all top and tailed by Carl Abrahamson and Genesis P Orridge.
Industrial Coast can by found by that name on Instagram, SoundCloud and Bandcamp, with the online store at Industrialcoast.bigcartel.com