New releases from Sedem Minut Strachu and Abigail/Vuil are here and will be ready to ship next week probably once the bands have their copies. The new Headless Kross LP is here but Tommy’s glueing the covers together, quite possibly as we speak, so they’ll be shipping when I pick em up from him! Overdue distro update too, unfortunately a bunch of stuff I got in never even made it to the site cos it sold in the shop or on Discogs.
I’m going to be completely honest here: 2016 was an absolute shitter of a year for me on many levels. I guess if you know me personally then you have an idea of the reasons for this, and if you don’t know me personally well, you probably couldn’t care less.
Anyway, I guess running this label has been both a means to drive me up the fucking spout and cause a lot of financial and mental stress over the years, but it’s also existed as a means of providing me with something of worth to continue on with year on year, something to be proud of which isn’t some vanity project but helps people get their music out there. I just checked out my updates section from previous years and it seems I seem to spend a lot of time at the beginning of the new year trying to work out new releases, announce stuff (that mostly does end up happening), or just spouting off rubbish. Ten years ago today I wrote this, and I guess it’s probably still pertinent and still will be in another ten years’ time:
“Happy new year and thanks to all who continue to support At War in these times of redundant musical environment, cliquey bullshit, and lame attitudes. DIY OR DIE.”
Maybe there’s some redundancy in my words here but in the past ten years I’ve seen a lot of bands and labels come and go, I’ve seen a lot folk who were cool turn out not to be cool, seen characters absolutely sell out their granny and all their principles to get a couple of rungs up the ladder, told a lot of people to get to fuck, and been told by the odd person to get to fuck too. I still have the same shitty old website, probably 90% of people in the “scene” still have never heard of me, I’ve got a lot less money than I did before, but a lot more good pals and cracking releases. Also, it’s 10 past modnight on January the first and I’m updating my website, ha!
AND YOU NOW WHAT? I’M STILL STANDING.