So much of our formative music experiences are tied to a place and time. It could have been that massive arena show that signaled towards a shift in the culture; a modestly attended punk show in a sweaty basement where you bonded with strangers while screaming your lungs out to every word to drown out a malfunctioning PA; a generator powered rave in the middle of some desolate field; or that long solo overnight drive with a binder full of burned CDRs.
For Chris Tipton, of the long running London-based concert promotion company and record label Upset The Rhythm, curating and creating these experiences has been a way to open new worlds for hungry music fans. Now heading into its 18th year, Tipton can look back at some of the earliest gigs where his tireless drive helped create transcendent live experiences and ultimately lead to him working with and releasing music by some of his favorite artists.
We caught up with Tipton to talk about some of the craziest shows he has ever put together, making sure Jandek had toilet paper backstage, getting help from Ian Mackaye and Amy Farina to release his own records and much more.
Between promoting shows and releasing records, Upset The Rhythm has had a big and varied lifespan as a label. How did you first get involved in the music scene?
This coming December I will have been running Upset The Rhythm for 18 years, so it’ll be old enough to buy me a pint down the pub soon. We’ve certainly covered a lot of ground over these years and it’s quite remarkable to look back and see how somewhat random choices and micro-decisions back in the early 2000’s led inextricably into my “long-term career.”
My father got me into music to begin with, he took me to my first live concerts (The Cure, Crowded House and Urusei Yatsura) and shared his record collection (mainly Bowie, Kate Bush and T-Rex) with me, by the mid-‘90s I became deeply invested in fanzines and DIY tape club culture, often trading tapes, bootleg-live shows and buying odd LPs from mail order catalogues. I lived in a small country town (Shrewsbury), pre-Internet, without a decent record shop or music venue so listening to the radio late at night, swapping music with local like-minds and combing new releases from adverts in the back of music mags had to suffice. Eventually I was old enough to travel into Birmingham on the train and then I discovered Tempest Records, which catapulted my interest in underground music to another level. I’d visit that record shop as often as possible and still remember how the ink from their green carrier bags would transfer to my palm, caught green-handed.
I decided to study Biology at university and chose to move down to London informed by a desire to get closer to the live concerts and record shops I loved. After university (and attending many concerts each week) I went to California for a summer break in 2003 and was bowled over by a series of thrilling DIY shows I attended in San Francisco and L.A. (XBXRX , Hella, Saddam Inssein), they were electrifying. When I returned from holiday I applied for my first “music industry” job at Southern Records, mailing-out tour posters and slinging mailorder and began wondering why London doesn’t have any comparably exciting shows taking place. That same month, I gathered together a bunch of friends who felt similarly motivated to shake things up and we decided to put on a concert under the name Upset The Rhythm. We sent a sweet but hesitant email to Deerhoof and their Euro-booker which was favorably met and led inexplicably to us organizing a gig for them on Dec. 12 2003. This ambitious leap into the unknown found its footing in choosing an Italian wine bar off Great Portland Street as the venue and was thankfully a glorious success. That first show led to the next and so the snowball rolled on gaining momentum, the following year, ‘04, I realized another impossible dream of setting up my own record label. We had worked with so many great bands by then, some of which didn’t have a platform to release their own music so it made sense to help out by becoming a fledgling label, why not?
Do you have any memories about the growing pains of putting on shows in the early days?
Growing pains are the best, I love a steep learning curve. Those first shows were reliant on hiring a PA system from a parade of increasingly problematic sound people. We also had to negotiate and convince the managers of a lot of spaces that didn’t host gigs normally. We didn’t want to use established venues, so we ran the gauntlet every time with sound quality. We had no stage, little in terms of lights, not the greatest handle on time-keeping either, but somehow the events transferred our passion for it all and energised the audience and bands alike.
I still remember that terrible sinking feeling when you’d be made aware of having only 30 minutes to source some extra drum part or amplifier that had become hugely necessary with no prior warning. “Sorry we meant to tell you, our bass-head blew up in Brighton” etc. Headline bands who’d miss soundcheck and just turn up at their set time were decidedly nerve-shredding too, but it’s all hard-won experience at the end of the day, so yes, bring it on. This is still my favourite unexpected rider request from an over-zealous tour manager: “Jandek needs more loo-roll backstage to feel confident enough in the church to perform.” No problem, we got him a 12-pack, quilted no less.
One last bit of advice: never organise an unplugged quiet-style concert in a community centre with a squeaky door, loudly ticking clock or hand-dryer immediately in the vicinity.
Were there any gigs that you can’t believe you were able to pull off?
So many! Martin Newell (Cleaners From Venus) at St Giles-In-The-Fields where we had to run an afternoon tea shop as part of the concert deal breaker. Oneohtrix Point Never at the Islington Assembly Hall, when I had to hire, transport and install one of London’s most expensive projectors, the deposit made me wince, but that was nothing compared to the sound-person throwing the fibre-optic cable off the balcony whereby it duly shattered on the dancefloor. It really helps if you can maintain a can-do attitude. Also, the audacity of taking seven of our favourite bands (Trash Kit, Sauna Youth, Vital Idles, Robert Sotelo, Dog Chocolate, Guttersnipe and Rattle) around the UK for our UTR label showcase tour in 2019 was a gargantuan feat of planning. Still counting those lucky stars, we even had members of Normil Hawaiians DJing at those events — what a dream.
When did you first realize that things were starting to happen and Upset The Rhythm was gaining some popularity?
I’ve never expected popularity, but it’s great when things catch-on. I think we first noticed things picking up when we started working with No Age on their debut record. We simply put on shows and release records for artists that we love and hope our enthusiasm translates.
When we put on Deerhoof (UTR show number 1) we were just excited to see Deerhoof play, we got the venue super early and set things up and noticed a line start to form around the building and thought it was for the restaurant upstairs initially, it then became clear due the ratio of tote bags and torn jeans these kids weren’t here for pasta.
Selling out a show. I don’t know what more you can ask for. We were humbled by the response and we are still so thrilled that people continue to come to our concerts and support the label. It’s also about sticking with it when things are less successful — that’s the trick to everything. Putting on concerts or releasing records is basically a calculated gamble, as long as you follow your gut and believe in the artists, things tend to turn out well.
I’ve also always believed that you’re only as good as your last show or record. I don’t like to be complacent and take things for granted. I guess what I’m trying to say is that popularity comes when you least expect it and it can leave just as swiftly. It’s the sustained commitment over years that really means something. I’m often most proud of the “little shows that can” or a record that sinks with little trace but means all the difference to a handful of people. So yes, popularity is great in terms of being able to continue the process in the black, but has no bearing on what ultimately we want to discover along the way.
What was the feeling around transitioning into releasing records with Upset The Rhythm?
UTR as a record label felt like the most natural progression from setting up concerts and tours. It is essentially still “promoting music” just through a less ephemeral lens. I think most fans of music gravitate towards understanding how labels curate their roster and hunt out obscure groups along the way that sometimes become they’re favourites. I love the idea of leaving a similar watermark in our culture. The label as a reflection of taste hidden in a back catalogue; a procession of titles exploring wider themes of art and practice.
It was so logical to extend a hand towards a band that needed a record as much as they needed a show; what an honour to be a part of that too. Ian Makaye and Amy Farina of The Evens helped us raise funds for our first release by donating some of the show profit we made from their debut concert back to UTR for future label endeavours. I’m still profoundly thankful for them for that, it wasn’t a huge sum or anything but it was like they gave us permission to take ourselves seriously. Here’s the ball now run with it. We’re on catalogue number UTR138 now.
In 2019 you celebrated 15 years with a big label showcase tour just before the world shutdown. That must have been such a 180-degree shift from celebration to a feeling of “What the fuck is going on here?”
It’s basically a new world now. I just want people who work in the arts to know that what they do is important. They will rise again as their much-needed inspiration makes the world a place worth living in. It was great to celebrate in 2019 with our showcase tour, especially as it was focused on UK-based acts too. Now the fragile idea of multiple bands traveling from city to city playing to packed rooms of sweaty punters seems utterly remote.
Here’s hoping we can see some return to normality in the coming year with the mass vaccination rollout and the acts and all involved in supporting them can survive that long with so little government help. UTR spent 2020 focused on the label and mail order side of things, but we’re looking forward to living again rather than just continuing to exist.
What have been some of the biggest challenges when it comes to promoting music you love and releasing records during the pandemic?
We’ve been organising some online shows, which have kept things active. In terms of live shows, it’s been dire. Every few months there’s a general scramble from booking agents wishing to bump provisional tour dates another six months down the line. I think some of the shows still on our cards have been rescheduled four-to-five times now. Who knows if this’ll be the end of it too. Whilst we’ve been Livin’ La Vida Lockdown, the consequences of Brexit made their grim presence known last month too which will have a huge impact on the viability of tours in the future and punitive tariffs on goods too.
The pandemic also meant that last year a lot of record labels decided to postpone releases to 2021, so now we’re also facing a lot longer turnaround from pressing plants struggling to cope with demand, which makes our release schedule less nimble too. It’s not unlike swimming in aspic.
Despite all this, we’ve continued to release life-affirming music throughout and I’m duly thankful for that. We have Buffet Lunch’s phenomenal debut album coming out next. What a tonic, drink deep.
This interview has been edited for clarity.