CMU Playlists

Playlist: Full Time Hobby

By | Published on Monday 30 August 2010

Independent record label Full Time Hobby was founded in January 2004 by Nigel Adams and Wez (just Wez), both of whom had worked together at Mushroom Records but weren’t keen to enter the major label system when the company was bought by Warner Music. Instead, they branched out on their own, and in the last six years have become a highly respected force in UK independent music.

Amongst their signings have been artists such as School Of Seven Bells, Tunng, The Leisure Society, and former Arab Strap man Malcolm Middleton, while the company’s heavier offshoot Hassle is home to the likes of Rolo Tomassi, 65daysofstatic, Alkaline Trio and Trash Talk.

Earlier this month, Full Time Hobby released a new compilation, entitled ‘Hobbyism’, featuring some of the best tracks the company’s diverse catalogue, including School Of Seven Bells, Tunng, Erland & The Carnival, Fujiya & Miyagi, White Denim and Micah P Hinson.

Says Nigel Adams of the label: “We are still proudly independent, bent on supporting artists that are there for the long run and plough their own individualist furrows and we are constantly excited by the new music we’re hearing. We are having our best year yet with lots of new and interesting artists coming our way along with the blossoming of our long term acts”.

We asked Nigel to pick ten of his favourite non-FTH tracks for this week’s Powers Of Ten playlist. 

NIGEL ADAMS’ TEN
Click here to listen to Nigel’s playlist in Spotify, and then read on to find out more about his selections.

01 The Smiths – How Soon Is Now?
The Smiths were the first band I saw live (in 1985), and the reason I went to university in Manchester, so a fairly good reason for what I’m doing now.

02 My Bloody Valentine – Cupid Come

I can’t over exaggerate the impact MBV had on me. I find it a bit hard to listen to this nowadays, as I listened almost exclusively to this when it came out, but it opened a door in my mind that I’m thankful for.

03 Tim Hardin – How Can We Hang On To A Dream?

An incredibly beautiful song from such a troubled but talented man. This could have also been something by Nick Drake, Syd Barrett, Leonard Cohen or Tim Buckley but I finally went for this.

04 The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – Carte Blanche

This band summed up a lot of what was good and bad about the 60s. For the guitar wig-out and falsetto vocal alone it’s worth a listen.

05 The Lemonheads – My Drug Buddy

The quintessential Lemonheads moment and one of the best indie pop songs ever written (despite being on a major).

06 The Sea Urchins – Pristine Christine

Shambolic and beautiful, I became instantly hypnotised by this song and developed an appalling record collector habit trying to track down the original seven-inch. James Roberts went on to create lots of other incredibly heartfelt/heartbreaking music but seemed constantly to have his finger on the self-destruct button.

07 TV On The Radio – Staring At The Sun

Truly stopped me in my tracks when I first heard this. One band I really wish I could have worked with.

08 Funkadelic – Hit It And Quit It

‘Maggot Brain’ was such a standout album and sat right in the middle of all the 60s garage and psychedelia that I came to obsess over in the late 80s.

09 Love – A House Is Not A Motel

I still have moments when this album overwhelms me with how good it is. I can’t see why it isn’t prescribed on the NHS; any government worth its salt would surely sort that out.

10 American Music Club – Big Night

Seeing Mark Eitzel play solo at the original Mean Fiddler is still one of my all time favourite gigs. AMC were a band it was easy to obsess about with the level of angst and finely penned lyrics involved.



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