Pete WiseNight is drawing in over York Knavesmire. Sequestered in a nearby bedroom now filling with the gathering gloom is a young man wearing spectacles and a t-shirt proclaiming in bright letters the name of a band you’ve probably never heard of. He’s feeling rather pleased with himself. He has just hand-painted the cover of the hundredth copy of American math outfit Dios Trio’s latest EP. He has just manually applied his 1200th and final square of paint. Well Weapon Records is Fergus Coates and Matt Calpin, and this is what they’re all about.
The name Well Weapon may be unfamiliar to you, but this York duo has been striving to promote both local and international math, hardcore and experimental rock music since 2010. The enterprise began with the release of now sadly departed underground post-hardcore faves Ghosts on the Intercom’s debut EP. The manner in which the label fostered a mood of real occasion at the EP launch night – criss-crossing the cracked and careworn ceiling of Stereo with jubilant reams of bunting and drawing in hundreds of punters to watch talented bands who normally played to thirty friends – was indicative of what they would go on to achieve over the following years.
Eclectic compliations, an art zine and a tape-only release featuring remixes of local math-rockers Lost From Atlas present a snapshot and by no means a summary of Well Weapon’s output over the years that have followed. Within the label’s back catalogue resides a truly diverse range of musical styles and attitudes, ranging from the brutal and the emotive to the complex and introspective. The real constant at work here is a loving and fastidious approach to artistic curation and product design. As co-founder Fergus Coates puts it, “We’re trying to bring back the value to tangible music”. Well Weapon plough their own time, money and creativity into this enterprise, for nothing but the love of it. The result is a series of lovingly crafted releases and a unique platform for artists who truly deserve to be heard. With releases for Yorkshire alternative behemoths Flails and Slow Season on the horizon, now seems like a opportune time to discover York’s greatest little label.
You can catch up with Well Weapon here.
