Rocket Girl Label: Eclectic Indie sounds at its best
Rocket Girl, a London based label that boasts one of the most eclectic rosters in the British music industry, emerged in 1997 as the brainchild of still owner Vinita Joshi. In the years prior to Rocket Girl’s founding, Joshi worked in turning an emerging, Essex based rock scene into Ché Trading; a label that transformed the nomenclatural brilliance of Animals That Swim, Tripmaster Monkey and Bardo Pond into a string of releases. Rocket Girl continues this strong early venture into the odds and ends of indie music.
At the other end of the numerical and style spectrum, Pieter Nooten works with Rocket Girl in composing solely from his laptop. Born in the Netherlands, Nooten’s quality is rooted in a minimalistic style of composition that builds a real sense of tenderness with each layer, underlying piano and violin with fuzzy electronic touches. Nooten’s work is not limited to a string of releases, foremost of which is the 2013 release Haven, or even his place in exemplary 90s synth pop group, Clans of Xymox. His expansive back catalogue is regularly re-worked live and backed by the video works of Miryam Chachmany, who's conceptual pieces can be found in galleries from New Mexico to Amsterdam.
Generally understood as skirting round the peak of the curious fame of cult stardom, Television Personalities are a Rocket Girl signing cheerfully ripping up the manual of indie conventuality. Not only with a musical style that unashamedly mixes neo-psychedlia with pop and punk, but with a colourful history that has taken in addiction, homelessness, numerous line-up changes and a couple of nervous breakdowns. Not to be overshadowed by their personal lives, Television Personalities can also boast some truly wonderful records amongst their obscenely large discography, most recently A Memory Is Better Than Nothing.
Füxa (pronounced similar to the colour fuchsia) are a Detroit lo-fi outfit that pay testament to the longterm outlook of Rocket Girl. Formed in 1994, Füxa have worked with Joshi since their first LP, 3 Field Rotation, was released on Che in 1996. Their sound is more likely to be located to the East Coast, treated guitars and vintage synths blending together in a drone more reminiscent of Michigan grunge than the rich heritage of their hometown. Füxa’s swift accession to cult status shows such a cultural fusion to be no bad thing.
One of the labels most intriguing signings is Arms. Based in London, Arms represent the kind of band formation more often seen in the super-group heyday of the 70s. With five lead singers and four nationalities, Arms are six-strong collective formed of out of work solo artists who felt “that the collective sum of their parts could be best utilised as a single unit.” Testament of the group’s successful cohesion can be found in their pin-point lyricism, crisp production and recent LP, Are We All In This Together?
Rocket Girl
