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 the sound of new yorkshire
 to access audio and video on collective you need real player. Collective member Ruth Offord investigatesrising Leeds label Dance To The Radio. I don't live in Leeds and I'm not going to pretend I ever have, but for a while now I've had a soft spot for its music. After hearing ¡Forward Russia! on the radio a year ago I discovered that there's more to Leeds than the Kaiser Chiefs, in the form of indie label Dance To The Radio. Set up in 2004, DTTR was originally created to give Leeds bands a chance of recognition among all the London-centric bands in the media. At the time, there wasn't a label with the knowledge to take them into the spotlight and it seemed to start with a DIY ethic.  Now three years down the line, Dance To The Radio has helped Leeds music onto the map. Last December saw the release of their second compilation, What We All Want, full to the brim with local and national bands, from indie hipsters, The Pigeon Detectives, to nu wave rappers Yes Boss. Label head Whiskas doesn't take a backseat though. Far from it. He also plays guitar in ¡Forward Russia!, although with the majority of the band’s releases created through Dance To The Radio it’s increasingly hard for him to juggle both. “The reason our second single didn't come out on DTTR was because I couldn't do both,” he explains. “So DTTR went on a back burner while we tried to set the label up to run without me being involved day to day.” Over the years, the label has kept its DIY roots and, even though he doesn’t strongly oppose major labels, Whiskas is definitely wary of them. “Bands that I know who've done things with bigger labels, I mostly find disappointing, because it's done in a really odd and possibly deceiving way. If some great guys from a massive label came and treated a DTTR band really well, and were honest in terms of working with them, then that would be great.” Skip to today, then, and it’s a big moment for ¡Forward Russia! and Dance To The Radio - the band’s third single, Nine, is being released. To celebrate, they’re playing two sets in Leeds for friends and fans. But it’s a promotional deal too, with labelmates The Pigeon Detectives accompanying them for the evening’s events. When asking Whiskas about juggling the band and the label it’s clear that he loves all the extra work. Tonight, for example, he's organised a four-band gig, an in-store appearance right in the middle of a ¡Forward Russia! tour and still has time to be socialising with the likes of me. It's also clear that his hard work has paid off as the venue quickly fills up with punters. When questioning them on the success of Leeds music, many seemed to bellow “New Yorkshire!” in my face.  ¡Forward Russia! Cathy, at Leeds record shop Jumbo, summed it up: "When they have launch parties, the other bands on the label always turn up in support - a lot of times they join each other onstage. And even though a lot of Leeds bands have gone on to greater things we'll still get Kaiser Chiefs, Black Wire or The Cribs coming in and buying records. There’s this sense of community, and FUN." It’s this FUN and enthusiasm that has turned Dance To The Radio into a label known locally as well as nationally. As one fan put it, “Leeds music is amazing at the moment. We're finally ahead of Manchester.”
Ruth Offord
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Read members' comments related to this feature.
comment by amir
Nov 24, 2006
Sheffield's always been pioneering, not always in completely obvious ways, but it's forever at the cutting edge.Leeds is a bridesmaid to the Steel City musically.
comment by 23adamada32
Nov 24, 2006
Not from sunny leeds myself, Barnsley be the town from which I herald but I find what is happening in Leeds is having a really poitive effect on the whole of Yorkshire popular music in general. It seems to be giving us all belief that there is nowhere else that can offer the same artistic release for the bands involved and there is nowhere else attracting crowds of people who have the open mindedness and energy which is found in the music itself.Now living in London I can really appreciate loyalty of the Leeds bands and fans alike. I take my hat off to DTTR for starting the whole shabang!
comment by Brer Addick
May 20, 2006
are the McNamaras not from leeds though?
comment by amir
May 20, 2006
Embrace are from Brighouse and Huddersfield, not Leeds!!!
comment by Brer Addick
May 17, 2006
It's loiner, not leodesianOnly decent band to come out of leeds in my humble opinion is The Music..with iForwardRussia! sounding quite promising - other than that we have to put up with pop-chart dominating drivel like Kaiser Chiefs and Embrace, the latter finally proving they should have stayed firmly in the dying stages of britpop by creating an abomination of a "World Cup Anthem/artificial love song" recently. But The Music are BRILLIANT.
comment by vincent_roccoforte
May 12, 2006
i hate leeds and everything it stands for.
comment by TamlaTim
May 9, 2006
I lived in Leeds for three years in the late 90s/early 00s and I’ve still got a lot of love for the city. I think I was there at the wrong time for guitar music, which probably ties in to venues closing that oniongravy mentioned. I remember the T&C closing and becoming ‘Creation’, (which also meant the end of ‘the underground’ the best soul club ever, which used to be in the basement). It were all hard house when I were a lad.I’m thinking I should go back and live the misspent indie youth I never had (or the one I spent in London instead). I haven’t heard a lot of these bands apart from the Kaisers, who, some great catchy singles aside, I don’t particularly care for. Those ‘everything is brilliant in Leeds’ t-shirts are, well, brilliant though.
comment by badgirlswirlgirl
May 9, 2006
Agreed. Its nice that things have come to the north for once as up here it always seems like you're a little out of the action. I suppose someone had to name it something and New Yorkshire was the brand that was created. While most of the people at the gig were for the title many of the bands were weary. Theres two sides to it in that they like the attention yet think it has now become a little out of hand. Forward Russia I am obsessed with which led to this feature and also its agreed that iLiKETRAiNS are a brilliant band. When i set out to do this i was trying to avoid the Kaiser Chiefs but its seems they are pretty hard to avoid! All the bands still seem to support them which i was pleasantly surprised about.
comment by oniongravy
May 9, 2006
As a longtime Leodesian, I can tell you that the hype is (somewhat) justified. There are an incredible number of bands around. There was a time a few years ago, with the closure of some crucial music venues, when all looked doom and gloom. That feeling has now evaporated and enthusiasm and excitement seems to be the order of the day.A word of caution: there isn't a definable 'Leeds sound' - we're talking about a pretty diverse bunch here, and I wonder if that will count against some trying to break through into a tedious NME soundbite-dominated indie market. Whether all this hype will lead to success for many is quite another matter. Yes, it's great to see A&R types wake up to the sounds coming from a city outside London, but ultimately, they all want a 'movement' to hang their signings onto, and 'New Yorkshire' (what the hell does that mean anyway?) doesn't quite cut it for me. Ones to watch: !Forward, Russia!; This Et Al; Duels; I Like Trains (though their awful name may yet scupper them).
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related info
 useful linkswww.forwardrussia.com the pigeon detectives www.myspace.com/yesboss shut your eyes... www.jumborecords.co.uk
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