Since starting to promote live performances in the back end of 2020, Industrial Coast has managed to put Middlesbrough firmly on the map where industrial and noise music are concerned. I sat down with the man behind it, the ever-personable Steve Kirby, to find out more.
Could you give us a bit of background into the history of Industrial Coast?
I set up the label in December 2018 as a hobby to take my mind off corporate work. Tape imprint only to start, I quickly added a distro focusing on US labels without UK distribution. We are multi-genre label including ambient to harsh noise and everything in between. I started putting on shows in Middlesbrough in the autumn of 2022 and have added vinyl releases to the label this year, having jacked off the real job late last summer.
Some would say Middlesbrough is somewhat of an unlikely place for a thriving experimental scene. What are your thoughts on launching a scene like this in Middlesbrough?
I was born in Norton (directly opposite the legendary Fiesta) and have lived in Stockton and been a Boro fan all my life, so I have strong ties to the area and I’m very proud of my Teesside roots. Over the past couple of years, I got to know Anna and Liam of the Auxiliary Project Space really well and I even ended up basing the label there and forged connections with other art spaces in town, such as Pineapple Black. It’s a tough climate right now but there are so many talented people in Middlesbrough with a real ‘fuck them, we’ll do this ourselves’ attitude. I wanted to be part of that.
There’s a well-publicised lack of venues in Middlesbrough right now. Are you finding this hinders you?
It’s certainly tough for bands as there are very few traditional gig venues left. For us though, as it’s experimental-focused, there is great flexibility and we are using art spaces, coffee shops and micro pubs. Give us a sturdy table for the kit, we’ll bring the PA (cobbled together from Liam’s extensive collection of ‘bits’) and we are away.
You’ve put some excellent shows on in the past. Are there any in particular that stand out?
I’m wholly responsible for booking so I like them all. However, Evicshen was amazing, the God is War tour was brilliant, and Autumns/Knurl/The New Blockaders was a bit special too. I genuinely think for some of these, people will be falsely claiming ‘I was there’.
Are there any releases you are particularly proud of?
Again, I only put out what I like, so I like them all. If I had to pick, I’d go for the charity compilations we do. Women Invented Noise I & II are stacked with great tracks, and Crass Deconstructed//Reconstructed (a remix album) is pretty special too. I also loved the 3 Smell & Quim re-issues we did…and I was allowed to do the artwork on them.
What gigs and releases do you have coming up this summer? We have promoted the Samuel Kerridge performance elsewhere in this issue – what a coup…
I’m surprised, I must admit, but if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Aligning with Sonic Arts Week, we have a great set of shows that week with Torn Relics (who are brilliant), Samuel, Nick Klein, and The Russell Haswell to round it off.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Come to ‘A Monday Night in Middlesbrough’! It’s a fantastic program of artists, wholly inclusive & welcoming, with interesting venues. There may even be a bit of free Dominoes pizza I’ve ordered in. Try it, you might just like it.
For further information about Industrial Coast, head to industrialcoast.bigcartel.com.
