About us
" Learning how to play a musical instrument is fine - it just gets in the way of true musical greatness." John Cage
The teenage Dave Swain set up Gore Infidel Records in 1991, in an attempt to make his own records without having to rely on 'the record industry'.
Fine in theory, but a hell of a hard job! Releases have all been self - funded and so, not exactly prolific. Initially working under the pseudonym SAN POP, ( to seem more like a band! ) early experiments mixed instruments, drum machines, radios, field recordings and vocals.
The material always has, and always will, mix 'n' match - from simple guitar and voice to samples / loops of recorded and self-generated noise. Simple form is usually the key, no matter what the 'genre' may be.
As a minute independent UK label, the purpose has never been to make money ( we are non-profit-making ) but to make the music available to anyone who is interested - cutting out all the middlemen, wherever possible. These release are usually limited editions and can come in rather unorthodox formats and packages - see our ' CD and Vinyl ' page, for details and availability.
Through it's part-time history of obscure releases, Gore Infidel Records has remained true to these principles - even if they do seem lazy, they are well-intentioned! Due to our limited resources and funds, we have only been able to maintain our existence via word of mouth, fanzine reviews, tracks appearing on compilations ( KAW records, Bliss etc. ), and occasional radio exposure ( Mark Radcliffe, 'Across the line' et al. )
Likewise, live appearances are ( deliberately ) far and few between - still, he might turn up at a hotel, art gallery or warehouse near you soon. We will keep you posted!
Dave Swain's music is a mixture of: simple, complicated, esoteric, ascerbic, challenging, unchallenging, straight forward and contradictory. Just like this web site.
