EDM retrospective: The rise of Factory Records
Brits Alan Erasmus and the late great TV host Tony Wilson stumbled across a factory-for-sale sign somewhere in Manchester in 1978. Little did they know that the discovery would drastically and serendipitously change their lives. The said factory was to become one of the most iconic and influential venues for UK music in the 199os, says DJ James Haidak. It would also be the birthing place for a new electronic dance movement that would morph U.S. house music into techno and electronica.
Rave culture essentially came out of the womb when Wilson and Erasmus decided to use the factory as the base for a record label, which they would quite literally name Factory Records. As more electronic bands from the Mad-chester scene began playing regularly at the factory, including The Happy Mondays, Durutti Column, and the infamous New Order, the place started transforming into an ‘80s EDM sanctuary. It was the place to be for anyone into the burgeoning dance scene of the era, adds James Haidak.
The now-common culture of DJ'ing would not be possible if it weren’t for the legacy began by Factory Records. Music critics would call it the most innovative record label of the final three decades of the last century. Wilson would later include more and more DJ-only events, culminating in the opening of the Hacienda, which was basically the Ibiza of the late ‘80s.
Sadly, even though Factory Records has had a massive cultural impact, the venture itself was flawed, business-wise. A planned takeover by then huge label London Records didn’t fall through because Wilson and Erasmus had not taken care of contracts for its slew of artists. By the middle of the 1990s, Factory Records was all but gone as a business.
Still, the label continuous to be celebrated in pop culture, and by music historians, James Haidak explains. Factory Records was central to the plot of the movie "24-Hour Party People" and the Ian Curtis biopic "Control." It also received various plaques from the BBC for its innumerable contributions to the U.K. musical landscape.
James Haidak is an up-and-coming DJ and producer based in Koh Phangan, Thailand, and Amsterdam. His music is strongly influenced by house, electronica, and ‘90s techno. More on Mr. Haidak here.
The now-common culture of DJ'ing would not be possible if it weren’t for the legacy began by Factory Records. Music critics would call it the most innovative record label of the final three decades of the last century. Wilson would later include more and more DJ-only events, culminating in the opening of the Hacienda, which was basically the Ibiza of the late ‘80s.
Sadly, even though Factory Records has had a massive cultural impact, the venture itself was flawed, business-wise. A planned takeover by then huge label London Records didn’t fall through because Wilson and Erasmus had not taken care of contracts for its slew of artists. By the middle of the 1990s, Factory Records was all but gone as a business.
Still, the label continuous to be celebrated in pop culture, and by music historians, James Haidak explains. Factory Records was central to the plot of the movie "24-Hour Party People" and the Ian Curtis biopic "Control." It also received various plaques from the BBC for its innumerable contributions to the U.K. musical landscape.
James Haidak is an up-and-coming DJ and producer based in Koh Phangan, Thailand, and Amsterdam. His music is strongly influenced by house, electronica, and ‘90s techno. More on Mr. Haidak here.
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