DIY Label Spotlight #6: Breakfast Records • Interview • DIY Magazine

DIY wouldn’t be what it is without buzzy bands and grassroots scenes, and independent labels are a crucial cog in that wonderful new music wheel.

Up next in our monthly feature spotlighting some of the very best in the biz, we chat to Breakfast Records’ Josh Jarman and Dan Anthony - co-founders of the Bristol-based indie championing West Country talent, including local heroes Getdown Services and Phoebe Bridgers’ now-signee jasmine.4.t.

How would you describe, in less than 10 words, the ethos behind Breakfast Records?
Don’t let the bastards grind you down.

Why did Bristol need a label like Breakfast Records? Tell us a bit more about why you decided to set it up.
Josh: To be honest, I think what’s so good about Bristol is that it didn’t need a label like Breakfast Records. This city has always been so full of amazing creative people, it probably would’ve been just fine without us. That said, when we started the label, I think the intention was just to offer a platform to some of the amazing musicians we saw around us. It felt like a lot of great people needed a little help getting their music out. There wasn’t much more to it than that, really. I don’t think we ever had any lofty ambitions. We were inspired by the DIY ethos of people like Sarah Records, Art Is Hard, and Howling Owl.

What does your typical day look like at Breakfast Records?
Dan: If we’re being totally honest here, it’s a lot of emailing, and then some spreadsheets, and then some more emailing and spreadsheets. It’s very rewarding to work with bands on the creative parts of a release, but ninety percent of label work is glorified admin. Your main job is to keep the wheels rolling and the butter churning, and if you’re not doing that then some poor label assistant probably is.

What’s your decision process for what you choose to record and publish at the label?
Dan: From the start, it’s always been led by music we find particularly arresting. Maybe after going into the red one too many times we ask a few more questions like “will your band break up in three months?” before throwing money at the wall, but that’s still the deciding factor.

Josh: Yeah, we try not to be too cynical and analytical - we’re still just essentially putting out the stuff that we like the most.

What do you think is the most exciting part of Bristol’s music scene?
Josh: To name a few, people like Noods, Gravy Train, Improv’s Greatest Hits, and Young Echo work so, so hard to keep the city’s scene alive, and I’m so inspired by them and their ability to keep driving it forward. It’s great that there’s the appetite for that, too, obviously, but Bristol wouldn’t be what it is without the people actually feeding the appetite.

“A lot of my favourite memories come from the early days of putting on shows, because that was when we started to feel a sense of connection and community.”

— Josh Jarman

What are some of your highlights or most memorable moments since founding the label?
Josh: A lot of my favourite memories come from the early days of putting on shows, because that was when we started to feel a sense of connection and community. We didn’t really have a clue what we were doing - we’d just message bands and say ‘hey, wanna come play a gig?’ and hope for the best. Somehow, though, the shows seemed to really strike a chord with people, and it ended up feeling like a real thing. We’d see the same faces coming back to the gigs, week in, week out. Then Big Jeff started coming to all the shows. It occurred to me that we must be doing something right if Jeff was on board.

What excites you most about the independent music scene at the moment?
Dan: Mostly just the vast quantity of incredible music that’s released every week by very talented and hard working people. If you’re not excited by that, you’re probably dead inside (sorry).

What are some of the biggest challenges of running an indie label in the digital age?
Josh: Battling the social media algorithm is probably the biggest challenge, just trying to spread the word about the music we’re putting out and the gigs we’re putting on. It feels increasingly hard to reach our fans on these platforms. *Old man yells at cloud*.

Dan: Yeah, I’d say that the internet in its current form has accelerated a lot of the structural and financial inequalities faced by indie labels. But those inequalities have always existed, sometimes you’ve got to live and let live.

What advice would you give to any artists interested in working with an independent label like Breakfast Records?
Dan: I think just having a healthy relationship between yourself and your art is the most important, if slightly impossible, thing. It’s easy to feel alienated once your music starts being judged against metrics that have nothing really to do with its artistic qualities, nor its ability to connect with people. With Josh and I both being musicians ourselves, I would like to think we understand that feeling more than most, and let it inform our approach to working with new artists.

What’s on the horizon for Breakfast Records in 2025?
Josh: We’ve just welcomed a whole load of amazing new artists to the roster. We’ve got releases coming from Eades, Mumble Tide, Getdown Services, Zach Thompson, Ead Wood and more. Have we bitten off more than we can chew? Tune in next year to find out.

To find out more about Breakfast Records, head to breakfastrecords.co.uk.

#AD