Adam Sharp travelled halfway around the world to find a music scene he could call his own here in Vancouver. Now that he’s found a home, he’s hoping to give back and help promote the many Vancouver bands that never make it beyond the city limits.
Sharp is the founder of fledgling record label Big Smoke. Raised “just outside of London”, Sharp ended up in Vancouver after stops in Massachusetts, Oregon and New York.
“It was a happy accident,” he says. Sharp’s visa had run out in the US, and Vancouver was the nearest city he could travel to on his UK passport.
“I didn’t really know anyone here,” he says. “I just knew I didn’t want to be in England.”
Sharp says it wasn’t long before he fell in love with the city, and its music scene.
Through Craigslist of all places, he soon found musicians to play with, eventually forming the bands Mercy Years and his current project, Altona.
After working as a Mint Records “Mintern” for a year and a half, where he learned how a record label operates and all about how albums are produced and promoted, he decided to strike out on his own with Big Smoke.
“I’ve always liked the aesthetic of a record label, as a family of bands that represents a scene,” he says.
Through Big Smoke, Sharp says he hopes to support the local music scene and share the many amazing bands in this city with a wider audience.
“People in Vancouver complain about the music scene here, but when I was in New York, people were complaining about the music scene there!” he says. “I love it here. I’ll always come back to Vancouver.”
Sharp’s first major release is the Vancouver Connection, Vol. 1, a 10-song compilation on 12-inch 150-gram deluxe black vinyl. The limited edition comp features some of Vancouver’s most exciting indie bands, including Woolworm, Dead Soft, Mesa Luna, Reef Shark, and The Good In Everyone.
The compilation format is a great gateway for music fans to discover new bands, despite the fact that, financially, the release is a loss leader, Sharp admits.
However, while vinyl is expensive to produce, it gets noticed.
“In time, I hope it’s a good choice,” he says. “Go big or go home, I guess.”
Sharp says he wanted to highlight the best bands in the city that no one has heard of, yet.
“I have faith in my own taste, hopefully other people like it too,” he says. “Woolworm, I think they’re the best band in Vancouver right now. I don’t think even they realize how good they are.”
Big Smoke’s next release will be Reef Shark’s EP cassette, Mind Race, available Nov. 27. Sharp says his goal is to release six albums in 2016, and work closely with the bands featured on the comp to help get them exposure outside of Vancouver.
“America is such a big music market, and it needs to be attacked head-on,” he says. “I want to send bands down the coast and I’m not going to limit myself to just Vancouver bands.”
• The Vancouver Connection Vol. 1 is available at Neptoon Records, Zulu Records, Vinyl Records, Luke’s General Store, Red Cat Records, Dandelion Records, Audiopile Records, Horses Records, as well as online at BigSmokeVancouver.Bandcamp.com.
