Who Are We?
DeathMonkey is an Indie Label and Recording Company based in Swansea, Wales. We make records and promote underground & fringe music from South-Wales and beyond.
DeathMonkey was founded in 2010 by Dave Milsom and Dan Rowley in order to represent and support some of the huge talent that exists on the vibrant and eclectic alternative music scene in Wales, with Swansea uniquely positioned to act as a central hub for bands touring up and down the South Wales coast.
We are musicians, recording engineers, promoters and indie music fans who seek out and love raw, intense music which connects with its audience on a visceral level. We have been dedicated from the very begining to working from the grassroots up to promote and develop artists through releases and to support the scene by curating showcase events and club nights across the nation.
We are NOT a “Drop-Ship Label” which only takes on bands that come pre-packaged, established with a fanbase and have an album recorded already to go, taking no risk themselves. We invest our belief in artists from the start and often work with bands to record from the very beginning of the production process to make their records. We record our albums in-house with our recording engineer and producer to help craft the sound of the releases and also offer post-production Mixing and Mastering to finish up projects which artists may have already started themselves.
We work collaboratively with artists in 50/50 partnership and with an emphasis on Fair-Trade and community often working as a collective, with many of our artists getting involved to help participate and run the label over the years. We adhere to the counter culture ethics we were founded on of individualism, free speech, being activist and standing for what you believe in. We are hippies and punks, indie kids and metal-heads, who exist in the melting pot of bohemian culture and fringe pop which only exist in underground scenes and rarely gets translated to the mainstream without being bastardised and watered down. This is the music we represent.
We’ve put out records from some of the most prominent cult bands in the region and have had the honour of working with bonafide legends of Welsh Punk. We take our time over each release and fully devote ourselves to each artist, giving them the freedom to achieve their artistic vision and plan their release to make sure it reaches the ears of new audiences and fans everywhere. That’s why each new record we put out is as much a milestone for the label as it is the artist, made with a love, care and affection.