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It was a review of the Razorcuts compilation 'R is for Razorcuts' that first drew my attention to Alistair Fitchett. In particular I remember the lines - "What is important are dried petals in a bag pinned to the wall; a letter that starts, "The hardest way to start" and a photograph of the sky with the words, "On a clear day you can see the Pentland Firth, or the whole world" written on the back in pencil." - and the fact that through the whole review there wasn't a single exclamation mark. Later on his book 'Young and Foolish' would turn me onto Blueboy, Nothing Painted Blue, and Felt using his unique and beautiful way with words, with imagery.

His record label Unpopular (ran via his brilliant Tangents website) released 7"s by the likes of Lovejoy, The Pipettes, Smoosh, and Darren Hayman (and spawned a spin-off label that dealt mostly in 3" cd's) before he called time on it. The following is an email interview I conducted with him to talk about the label for my (hopefully forthcoming) zine Apples in Bed.

Apples in Bed: Were you in any bands growing up?

Alistair Fitchett: No. I’ve often written that I don’t understand music, and I still hold by that statement. The technical aspects of music baffle me. Having said that, I have made sound in the past and did perform one gig, at the Betsey Trotwood in London. It was a show that was organized as a kind of warm up party prior to the first Bowlie event in April 1999, and Momus and Amelia Fletcher were amongst the audience. God knows what they thought of me. I read some stories over a rudimentary soundtrack of loops that I’d recorded onto minidisc. I suppose it was a sort of Looper thing, though I had also recorded a similar piece a few years previously called ‘Pink Flag’ for a compilation CD someone on the Indiepop list put together. And some of my twiddlings also cropped up as incidental moments on the Jasmine Minks’ Popartglory album. I could never think of it as music though – more of a kind of sound collage. So, erm, to reiterate, no I was not in any bands growing up, but fiddled around on my own a bit (oo-er missus) when I was older.

AiB: What was it that made you start a record label?

AF: When I was younger I read a copy of Are You Scared To Get Happy and thrilled to the lines Matt wrote about being a record label. I always wanted to have the same thrill. It never happened until many years later, but the thrill of putting out records that made me so excited was every bit as big a thrill as I hoped it might be. So it was a very selfish reason, I suppose, but I have no problem with that. Sometimes I think people are not selfish enough.

AiB: Do you know the band The Airfields? Everytime I hear their song 'The Long Way Home' I think about how fantastic it would be as a 7" single. I often think the same with Pains of Being Pure at Hearts 'Teenagers in Love' too. Do you get the same feeling upon hearing certain songs? Is that one of the reasons you started Unpopular?

AF: I do know the Airfields, but i can't say i am a fan. I actually dislike a lot of what goes under the 'indie' tag these days. A lot of that 'jangle' thing leaves me cold. And don't even get me started on 'twee'... But on some level all that doesn't really matter. It is that feeling that matters to each and every one of us. And of course, yes, i get that feeling a lot. That sense of 'this is the greatest Pop moment ever'. Perhaps less frequently these days, but nevertheless, it happens. In truth too it happens more often now with old records that I've discovered for the first time.

AiB: Why the name 'Unpopular'?

AF: The name was pretty much in my mind for a decade or more. I read an old Julie Burchill book once where she was writing about 'indie' groups and railing against the culture of underachievement they seemed to promote. She said the groups were unpopular because no-one wanted to buy them, or something along those lines. I thought it was hilarious and spot on (and i was very much into the 'indie' groups at the time). I guess i always wanted to resurrect that idea, in a kind of knowing ironic way. It was intended as self-mockery, but also as a kind of statement of strength. Like, we know no-one really likes us but we don't really care.

AiB: Do you believe that how a record is packaged can be as important as the music itself?

AF: Absolutely, yes. It’s all part of the jigsaw puzzle. A great recording badly packaged will always be a great recording, but it will not be a great record. The record is about more than the sound that comes off the grooves. It’s also about more than the physical sleeve etc too. It’s in the shoes the group wear. The haircuts. A whole load of elements coming together.

AiB: The problem I have with digital downloads (not that this is a new topic or anything but it seems every day a new company starts offering a music downloading service) is that they are removing the element of the package.. sleeve, inserts, physically holding something in your hands and the act of putting the needle on the groove, etc. It's all so instantaneous now that there is no longer time for anticipation (other than waiting for the tracks to download). I could download a song right now without knowing anything about the band - what they look like, how many members there are.. I feel a bit like luddite explaining this. Where do you stand on digital downloads?

AF: I do like digital downloads, but it's just a part of the puzzle. I probably acquire way more music these days by download than by buying physical product. I do like the immediacy of it... I like the idea of media on demand. If i want to hear something i can very often track it down and listen to it. That's pretty cool. But i do also miss the physical object, and yes, the haircuts and the clothes a group wears should be just as important. It can also work against a group. Like i still don't know what Fleet Foxes look like. I feel certain there will be beards, and that doesn't sit well with my tastes. But the records are so glorious... so i purposefully avoid seeing pictures.

AiB: You once wrote that the essential language of Pop is Love, loss and distance. Do you still believe that? Is there anything you would add?

AF: I think that’s pretty much it nailed right there. And yes, I still believe that. It’s not necessarily that the songs are about those things (though it helps), but that something of the essence of those things is inherent in the story of the song to the individual. Pop isn’t about the song or the sound, it’s about the experience, the stories.

AiB: Is there any particular Unpopular release that you are most proud of?

AF: I’m very proud of every single one, but the Pipettes 7” will probably always have a special little corner of my heart, if only for the memory of hauling nearly 300 copies down to the post office in one go. This was in the days before SmartStamp technology…

AiB: What was the reason behind stopping Unpopular?

AF: I suppose basically I got bored. Not of the music, or of making the records, but of the need to promote and sell, and all the industry things. I realized very early on that I’m an artist and not a business person, and basically I couldn’t really justify losing money the way I was. Also my day job was becoming much more demanding and I just didn’t have the time to keep doing it.

AiB: Which one record (of all time) do you wish you could have released?

AF: Probably ‘Abandon Ship’ by April Showers. Such a classic record and the one I always come back to for so many reasons. I’d have made sure I kept a few copies stored under the bed too, so I could sell them on eBay…

AiB: If you were still running the label are there any bands around at the moment you would be keen to release records by?

AF: I’m not really hip to the new groups, but I suppose I’d want to release a lot of the groups that Mike is making records with at Slumberland. Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Lodger, Summer Cats… I’d also have loved to do a record with Phil Wilson.

AiB: What one essential piece of advice would you give to somebody planning on starting a label?

AF: Forget the vinyl, and buy a CD Duplicator and a stack of blank 3” CDRs. The ‘I wish I was unpopular’ label I did with the 3” CDs was, on the whole, a load more fun than the ‘proper’ label with the 7” vinyl. It also gives you a load more control over cashflow as you don’t have boxes of unsold records cluttering up your house.

AiB: Finally! If Unpopular had been a member of Peanuts whom would it have been?

AF: Sally Brown. I like her ‘philospohies’.