Red Tangent Records: The record label putting former prisoners at the forefront of their work

Born in February 2021, Red Tangent Records is “a record label working with men and women that have been through the UK criminal justice system,” they tell Bristol24/7. The label was set up through the National Lottery Community Fund and in partnership with Changing Tunes, a charity that uses music and mentoring to help people lead crime-free lives.

Based in an office on Park Street, the record label takes referrals from charities and organisations who put forward those who are interested and passionate about pursuing a professional music career. “The bands and artists that we’re working with are great musicians, and they’re producing great music,” RTR tell us.

“That music doesn’t necessarily have to be about trauma and inequality in the prison system. But on the other side of that is, if people do enjoy the events that we’re putting on and the music that we’re putting out, then that’s a really great opportunity to engage with the public that might not necessarily engage with these issues directly.”

Creating an open conversation around the criminal justice system is the main goal of Red Tangent Records. Running the record label as well as trying to bring awareness to the social justice side of things is what sets the organisation apart.

“We’re trying to show that people still have positive pathways and opportunities to do positive things. There are certain stereotypes which are really quite harmful and to reintegrate back into society is a diffcult thing to do,” RTR tells us.

“There are obviously things around employment which is difficult with a criminal record, people often assume that just because you have a criminal record, therefore, you’re going to be a criminal which isn’t, isn’t the case.”

Wak Therapists, one of the signed artists, performed at Bristol Beacon last month. Credit: Gaz Hamer

The label currently has five artists signed but they are working on a budget; “We’re pretty maxed out with the five that we’ve got and then we also have two that are waiting in the wings. So it’ll be seven releases, whether that’s albums or EPS or singles, before February next year.”

The team are in the process of trying to get funding for next year. After two years of funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, it is unlikely to come from them again. Instead the label are looking at larger corporate labels who may be interested in being a partner.

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The biggest challenge of setting up a record label? “The learning curve of all of the complexities that running a record label actually consists of, such as setting up accounts with people like PRs and then MCPS and PPL royalties, making sure that recrods are kept and then all the admin stuff in the background. Lots of things that that you don’t think about in your kind of day to day life as a musician which has been a big learning curve for all of us.”

The label had their first artist showcase in June at Bristol Beacon which was a huge success. “Bristol is a really great city in lots of ways. I think in terms of its political stance and its willingness to engage with slightly left field concepts, I think it’s amazing. So we’ve had a lot of support.”

They hope to make the showcase an annual event and also have other big ideas in mind. “We hope to expand our roster to twelve artists in 2023 and possibly do a UK tour with our artists,” RTR tell us.

But their biggest goal? “To keep the momentum going and to keep engaging with people.”

Keep an eye out for all the latest news from Red Tangent Records on their instagram: @redtangentrecords

Main photo: James Hacker

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