Jed Skinner

This year, Leeds based independent record company The Leaf Label commemorates its 20th anniversary. To celebrate, it has announced a special 14-record box set and a series of gigs at Headrow House. We chatted with The Leaf Label founder Tony Morley about how he brought the influential label to Leeds, and what we can expect for the future: You left 4AD to set up the Leaf Label. How did you end up moving from London to Horsforth?I was at 4AD from 1992 until 1996. I started The Leaf Label with a friend as a kind of hobby. We put out about eight 12” singles over a couple of years. In 1995 I had a really bad road accident that nearly killed me. The accident made me realise that I really wanted to go out and do something for myself, and gave me a resolve to do it. The following year, I was given an ultimatum by 4AD; they thought I should either concentrate on 4AD or move on. So I went out on my own. I was running a press company at that point as well so it was quite a while before The Leaf Label started to make any money. Horsforth’s where we happened to settle; when we first moved up here I ran The Leaf Label from my house, now we’re in an office complex in the middle of Horsforth. The label was focussed on electronic music originally, right?Pretty much. Most of the early stuff was electronic, because apart from anything else it was cheap and easy, and it was a time when there was a lot of interesting stuff going on. Polar Bear   What prompted the change to today's more esoteric

This year Beacons Metro will swap the lush green fields of North Yorkshire for the urbane nightspots of the North, taking the new form of a series of events across Leeds and Manchester. Most of the announced events are in Leeds, with the first being at new venue Headrow House.    The opening party on October 2 will feature East India Youth and Ghost Culture, set in the backdrop of an exciting European-style beer hall.  Here are some of our picks from what’s been announced so far. There are still many more events to follow – make sure you follow Beacons Metro on Twitter for the latest news.   Traams with Kagoule, Crushed Beaks and Sauna Youth Noisy indie garage rockers TRAAMS supported Drenge on their sold out UK tour of 2014. TRAAMS’s latest album Modern Dancing, produced by Hookworms’ frontman MJ, will be released in November.  October 10, 7pm. Headrow House. Free entry.  Clark, Mumdance and Helm As well as working as a remixer and collaborator with Broadcast, Battles and Depeche Mode among many others, Clark is also known for creating complex electronic pieces live with hardware. His latest album Flame Rave gives a nod to 90s-style jungle jams.  This event is presented in conjunction with Recon Festival, a series of intriguing and inspiring musical and artistic performances across Leeds and Bradford.  October 16, 9pm. Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen. Tickets £15.  Everything Everything Mercury Music Prize-nominated Everything Everything’s sound has been described as 'Tim

This October sees Recon Festival return for another series of intriguing and inspiring musical and artistic performances across Leeds and Bradford.  The diverse line-up features performances from Warp Records electronica pioneers Plaid and Clark, Leeds locals Hookworms, legendary US street musician The Space Lady, and lots more.  The festival begins on October 4, as the experimental 'noisepop' group Xiu Xiu perform their interpretation of the 'Twin Peaks' soundtrack at Leeds’ Howard Assembly Room.    Sadly, this event has long sold out, but for those lucky enough to have tickets, it promises to be dark, disturbing, noisy and dreamy – rather like 'Twin Peaks' itself.  On October 10, the action shifts to the Leeds co-operative club and DIY venue Wharf Chambers for Warm Digits. Buzzing guitars, whirling synths and cyclical drums combine into what the band describe as ‘krautophonic blizzard-wave’.      Support comes from the hypnotic and propulsive dual-drummered Nope, and Leeds mask-wearing surf-freak outfit Los Pecadores.  The Brudenell Social Club plays host to the next show on October 15, with the legendary Plaid. Having collaborated with the likes of Björk, Goldfrapp and Massive Attack, this is a much-anticipated Leeds performance for a group that has had a deep influence on the development of electronic music.  They’ll be supported by Galaxians, Leeds’ very own 1980s New York boogie-influenced drums and synths duo. Also on the bill will be Golden Meat, featuring analogue

Headrow House is set to be one of the biggest, boldest, most ambitious venues to launch in Leeds.    Opening on October 2 and spreading over three floors, the building will feature a restaurant, cocktail bar, an intimate live music space and – most excitingly – a beer hall. On top of this, there’ll be three outdoor areas, two roof terraces and office spaces, too.  It will be the main host of the new Beacons Metro festival, following its transition from an outdoor event in the lush green fields of Skipton.  The building has an interesting history. A former mill, by the mid-1960s it had become home to various light industrial businesses.  Long-time Leeds residents may also remember it as the building that housed Big Lil’s Saloon Bar and the nightclub Spooks, two notorious drinking spots that closed down over ten years ago.    Now receiving a new lease of life as Headrow House, many of the original features of the building have been restored, revealing exposed brick walls, curved brick stairwells, original period windows and skylights.  Work in progressHeadrow House   We asked Ashley Kollakowski, part of the team behind Headrow House, what his inspirations were for setting up Leeds’ newest venue, and what people could expect to discover on opening night:  What was the catalyst to set up Headrow House?  We wanted a space with the facilities to run smaller, more intimate gigs. With Belgrave Music Hall, the large capacity of the venue meant we couldn't put on smaller, newer and m