About Us
It’s 2004, and from the warm refuge of a family-run Italian restaurant in Fulham, Nigel Adams and Wez decide to start their own brand new label, Full Time Hobby.
Having met while working at Mushroom / Infectious Records, the pair opted to take the leap of faith when it became increasingly clear that Mushroom was going to sell out to Warners. Inspired by the original Jac Holzman-era Elektra Records, Creation Records and Rough Trade Records, Nigel and Wez’s aim was to curate a label that championed innovative new music they loved and didn’t see finding a home elsewhere. Most importantly, though, Full Time Hobby was set up to be - and forever remain - wholly independent.
“We have to love the music. If we can’t hand-on-heart say we’re besotted with it, we can’t commit to getting involved”, Nigel says of the approach to the roster. “It’s such a long process to help develop an artist, you have to have that blind love to carry you through if things aren’t going to plan”.
Having worked with acts from across the UK, Europe, America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, Full Time Hobby’s scope is global, and aspirations are always high. “We have a duty to any band we sign to be ambitious for them”, Nigel continues. “We try to walk the fine line between art and commerce. If we can’t sell records and stream songs, we can’t help artists carry on making more music, so it’s important we’re confident we can do that. But we didn’t get into this with money as a focus - it has and always will be about loving the music. White Denim, Michael Nau, Sylvie, Tunng or any other act we’ve had on the label have all turned our heads and made us fall for their songs before we ever thought about how we could sell their music”.
Both Wez and I started out in the music industry pre-email. I remember picking up boxes of cassettes for press mail-outs, having piles of press shots and slides, cycling around London putting up fly posters, buying and making fanzines; jumpers for goalposts. Leap forward a few years and I love the fact we can start the day on Zoom catching up with Nick from Bananagun in Australia, followed by chatting with our distributor in France, then checking in with Ghostwoman as they make their debut tour of Spain, all from our base in Dalston. We’re able to make decisions and get things moving with such ease.”
Alongside developing artists, environmental action is particularly close to the label’s heart, and it partners with Music Declares Emergency to use the platform of the music industry to speak out about the climate crisis.
Keep up to date with all of Full Time Hobby’s releases by following us on Instagram and signing up to our mailing lists. Check out what we're listening to in the office below: