Do It Thissen Records

Do It Thissen Records is a Sheffield independent micro-label founded and run by Jon Downing, specialising in small-run, hand-made records by artists connected with Sheffield and the wider South Yorkshire independent music scene. The name is a Sheffield/Yorkshire-dialect version of “Do It Yourself.”

The label grew out of Downing’s interest in Sheffield’s DIY musical heritage and his desire to document and support contemporary local musicians. It is particularly distinctive because many of its releases are lathe-cut records, rather than conventionally pressed vinyl. Downing bought his record-cutting machine in 2017 and subsequently began cutting records himself. He described the label as a retirement project intended to “keep me out of mischief” while giving something back to Sheffield’s music scene.

The label’s catalogue is unusually eclectic. Releases have included:

• The Box / Clock DVA-associated musicians Charlie Collins and Pete Hope, alongside Pete Infanti, on previously unreleased 1993 recordings.
• Naguals, Sheffield post-punk/garage group.
• Polyhymns, an experimental electronic/psychedelic Sheffield group.
• Dearthworms, a Sheffield DIY post-punk band associated with the Hatch/Audacious Art Experiment scene.
• My Lo-Fi Heart, the solo project of Ian Turley, formerly of several Sheffield indie groups.
• The Surgon, Sheffield electronic/synth outfit.
• naisian, whose first vinyl release marked the group’s 20th anniversary.

More recent Sheffield acts including Isis Moray, Knorke, Crystal Blaze, Hekla Fell, Surf Muscle and others.

The editions are often extremely small. For example, the Naguals 7-inch was limited to 50 copies, while the My Lo-Fi Heart release was only 25 copies. The records are hand-made and assembled in Sheffield.

The label has also been involved in preserving and celebrating Sheffield’s earlier independent music culture, including the 1979–82 period associated with Cabaret Voltaire, The Human League, Clock DVA and the city’s wider DIY/experimental movement.

Downing has also been involved in events concerning Cabaret Voltaire and Western Works, including the 2014 No Lectures from Western Works event. More recently he has continued to DJ and contribute to Sheffield experimental-music events. So, rather than simply being another modern record label, Do It Thissen is effectively a one-man Sheffield archival and DIY record-making project, linking the city’s experimental music history with its current underground scene.

doitthissen.com