Vinyl infused with Doritos, X-rays that can be played on a turntable, and even a sandwich — these are just a few of the bizarre formats that Toronto label We Are Busy Bodies has used to release music throughout its unpredictable 20-year history.
The label was founded by Toronto's Eric Warner in 2005, who has spent the two decades since championing the exciting, artistic and unexpected. In that time, the company has amassed a catalogue that includes Rich Aucoin, Limblifter, Odonis Odonis, DD/MM/YYYY, Cuff the Duke, Bug Club, Doldrums, official bootlegs from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and much more. It's a label focused on discovery rather than traditional commercial avenues, proving that it's possible to thrive while going against the industry grain.
As We Are Busy Bodies celebrates its 20th anniversary with a five-day Toronto festival later this month featuring the Elwins, the Bug Club, No Frills, Michael Scott Dawson and the live debut of UWUW (the new project from Ian Blurton, performing with a 10-piece lineup), we caught up with founder Warner to discuss the spinoff imprints Having Fun, Record Record Label and Busy Buddies, and the many convention-defying releases in the We Are Busy Bodies catalogue.
Why did you start We Are Busy Bodies, and what stands out in your memory about those early years?
We Are Busy Bodies started because a band I was playing in was breaking up and had recorded a split album with our friends, Japanther. I wanted to release the music for posterity and recognized that, as a local act, there probably wasn't a label that would be interested in releasing the music. That album became the label's first release.
The early memories were that I was able to learn through trial and error how to release albums and champion the music my friends were releasing. Learning about distribution, marketing and an evolving media landscape made me realize that I needed to be nimble and willing to adapt to ongoing changes.
I was a concert promoter and festival booker for many years, so I was very fortunate to be surrounded by many talented people. I looked at the label as a springboard to help get friends signed to bigger labels or find opportunities to grow. Eventually, I realized that I wanted to keep artists with the label where possible and doubled down on my efforts.
Since November 2019, We Are Busy Bodies and are our associated imprints have issued roughly 175 releases. Most have been physical formats.
What's the strangest or most uncharacteristic release in your catalogue?
There are far too many… I've really enjoyed the opportunity to be creative with formats. We've issued several King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard official bootlegs that have included a record that plays in reverse from inner groove outwards, an LP with a 7" embedded in the sleeve that needed to be popped open to access, a buzzsaw-shaped LP that directly ripped off Acrid and Left For Dead, and a record that came with an 80-piece puzzle.
We've also made playable X-ray records in the spirit of Russian bone music recordings (Peace Flag Ensemble), playable postcards (Pale Blue Eyes, Christo Graham), CD/7-inch hybrid releases (Lord Almightys), picture discs using old National Geographic maps (sivarT and Drew Smith), and records embedded with Doritos (Michael Scott Dawson), lemonade powder (The Lemons) and wheat sheaf (Michael Scott Dawson again).
An unofficial release was when one of my own bands released an EP in the form of a mixed drink, piece of fruit and sandwich. I baked all the bread and prepared meat and vegan sandwich options. We're currently working on an ambitious 13-part picture disc flexi series.
What's the most memorable moment in We Are Busy Bodies history?
It's difficult to identify a single memorable moment. I think that the opportunity to build relationships, learn new skills through trial and error, and ultimately be able to champion the music we are excited by to global audiences has been rewarding. I like to think that we can get a few hundred, thousand, or more people excited about our releases, and that means enough to me. Being able to build trust keeps things grounded. There have been many ups and downs, so every moment, every release is a milestone. Everything Is Possible by Peace Flag Ensemble, our 200th release that was released on February 7 seems as apt of a title as any.
What's a We Are Busy Bodies album that you wish had gotten more attention?
That is a loaded question. I wish every record received the support that was due. Every album is someone's — or a collective of people's — art. It's always nice to see national or international coverage, or the creation of opportunities from a release, and it stings when it doesn't happen. I've also found that, sometimes, a record that receives little press sells quicker than some of our other releases.
That said, I wish Stefan Gnys (WABB reissued for the album's 55th anniversary — it was never publicly released and only had 12 acetate copies) and the S/T debut from Night Plow (Gregory from Sloan with Tim Lefebrve from David Bowie's Blackstar, Tedeschi Trucks, etc.) got more coverage. The Stefan Gnys album is an incredibly beautiful folk album, whereas the Night Plow album is on the opposite end of the spectrum, with live electronics and experimentalism. Same goes for our vinyl reissue of iPhupho L'Ka Biko's EP. Some releases are slow burns and find their audiences over time.
What are your personal favourite albums in the We Are Busy Bodies catalogue?
This is loaded as I run an inherently biased operation. All our Bug Club records; they're also the nicest, funniest people. All of Peace Flag Ensemble's albums, our deep dives on South African jazz, Vanity Mirror, and Electric Looking Glass. Brent Randall is the principal songwriter in Vanity Mirror and a co-writer in Electric Looking Glass. He's been a friend and a favourite songwriter for what is likely decades at this point.
One of the most surreal is Newfound Interest in Connecticut. It was our second release that initially only came out on CD in 2005. We folded and prepared the CD cases while people waited in line for their final show. In the following years, someone uploaded the album to YouTube, where it garnered hundreds of thousands of views. We reissued the album as a 2LP in 2021 and are just about through the third pressing. The band reunited in 2024 for their first show in 19 years to perform to 600-ish or so people at New Friends Fest here in Toronto. To see people singing along, crowd surfing, dancing and even crying was one of the most humbling things to see. A band who played in my parents' basement, and many other basements, and whose shows I primarily booked, finding a new audience — and a global one at that after all these years — is still hard to process. These are guys I played in bands with, released and managed in other acts, and have been some of my dearest friends. Music brings people together, and this is a prime example of it now reaching multiple generations in my lifetime.
We just released No Frills' sophomore album on March 7. I'm looking forward to Nick Storring's ninth album out March 21, and the 50th anniversary of 1001 est Cremazie's sole album out in April, among the many we have scheduled. The latter is a high school jazz/funk/soul album that has seen the two original songs bootlegged a bunch, as well as sampled. It's been a pleasure working with the high school on the reissue project, which looks like it will include a reunion performance as well!
Tell us about the new label Having Fun. What are the goals for this new venture?
We Are Busy Bodies has always been genre agnostic. I think it's something that's allowed the label to carve out its own path and exist in the manner I envisioned. As we started reissuing records and releasing more and more music, I realized that a children's album inspired by the Ramones and the Modern Lovers perhaps didn't fit as cleanly alongside a free jazz record (or maybe it did?), so I started to create new imprints to streamline.
Having Fun is focused on indie rock, pop and anything in between. Anything more rock-oriented than some of our more recent releases through We Are Busy Bodies, with a few exceptions. We've signed UK act Pale Blue Eyes for the North American release of their third album, Beta Trip, and a handful of other artists we will be announcing this coming spring.
You've already got Record Record Label and the children's imprint Busy Buddies. What do these subsidiaries offer — both to you as an individual, and the label overall?
Record Record Label is focused on limited vinyl reissues of Canadian acts that either never had music issued on vinyl or in small, hard-to-obtain quantities.
Busy Buddies is our children's label. We're launching a read-along/sing-along book division this year as well.
What's next up for you and the label?
We Are Busy Bodies is presenting a five-day festival between March 25–29 to celebrate our 20th anniversary. The festival features a mix of new and old with reunions (The Elwins, Newfound Interest in Connecticut), old friends (The Bug Club), new signings (The Boojums, No Frills), and first shows (UWUW featuring Ian Blurton). We're going to have a limited-edition coffee available for the events in collaboration with Stereo Coffee Roasters.
We're also working on a 13-part flexi record and EP series, several releases for each label, a children's book and music publishing project, and building a traveling music-focused exhibition. As always, we're curious and restless, and looking for creative ways to get audiences engaged with new or old music.