“We don’t do normal.” This is the header on Blood Records’ website. Something big has come from the company, and I had the opportunity to learn about it first-hand from the man behind the curtain himself, Craig Evans.

“One of our main aims is to get as many of these records into people’s hands as possible,” Evans explains. There is much to unpack in this interview - starting with where it all began for Evans, and how he initially took an interest in vinyl. Let’s jump in.

Dylan Sheridan: “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Craig! I’ve been following your company for around four years now. My first Blood Records vinyl was a Vistas pop-up vinyl back in 2020. I was very impressed with the unique concepts of the records. Once I noticed that you were working with Glass Animals, Inhaler, and some of my other favorite artists, I knew that this was something special.”

Vistas’ *What Were You Hoping To Find?* Pop-Up Gatefold Pressing by Blood Records. Photo: Dylan Sheridan

Craig Evans: “Thank you! I see all your stuff on socials as well. I really appreciate all the support. As soon as you got in touch, I realized straight away from the name. It’s really weird with social media. You identify people by usernames and handles. You see their content every now and again. Sometimes you bump into people at shows and you’re like ‘oh yea! I know you from Twitter’ and things like that. It’s always nice to actually meet people in person.”

Sheridan: “That means so much to me! It happens more than you know. So, let’s start back at the beginning. What was your introduction to music growing up? Were your parents into vinyl? And what type of music did you listen to as a kid?”

Evans: “Yea, my parents weren’t massively musical to be honest. My mom was really into Motown, and she loved all those kinds of artists like Diana Ross and Michael Jackson and things like that. My Dad, he’s never really been into music. There was an interesting moment, which I don’t know how old I was, but I remember he played me The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd on one of those 80’s can headphones stereo systems. I remember that being the first time that I listened to a piece of music and thought ‘Oh music can be something completely different from the radio.’ Especially at that time in the 90’s. You’d turn the radio on, and it was just heavily manufactured pop music. Just very copy and paste people and they were putting them through this standard distribution model. I was sort of coming of age where you start to explore music and listen to music just as the internet was happening, and Napster was happening. I didn’t realize until sort of later in my life after that happened how important that moment in history was in terms of music. When you’re young it just sort of happens to you doesn’t it? We were the first generation that could listen to any music.”

Evans went on to explain how his friend introduced him to Napster, a computer program that allowed friends and peers to share music with one another online. It was the closest thing to streaming in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

“I went home and I was downloading everything under the sun. It was interesting because there was this sudden disconnect between what was happening commercially and what was happening in youth culture. It was a really interesting time.”

Sheridan: “It’s good to reflect on those moments because it shows how far you’ve come and where you started. Also how much more expansive your music taste can become over time.”

Evans: “I agree. It’s very similar to food. You sort of look at the way that food critics talk about and consume food. It’s just building up a palate and dexterity of experience in something new all the time and it teaches you to enjoy those things. I do think now, younger people, they just have so much of a more natural range for music than people of my generation did. It’s brilliant that we see that through Blood as well. We see that through our customers. We have such a wide range of people who buy our product.”

The artists that Blood Records work with reach all age groups from young teens to people in their late 60’s. Evans reflects on the happiness of his customers with his music curation.

“Some of the bands, you think it’s kind of amazing that their music will talk to both of those audiences equally, you know?”

Sheridan: “When did you start collecting vinyl and what was one of the first records you remember purchasing?”

Evans: “I must’ve been around 21. I just randomly sort of picked up a 7” by a band called Peace who I just loved. They were just massive at that point, and they were the coolest band in the world. It was a rave picture disc, and it was a real ludicrous pressing. I got it and I didn’t even have a turntable. I went and bought a turntable in order to listen to it. Then I went and bought The Dark Side Of The Moon, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors, and all the staple records that everyone has in their collection.”

Soon after collecting an abundant number of classics, Evans turned to Discogs. He began to hunt for archived albums and limited releases on vinyl. Already working for the entertainment industry in distribution strategy, Evans began to feel as if he was working at a bank - creating digital numbers on a screen opposed to helping create a true fanbase for artists. He didn’t feel as if he was helping the artists he was working for. Then one day, he quit the union and started to think of how he could make a real difference.

“I started having these thoughts whilst having this turntable next to me playing these records, and thinking ‘wow, this is a connection.’ That’s one of the big things for me with vinyl. I’m not the biggest audiophile in the world, but I get that there is a connection that is hard to explain with the listener and the artist if you add a record in the middle. You’re giving that artist pride of place in your home. You’re usually owing that product forever more and it will elicit a reaction which is more significant than anything you will get with digital [songs] or music videos like that, - certainly more than streaming. So, I think for me, it’s always also served the function of ‘can we use this product to progress culture, progress art, and progress the connection that fans have with music?’ And I think the only other way that you can get that same level of experience is through live music.”

Twenty One Pilots’ *Clancy,* red-and-yellow fire LP by Blood Records. Photo: Dylan Sheridan

Sheridan: “You couldn’t have said it better. With vinyl, you’re owning a physical piece of music and art. There’s something about vinyl where it just feels so much more unique. What was the process like creating records for the first time?”

Evans: “After I had this revelation about vinyl, I started a subscription company where people paid us 20 quid a month and they’d get five 7” singles and it’d all be completely fresh music. It helped get artists with a lack of affordability onto the format.”

Most large artists today don’t have any issues when it comes to creating vinyl. Whereas with smaller artists, it is extremely hard to afford. Evans wanted to help change that for the little guys in the world of music.

“That was my start in creating records. The records I’ve always wanted to make are the ones you pull out of your collection and show your friends like ‘look at this ridiculous thing I just bought. Look how mad it is!’”

Sheridan: “Do you remember when you first came up with the idea for Blood Records?”

Evans: “I was having coffee with a friend of mine, and she had an album coming out. There were a lot of problems with the physical production of it. I started taking notes and I said that I could solve these problems. I went home and I designed Blood Records on a piece of paper. This is how a modern retailer should work. You should go directly to consumer. The artist should not have to put up any money at any point and it should be financed by us. We should act as both the retailer and the manufacturer of the records. We can build a community that supports those records. Providing we do all those things we serve ourselves as a business, the artist, the manager, the label, and the customer. If you can do that in music, then you will forever be successful.”

Evans continued to explain how Blood Records evolved over time. It started out small and began to snowball as customers helped to shape the business into what was best for the vinyl community.

“As it went on it was really nice to be driven by the customers. We listened to them the whole time and we kept doing it.”

Bleachers Self-Titled Exclusive Pressing by Blood Records. Photo: Dylan Sheridan

Sheridan: “You seem very knowledgeable in the aspect of business and the manufacturing side of vinyl. It’s great that you still do represent small artists as well. What would you say is one of your biggest accomplishments when it comes to working with an artist so far?”

Evans: “It’s become normal to get emails from really major artists that five years ago you wouldn’t have dreamed of working with. So, working with like Oasis, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, and people like that. It’s a privilege to be able to mess with those files and sort of have visions around concepts. Yea, it’s great to work with that level, but as you said with the independent side as well. I think that one of the things that has made it very difficult to press 250-300 runs is inflation and the pandemic. We really don’t make any money on those records to tell you the truth, but we do it because we could very easily just put out those major artists’ [records] and not bother spending the time from a purely practical point of view. The reason we do it is... it’s really important to put that next generation that’s coming through as much as you can. I think it starts a conversation around these artists, which is important. For our customers as well. They want things that are a little bit out there. There are a lot of customers that use this as a curation tool as well.”

Evans went on to talk about how some of his older customers don’t make it out to concerts as much anymore. Instead, they will head to Blood Records when a small artist drops a vinyl and purchase their record to discover new music.

Sheridan: “It is really amazing what you are doing when it comes to representing small artists. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are now. It really is important to represent the little guy.”

Evans: “Completely agree. A lot of people we’ve worked with have said ‘That record funded our tour. It basically made up for the money that we lost.’ Which in itself is a stupid problem we shouldn’t be having as an industry. My best weeks are the ones where we put out Dua Lipa one day, and then we put out an absolutely unheard album the next.”

Dua Lipa’s *Radical Optimism* on zoetrope picture disc by Blood Records. Photo: Dylan Sheridan

Evans reminisces on going out to shows both big and small. He talked about going to see The 1975 at The O2, and then going to smaller bands performances at a 50 capacity record shop. He talked about the importance of being open to discover music on a large and small scale. If you don’t support artists when they are small, they may never make it to that large headlining spot. Going to arena shows verses underground shows is a different experience but just as cool in Evans’ opinion.

“It’s a shame that more people don’t get out and have those experiences. As people get older, they don’t necessarily stick with that which is a shame.”

Craig and I began to talk about some other artists he’s worked with including bands like The Last Dinner Party, Vampire Weekend, and Elton John. I told Craig that I was lucky enough to acquire one of the Honkey Château records when there were only 500 pressed. Now it is one of my favorite records in my collection.

“For anyone that got one, I mean... just what an amazing artifact to own. That’s what we say to labels when things sell out quickly. This is good, this is really good. Those people will love that record in ways that you cannot imagine, forever more.”

Elton John’s *Honky Château* 50th Anniversary Reissue by Blood Records. Photo: Dylan Sheridan

Sheridan: “Recently you made a major announcement that I thought was a game-changer for the vinyl industry. You have been teasing the fact that you’ve mastered the craft of liquid-filled records. This is massive! Could you tell me a bit more about what is to come with Blood Records and liquid-filled vinyl?

Evans: “Yea sure! To give you the background, when we started Blood, we did these things called holy grails. Where we’d have some liquid filled LPs of the run that we’ve made up and we’d give them away to someone at random who purchased one of the records as a nice, thank you, give away sort of thing. With liquid LPs, the whole model behind them is slightly ridiculous. They take forever to make, they cost an absolute fortune, and for us it was costing us around 130 pounds a record. Because of the production method, the maximum you could order was about 30 units. You could never manufacture a significant run, but everyone wanted one. Some would leak, the liquid would dry out or split depending on who manufactured it. If we could make this into a viable product, there’s lots of people who would buy it.

We started working with a couple of our partners who worked on important projects like aircraft engineering and medical devices. It was quite funny like ‘Hey, can you put liquid in these records?’ and they were like ‘Who is this crazy guy in our office asking us to do this bizarre task?’ Yea, it’s taken us about 18 months, but what we’ve got is a full production method. The records are pressed so the sound quality is no different from if you pressed any other transparent LP. It’s incredibly durable. We’re using an adhesive which is used in things like high pressure water pipes, and I can actually stand on those records, and they won’t split. The liquids we are using are basically guaranteed up to 200 years, which is the highest the test will go. And we can manufacture them at scale, most importantly. The whole point is that everyone should own them. The ones that have been on sale around the world at 40 or 50 units have had to retail at over 100 pounds. Most of the time those artists aren’t even making money on that. Ours are going to retail at 45. I think Taylor Swift’s stuff was actually at 45 over here. Most of her records… they’re just sort of standard colorways. And we’re going to be able to issue liquid-filled LPs. We’ve gone around and found around 5 or 6 projects that we really want to work on. We’ve been quite selective with the projects that we’ve taken on. We hope to drop the first one possibly as early as next week.”

Sheridan: “That is so cool. I’ve been seeing those types of records online for so long, but I could never get myself to purchase one. Especially with the project of the LP and the prices, it was never worth it for me.”

Evans: “The first one is a kind of concept piece that will I think disgust everyone. I think it will cause a lot of conversation both positive and negative. I can’t say anything more than that basically. It’s good because it’s a bit like Blood Records where you’re only limited by your imagination and the art direction.”

Since this interview, Craig has changed the first Bad World release to Being Funny In A Foreign Language by The 1975. I was led to believe the original first pressing was meant to be the soundtrack to Saltburn, which has now been unveiled, taking the internet by storm.

*Saltburn* ‘Bath Water’ Filled LP by Blood Records. Source: Bad World

Sheridan: “How does Bad World play a part in this production process?”

Evans: “It’s been ruled out as a second company basically. So, we’re housing all of our liquid LPs on Bad World. One of the reasons that we’ve put Bad World as a new company, and we’ve put the liquid LPs under it is that we’re going to sell them in a slightly different way. One of our main aims is to get as many of these records into people’s hands as possible. If we limit the run size, we’re going to struggle to do that. How it will work is essentially there is a vault on Bad World. The vault will open for a period of time and then it will close again. So, we might open it for 3 hours, 24 hours, for a week. People will preorder the product, and then it will get manufactured to order. When we take it off sale, the buy now button will become an alert me button, so you can join a waiting list. If we feel like there is enough demand for it, then the vault will open again. So, a lot of what we’re doing with Bad World is how can we make this sit alongside an album campaign? Your black LP, your color LP, your special effect LP, your indie, your picture disc, and then you’ve got your potentially liquid filled LP.

Sheridan: “Let’s wrap it up with one of my favorite questions. What are you listening to right now, and of course what else do you want the world to know about Blood Records?”

Evans: “I’ve got Fontaines on a lot at the moment. I think their new record is going to be absolutely amazing. At the poppier end of things, Dua’s new album is phenomenal. In the last few months alone we’ve got Billie, Taylor, Charli, Beyonce, Ariana, and Dua. I mean these are all innovative artists who are making genuinely interesting music. Dua is honestly one of the best pop artists that’s ever lived. To be putting that record out, again, is amazing.

People always think of me as someone who only wants to be listening to Oasis and stuff. It couldn’t be further from the truth. I listen to loads of different kinds of music. I listen to as much pop music as I do rock, indie, and things like that.

I think the only other thing I wanted to say about Blood that I haven’t mentioned is how fortunate and lucky I am to be able to sit here and have these conversations, make these records, and work with the artists I work with. I don’t know many people who have the privilege of getting up every morning and genuinely feeling excited about what they do for a living. I get to wake up every morning and work with the most amazing creative people in the world - given the responsibility with actually playing with and adjusting their art. I think that’s a huge privilege. That is only possible because of all the many thousands of people who’ve backed us all over the world, including yourself. So, thank you and thank you to everyone who does that.”

Sheridan: “And thank you for being so humble and caring about your craft.”

I speak not only for myself, but for Backward Noise and all of the vinyl lovers out there when I say we cannot wait to see what comes next with Bad World and Blood Records. This is a step forward for the world of vinyl, and there is no doubt Craig Evans is reshaping the future of vinyl as we know it.

Blood Records’ Craig Evans is Reshaping the Vinyl Industry - Introducing the Liquid-Filled Vinyl