Sunbird Records: A Post-Subcultural Design.

Sunbird Records was created in 1999 by Steven Lindley and Ian Almond as a
platform to release world music in Darwen, Lancashire. After 2 years releasing no more than
10 albums as physical CD records, the label ceased trading and lay dormant until 2013, at
which time the label was redesigned to investigate whether post-subcultural discourse
factors in the design of an independent record label? To facilitate answering this question
the label designed a new website, shop, studio, live music venue and roster of artists. All of
the labels documented activity is accessible via the label’s website
www.sunbirdrecords.co.uk.

The study develops its primary case study, Sunbird Records, as a way of
implementing post-subcultural discourse in practice. Between the late 1970s and the
present, there has been an important shift in the evolution of alternative culture. This
transition, from subculture (Hebdige, 1979) to post-subculture (Thornton, 1995), has yet to
be comprehensively understood by cultural discourse or applied practically as a method for
cultural production. The study has been designed for the purpose of critique and further
reflection, its findings will be independent distinct and context-specific.