Seven years ago, a group of artists and music enthusiasts got together in Glasgow’s Stereo and conceived what was going to be one of the most innovative and prolific independent record labels of the decade. These people were Martyn Flyn, Dominic Flannigan, Ross Birchard and Mike Slott, and their contributions to the running of LuckyMe has seen its success grow from year to year since its humble beginnings in 2007. LuckyMe’s artist roster is responsible for producing some of the most exciting and experimental sounds in modern music whilst its creative direction camp pieces these sounds together and translates them into distinctive visual arts projects and global collaborations. Martyn Flyn, one of two managing directors of LuckyMe, took some time out to speak to The Reference Council about the label’s roots, its current operations and plans for the future.

We met in a small coffee bar, tucked away in a busy corner of Edinburgh city. It was the day before the Scottish Independence Referendum and there was a distinct buzz in the atmosphere. It felt apt that I was talking to the label head of one of Scotland’s biggest, most internationally successful music exports to date. LuckyMe began as an obsession with music. It was fuelled by an admiration for “records and labels, the whole culture that related to these independent, nineties hip-hop movements,” with big labels like Warp and Stones Throw being obvious influences. It was the smaller labels however, like Fondle ‘Em Records which proved to be the cornerstone of the LuckyMe set-up. It was “Dolo and Guesswhyld – nerdy hip hop stuff but it was what I was most into at the time...all of a sudden it sort of seemed as if you could to it too.”

And at a period when Martyn and Dominic were involved with music themselves, immersed within the cultural entanglements of Glasgow and Edinburgh, the ultimate question arose - “What do you do with all this music?”

You gather a group of talented friends, watch them grow as artists and release their material. Martyn explained, “it makes it a lot easier when you know your artists as people; when you know you have things in common to share and talk about. We don’t have a big mission statement or anything like that, but the label’s about everyone sharing different ideas and interests in things.”

The label’s roster now stretches over the borders of the UK to Norway and Canada, yet Martyn and Dominic – near siblings themselves – still remain very close to all of their artists and their work. In terms of creative control, the label’s artists are encouraged to develop and revel in differences of sound.

“Obviously we come from a hip-hop root,” and it’s very clear when listening to artists like Lunice, TNGHT and Baauer, but the label is more than a genre. It’s an amalgamation of the interests and tastes of the label’s heads and members: “I don’t want people looking at us and just assuming it’s one sound…some people have got into us because they’ve been big into HudMo or Lunice, other people from Jacques Greene, then some through Mike Slott and Claude Speeed. It’s all a development of what’s been going on...It’s a broader space we’re in.”

2014 has been a big year so far for LuckyMe, with releases such as the Wedding Bells EP by new addition Cashmere Cat, S-Type’s Rosario EP and Claude Speeed’s collosal, symphonic debut album My Skeleton. And the winter months are only going to prove more fruitful. A lot of information and dates are currently being kept under wraps, but Martyn did hint at a forthcoming release from Joseph Marinetti and two definite new additions to the LuckyMe family for 2015.

As for the annual LuckyMe Advent Calendar (an event in December where the lead up to Christmas is sound-tracked by a different LuckyMe artist each day) this year’s festive countdown and contributors have been locked down.“We’ve done it for about five years now and it’s a fun thing for us to do. It ends up being a lot of work actually - asking people for music and then just hoping you have an advent calendar to make with it! But it’s great and people really appreciate it, we get a lot of good feedback for it too.”

LuckyMe is renowned for being playful, whether it's through the annual advent calendar, its organised parties or through tongue-in-cheek antics like 2013’s mystery of DJ Yolo Bear. “You know, it was funny for us and I don’t think anyone took it too seriously…I’m sure that there are people out there who sometimes hate when we do things like this, and that’s fine. But I like when people have fun with these things. I like club records and rap music - both have been going on for ages - but I think if you’re respectful to all of that then you should be able to have fun.”

What began as a group of people sharing ideas and interests, has become one of the most successful independent labels of today. The humility of its beginnings still echo throughout the label’s proceedings. From A&R to manufacturing records and organising parties across the globe, it’s clear that the label’s founders aren’t planning on slowing down anytime soon. As Martyn explains, “you have to work on these things and make your own opportunities…we are lucky at that but we’ve also worked hard to get that way. The harder you work, the luckier you get.”

Published on The Reference Council, 2014