Feeding Tube Records is now both a record store and label nestled in the middle of the Pioneer Valley in Florence, Western Mass. Thurston Moore and Byron Coley came into the picture when the two noticed Ted equipped with a video camera taping all the performances at The Yod Space, Moore and Coley’s venue/half-formed record store. Soon enough, they joined Ted around 2010 when the three all realized they wanted a retail space to sell records and later, Thurston and Byron became more involved with the label side of things. Thurston soon went off to the UK while Ted and Byron carried on, operating the label in this capacity ever since.
Feeding Tube claims to release “limited edition vinyl documents of artists operating on the fringe of obscurity”, and it’s hard to argue that they’ve done anything but that. With a penchant for bolstering the sound of the Pioneer Valley and the New England underground, no one sound defines the label. They continually unearth cult recordings, like those from Mars, Gary Wilson, Jack Ruby, or Chilean composer Mars, and they’ve worked with just about anyone who maps out on the "free" spectrum: Chris Corsano, Bruce Russell, Michael Zerang, etc. They also continue to be a springboard for budding artists, like Guerilla Toss, Palberta, or Daniel Bachman.
Byron recently mentioned that the label tries to maintain a schedule of releasing an LP a week, and they’ve somehow exceeded that. They’ve released over 650 records (according to Discogs) and have worked with over 300 artists since their inception. That puts them at an average of 40+ releases a year, representing close to 20 artists a year, although the release rate was really revved up around 2013. And 2018 has been a particularly fruitful year for the label. The yearly count ends up clocking in at 64 full-length releases, and this excludes the “just over 100” edition releases, cassettes, lathes, represses, and CDRs. Feeding Tube struck while the iron was hot, as they’ve always done. If you were listening, 2018 was a standout year for the label.
—Ian Forsythe, Arlington MA 2018
BYRON COLEY'S 13 FAVORITE FEEDING TUBE RECORDS OF 2018“like having to choose a favorite child, but what the hell."