2nd December 2023

Exclusive Interview: Ripcord Records talk “You Matter” compilation series in support of Papyrus!

Over the past few years Ripcord Records have put together a series of compilation albums titled “You Matter” to raise money for the suicide prevention charity Papyrus. Each compilation features no less than 101 bands from all around the Globe and celebrates some of the lesser lights of heaven in genres like Black and Post Metal, Grind and even Screamo, the third instalment having 10 hours of music contained within. So when you’re feeling low, you can take a breath, put on some music and hold on. For one second, one minute, one hour, one day or as long as you need for the pain to subside and find someone to talk to. We’re out here, we’re listening, come find us. We had the pleasure of a conversation with the curator of the collection Charlene about how it all came together…

How did you first come up with the idea for the “You Matter” compilation series? It must be a mammoth undertaking? “Well I had done a few compilations previous to You Matter with fewer tracks and I guess I wanted to push it to the max and do something that mightn’t have been done before. So I decided on 101 tracks. I had supported women’s charities in the past as well as animal rights charities so I wanted to support another charity that was close to my heart – mental health. I knew it would be a challenge with so many bands but that’s what made me even more keen to give it a try”

When there are a lot of charities out there, what drew you to support Papyrus? “I suffer from depression myself and alongside that comes suicidal thoughts so I am always up for supporting any kind of mental health charities. I’ve also lost people to suicide. Papyrus focus on suicide prevention and I think the work they do is phenomenal. Suicide is the biggest killer of under 35s in the UK and that statistic still blows my mind and breaks my heart. There is a lot of work to be done to try to reverse that and if I can help raise some money for a suicide prevention charity like Papyrus then I’m happy to. People need to know that others care and that there is always someone to support you, for example, at the Papyrus hotline. Just stop and pick up that phone. Give yourself another shot at life. Even if you have no family or friends you can speak to or if you prefer to speak to someone anonymously there are people at the end of a line willing to talk to you through your darkest times”

Papyrus Hopeline: 0800 068 4141. You can even text them on 07860 039967 if talking feels too hard. Their website is https://www.papyrus-uk.org

How do you go about approaching bands who appear? Who would you say had been the biggest challenge to convince to get on board? Who was the easiest win? “I basically write out a really large list of bands I’d like on the compilation and then go about contacting all of them. To put it in perspective, I contacted almost 900 bands in order to get 101 for the comp. I don’t really try to convince bands to hop on board. I send an email explaining what I’m doing and if they don’t reply I just leave it. The bands that do reply are usually really enthusiastic about being on the comp so I can’t really pick out any in particular”

What has been the best part of undertaking the project? “I find the whole thing really enjoyable, literally from start to finish. It’s hard work gathering enough bands and there’s the admin of getting all the tracks uploaded but it’s still all a lot of fun. I suppose releasing it and have people see it as something worth purchasing is a great feeling. There’s always the worry no one will be interested so there are nerves around release date but all have sold well – so far! Ultimately, raising cash for a suicide prevention charity is the best thing about it. I think we raise roughly £1500+ per compilation and I’m really proud of that and blown away by what can be achieved by bringing together a bunch of bands. I’m extremely thankful to all the bands that make it happen because without them it’s nothing”

Have there been any letters, emails or social media comments from people who have thanked you for what you’ve done with this? What does it mean when you look back on those now? “There has definitely been feedback regarding the music. People who feel they’re pretty knowledgeable in music coming to tell me they’d found even more bands through the comp. Sometimes bands have had reviews or interviews off the back of being on the compilations so that is amazing. There are basically 2 aims of these You Matter compilations: raise money for Papyrus (and awareness on what they do) and also promote a large number of bands. So when bands get attention off the back of being on a You Matter comp it really does fill me with joy”

What’s next for Ripcord Records? Are there any forthcoming records that you’re excited about putting out there? “We’ve got 7 or 8 vinyl records already that we’re releasing in collaboration with other labels next next year. I’ll namedrop a couple: keep your eyes out for Maridia (post-hardcore / hardcore / post-metal) and Sacrofuoco (screamo). We’re interested in releasing more UK bands after how successful the Helve release was – so UK bands, hit us up!”