One of the important aspects of parafictions is the element of discovery. Using pseudo-archival and documentary evidence as a window to a kind of parafiction. The discovery of something previously unknown enables presentation of a cloudy past. Liberties can be taken with the truth where it can be included to add plausibility to a narrative, as well as adjusted to suit the fictive.
The emergence of Sexton Records was not the result of access to a specialist archive but its discovery in a domestic or public setting. In this instance a self-storage unit was being used as a centre of operations for a vinyl record “bootlegging” practice. One corner of the “lock-up” had a basic bench set up with chipboard on two saw-horses. On the board there are various tools and materials of the “labelsmith”. Also on the bench was a portable typewriter and a Garrard “magazine” tape recorder, without any tape magazines. This type of tape recorder introduced the forerunner to the more familiar tape cassette first introduced by Philips in 1963. There is some doubt if the tape recorder was used due to its age and its obsolete tape format, although small reels up to 4” can be used. Cassette tape superseded the magazine format in the pre-digital age.
The “lockup” is also has connotations of sharp practices and the warehouse of a rogue trader. However self-storage units are leased under strict conditions of their use. For example due to building regulations they cannot be used as accommodation or for running businesses, although they can be utilised as warehouses or showrooms for a business. The contents of the unit came up for “blind” auction as the unit was possibly abandoned.
The “labelsmith” is a fictional profession where record labels are created independently from the vinyl disc. In the real world, record centre labels are printed onto ceramic infused paper, then fired in a kiln. Both heat resistant labels, one for each side, are simultaneously fixed top and bottom as the record is pressed. The labelsmith creates bespoke centre labels as objects of desire on their own terms. For instance white labels are pressed to emulate the undulations of a label fixed to a record and acquire a value because of their status as a handmade object.
Artist’s impression of Sexton Record’s “Labelsmith’s” bench
Sexton Records took this further by creating printed labels to be fixed on existing records. The term “bootlegging” in this instance is a misnomer. Bootlegs are unauthorised and usually poor quality recordings of existing records. What Sexton Records seem to be doing is a form of “cover-up”. A cover-up is a false label which covers the existing label to protect its identity. This was common practice among Northern Soul DJs to protect their exclusive record collection, especially from bootleggers. Originally cover-ups were just pieces of white paper fixed to the label however some DJs would have replica labels with new cover-up names and titles.
So it would appear that Sexton Records were creating printed labels and attaching them to existing random records. Basically creating forgeries to look like good quality bootlegs. The original record companies’ names and logos on the labels have been adjusted to say Sexton Records or variations on that name. Ironically, the quality of these recordings on these random mainstream records would surpass most bootleg recordings. So these recordings, despite the good quality, are not what they seem.
Labelsmith bench featuring a Garrard “Magazine” tape recorder.