Editing Nothing Records (section)

=== Pop Will Eat Itself ===
Capping off a successful year in 1994 at Nothing Records was the arrival of [[Pop Will Eat Itself]], who were licensed by the label for Stateside release. Already established in the UK by the late 1980s, the band (sometimes referred to as '''PWEI''' or '''The Poppies''') had a growing fanbase, with albums such as ''[[Box Frenzy]]'', ''[[This Is the Day ... This Is the Hour ... This Is This!]]'', ''[[Cure for Sanity]]'' and ''[[The Looks or the Lifestyle?]]''. The latter album peaked at UK No.&nbsp;15 and featured the Top 30 hit singles "Karmadrome" and "Bulletproof!"<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">{{cite book
| first= Martin C.
| last= Strong
| year= 2000
| title= The Great Rock Discography
| edition= 5th
| publisher= Mojo Books
| location= Edinburgh
| pages= 758–759
| isbn= 1-84195-017-3}}</ref> Despite healthy sales and successful touring, by January 1993, a shake-up at their longtime label RCA would lead to the band's biggest supporters leaving the company. The remaining executives did not understand the band or their music, suggesting that EMF 'write a hit' for them at one meeting.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pweination.org/info/media/features/pweipr52.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217065812/http://pweination.org/info/media/features/pweipr52.html|url-status=usurped|title=Duff Contract One|archive-date=February 17, 2007|website=pweination.org}}</ref>  The band was dropped from the label before their "Get the Girl! Kill the Baddies!" single was released. It went on to peak at number 9 in the [[UK Singles Chart]], becoming the band's biggest hit to date, also making them, at that time, the highest charting act to ever appear on Top of The Pops without a record deal.

In the wake of the RCA shake-up, Pop Will Eat Itself moved to Infectious Records in the UK. A call between PWEI and Nine Inch Nails management would lead to Nothing Records picking up licensing rights for the band in the United States. Former frontman Clint Mansell (who shared songwriting and vocal duties with Graham Crabb) recalled:

{{blockquote|Trent had been a fan from the first album for RCA, This Is The Day, This Is The Hour, and he'd seen us play on our first tour in America in Cleveland, and we'd got to know his manager and he'd come and see us play whenever we were in America. And when we got dropped by RCA, my then-manager asked Trent's manager if he knew of labels that were actively looking, and he said "Well, strangely enough we've just started our own label and we'd like to sign you," and it was simple as that really.<ref name="Godfrey, Alex">{{cite web| url = http://sabotagetimes.com/life/clint-mansell-aronofsky-reznor-and-me-part-one| title = Clint Mansell : Aronofsky, Reznor and Me, Part One| author = Godfrey, Alex| work = Sabotage Times| date = April 29, 2010| access-date = August 27, 2016}}{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>}}

''[[Dos Dedos Mis Amigos]]'' was released on September 19, 1994 on Nothing Records. It marked a change in direction for the band, which had, until that time, featured a sound that blended hip-hop, electronic and alternative influences. ''Dos Dedos Mis Amigos'' took on a heavier, industrial rock sound. It was led by the singles "Ich Bin Ein Auslander", "Everything's Cool", "R.S.V.P." and "Underbelly".  "Ich Bin Ein Auslander" was accompanied by a music video, which received some airplay on MTV. Around this same time, the band had a high-profile collaboration with [[The Prodigy]], on the track "Their Law" from the album [[Music for the Jilted Generation]].  ''Dos Dedos Mis Amigos'' peaked at No.&nbsp;11 in the [[UK Albums Chart]] and their single "[[Everything's Cool (song)|Everything's Cool]]" became their ninth Top 30 UK hit.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/>  A Japanese edition of ''Dos Dedos Mis Amigos'' was released on Midi Music, which included four bonus tracks, all of which have since been released elsewhere by the band.

The band followed up ''Dos Dedos Mis Amigos'' with the ''Amalgamation'' EP, featuring remixes and additional tracks from the album sessions. The EP was picked up for US release on Nothing, which also released a promo-only single for ''R.S.V.P.'', featuring alternate mixes.  However, there were several releases tied into the album in the UK that Nothing opted not to license for release in the States. Infectious Records released singles for "Ich Bin Ein Auslander", "R.S.V.P. / Familus Horribilus", "Everything's Cool" and "Underbelly", none of which received licensing from Nothing. Most notable of all was the remix album ''[[Two Fingers My Friends!]]'', which featured acts such as The Orb, Feotus and Die Krupps remixing tracks from ''Dos Dedos Mis Amigos''.  The remix collection was released in Infectious in 1995 in both a single disc set, as well as a limited edition two-disc edition, featuring additional remixes. ''Two Fingers My Friends!'' was not picked up for US release by Nothing.

PWEI toured to promote the album and enjoyed a raised profile in the States, but at the end of touring, the band found themselves struggling to continue as a creative force.  Work did begin on an untitled follow-up to ''Dos Dedos Mis Amigos'', with the band entering the studio in 1996. Their sixth studio album, which had been intended for Stateside release via Nothing, would not see release before the band broke up, however. Member Graham Crabb quit the band to focus on his [[Ambient music|ambient]]  project [[Golden Claw Musics]]. Members Richard March and Robert "Fuzz" Townshend went on to form the [[big beat]] band [[Bentley Rhythm Ace]]. Townshend also released two solo albums, while Clint Mansell would end up signing onto Nothing Records as a solo artist.  Mansell stated:

{{Blockquote|I got to the point where I didn't really know what else we could do, but I don't think that was as much a factor as I just didn't feel very comfortable in it any more. I was 33 at the time, and playing songs that were written 10 years before, and it just seemed like this wasn't what I wanted to do; I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I was just becoming more and more aware that I didn't want to do that.<ref name="Godfrey, Alex"/>}}

Only two songs from the sixth album's recording sessions were released at the time, both on compilations.  A cover of Gary Numan's "Friends" was included on the Numan tribute album ''Random'' on the Beggars Banquet label, while the song "Zero Return (Instrumental Mix)" was included on Future Music Magazine's June 1996 sampler ''FMCD June 1996'', which also featured Nothing Records label-mates [[Meat Beat Manifesto]].

Clint Mansell's time as a solo artist for the label would be short-lived, as his career as a film composer blossomed. While Mansell would appear on numerous releases for the label as a remixer and collaborator, as well as an appearance in 1996 on the label's "Nights Of Nothing" label showcase, performing with Nine Inch Nails (which included performances of some Pop Will Eat Itself songs), his planned solo album for Nothing was ultimately scrapped. Only two demos from Mansell's solo album ever surfaced. The songs "Atlantic Crossing" and "The Mechanic" found their way online, by way of Clint Mansell and Nothing Records' official websites (both since defunct). Mansell also put together a streaming mix for "Radio Nothing" on the Nothing Records website, which included "The Mechanic", alongside other tracks from the label. After Mansell's successful work composing the film ''[[Pi (film)|π]]'', he went on to become a full-time film composer, on such films as ''[[Requiem for a Dream]]'', ''[[Doom (film)|Doom]]'' (the soundtrack to which featured an exclusive Mansell remix of Nine Inch Nails' track "You Know What You Are"),  ''[[The Fountain (film)|The Fountain]]'', ''[[The Wrestler (2008 film)|The Wrestler]]'', ''[[Moon (2009 film)|Moon]]'', and ''[[Black Swan (film)|Black Swan]]''.

In January 2005, Pop Will Eat Itself reunited for a brief series of shows in the UK, which produced a number of [[Instant Live]] albums, whereby ten minutes after the completion of each gig, [[double album|double]] [[live album]]s of the performance could be purchased. The band also released a preview of newly recorded material (not to be confused with their then-unreleased 1996 material), under the working title of ''Sonic Noise Byte'' in November 2005, via their official website, pweination. However, an announcement on the official website in March 2006 confirmed that Mansell and March would no longer be involved in the reformation of the band, due to other work commitments, effectively ending that conception of the PWEI reformation. However, the remaining band members continued as [[Vileevils]], performing live, releasing re-recorded versions of several tracks from the ''Sonic Noise Byte'' sessions and releasing two EPs; ''Demon / Axe Of Men 2010'' and ''Demon / Axe Of Men 2010 Remixes'', both of which were credited as featuring Clint Mansell and Pop Will Eat Itself.

[[Vileevils]] performed their final live date in December 2008, before recording an unreleased album, which was cancelled prior to release in 2010. Instead, Pop Will Eat Itself finally reformed in 2011, with Graham Crabb serving as the band's only original member, while having the blessing of all the former members. Songs from both the abandoned Vile Evils album, as well as the abandoned ''Sonic Noise Byte'' album, were reworked and re-recorded for alongside new material for Pop Will Eat Itself's return album ''[[New Noise Designed by a Sadist]]'', released in 2011 on Cooking Vinyl in the UK and Metropolis Records in the US.

The revived PWEI also began a series of reissues of their back-catalog, via the Cherry Red label.  On October 7, 2013, the band re-issued ''Dos Dedos Mis Amigos'' on Cherry Red, featuring five rare bonus tracks, as well as a second disc; the unreleased 1996 album, now titled ''[[A Lick of the Old Cassette Box|A Lick Of The Old Cassette Box]]''.  ''A Lick Of The Old Cassette Box'' was also released as a limited edition, stand-alone vinyl pressing that same year. Pop Will Eat Itself continues as a full-time project to this day, under the direction of Graham Crabb.