Billy Twyford and Lach Smith rocked up on the east side of Brunswick with ashtray brown on their minds. After experimenting with some different coloured vinyl records for their music label Under Heat Records, the duo headed to Zenith Records to collect the presses of their newest release by Reuben Riley, Juxtaposition. According to Smith, they weren’t sure what to expect until they got their hands on it.

 

“We hit up Zenith, sent the photo of the astray and were like ‘can you do this?’,” explained Smith. “We got to the pressing plant in the morning…got the vinyl out in the Uber and it was so sick.”
 

The four track EP was pressed onto 7-inch records, a smaller and cheaper version of regular 12-inch vinyl. The format is synonymous with punk; quick and easy to manufacture, just like the music itself. Under Heat pressed 50 copies in the ashtray brown; within a few weeks of pre-orders going up, Twyford says they’re already sold out.

 

“We're both massive fans of Reuben and [Juxtaposition], we think it's fucking incredible but we were kind of doing that as a passion project thinking that we'd get six orders,” said Twyford. “People have been keen on it and stores have wanted copies. We're pretty stoked on it.”

 

Under Heat are one of many independent Melbourne labels delving into 7” releases. While the format has an extensive history ranging from 70s soul and country, it’s always remained closely linked with the punk scene through thick and thin. As Melbourne’s iconic music scene has evolved 7” records have always stayed put, but it wasn’t until the 2010s where vinyl production became more accessible for local acts than ever before.

 

Twyford has seen this firsthand; back in May he put out 8 Hours in Billiamville, a raucous punk EP released on 7” under his Billiam moniker.

 

“I think there is a bit of a new kind of attitude towards them,” says Twyford “I feel like 7”’s were viewed kind of differently, it's kind of just a thing that you did in between bigger things, like you do a 7” to tease an album…not as like a standalone thing. I feel like over 2020 and coming up to now the approach of a 7” is an EP, like a small contained project that isn't towards something bigger kind of reemerged.”

 

This mentality can be seen in the success of other local labels specialising in 7-inch releases. Labels such as Rack Off Records and Roolette Records have seen their 7”’s become immensely popular, with recent releases only lasting days before selling out. Another example is Legless Records, operated by Arron Mawson out of his basement in Rye. The most recent 7” moved 300 copies in a week, a feat that’s becoming something of a regular occurrence.

 

“I personally love 7”’s and that's why I've pushed to keep pressing them even though the profit side of things is probably not as applicable as an LP,” explained Mawson. “I'll always find it really fun, it's usually demos and early, early stages of a band and you can sort of see the development that sort of leads to an LP.”

 

While cassettes may’ve been recognised as the ‘trendy’ choice for local bands until recently, 7”’s have become more appealing than ever for alternative artists based on various changes on the business end. Cassettes have become more expensive to produce in large quantities and are more tedious to distribute in comparison to 7”’s. For labels like Under Heat that started with cassettes and have made the jump to vinyl, quality is valued over anything else.

 

“[Tapes were] a lot cheaper, a lot more tedious though. You're cutting with scissors, your hands are sore, you're pasting the labels on, you're dubbing. There are some releases that are like 15 minutes long and you've gotta dub 50 tapes by hand,” revealed Smith. “The transition was me and Billy just being absolutely sick of doing tapes. We did like 11 tape releases last year…We loved it, but we were so burnt out on it.”