Independent Sounds from Walney Island
Smiling Corpse
Nestled on the windswept shores of Walney Island, Smiling Corpse is an independent label dedicated to unearthing the raw, the obscure, and the boundary-pushing sounds of the underground.
About Smiling Corpse
From post-punk and experimental noise to doom-laden metal and dark electronic beats, we champion artists who refuse to conform.
We believe in music with grit, passion, and a DIY ethos. Whether it’s pressing limited vinyl runs, curating immersive live experiences, or collaborating with like-minded creatives, Smiling Corpse is more than a label—it’s a movement.
What We Do
Smiling Corpse believe in physical distribution. We like owning music, we like collecting and we presume others do too. Digital files do not satisfy our collecting instinct, we do not receive them in the post with excitement, they do not sit on our shelf with pride; that is a huge and equally important part of the music for us. We will not deny you this.
Smiling Corpse believe in free music. We don’t believe that free music is without value. We believe that cost and worth are two different things. To sell our music limits the audience we can reach. To restrict how many people own our music is to increase its value artificially. The value of our music is in its content and not in its price tag. It may not suit the record industry but people, particularly DJ’s, like sharing music, it is in our nature and we encourage it rather than demonise it.
How can we offer both? We can’t; it is inevitable that physical products carry a cost in both production and distribution. We can however attempt to keep the cost down whilst attempting to minimise our own losses. The tracks featured on the physical release still have all the rights the artists have granted to you in the ‘creative commons’ licence.