In the interest of full disclosure, I am lucky enough to count Mark and Wendy Redfern—founders of noted indie-music magazine Under the Radar—as friends. While this makes for a fun interview—full of laughter and digressions—it also makes for a tricky transcription process, as husband and wife talk over each other, crack each other up, sing, and generally have more fun than any people being put under “intense” questioning ought to have.  As our conversation stretched into its second hour, I was reminded of one of the many things I truly appreciate about them—be it dealing with the nuts and bolts of running a business, or waxing poetic about favorites Elliott Smith and The Divine Comedy, the Redferns know how to find the joy in music—and life.

That joy directly translates into their business—a labor of love since its 2001 inception. Explains Wendy, “We have a tagline of the solution to music pollution. Because we try to weed out the not so great music that might be hyped. And I think our motto is…” Mark is quick to chime in. “…It’s really just about what we like.”

Despite never dreaming they’d be publishers (Mark, “We fell into it. We had no idea that in 2009 we’d still be doing Under the Radar, number one.  Number two, we just had no idea it was going to be our full-time gig.”).  It’s a mission the two have taken very seriously. In addition to introducing their largely American readership to non-American bands such as The Dears, Taken by Trees, Loney Dear, Mew and the Editors, and being the first to interview American favorite Fleet Foxes, their exploratory chutzpa has paid off. Of course, not without a few questionable moments.  Mark explains their business structure. “We’re kind of a democratic company in that we always ask them to help vote on who we should put on our cover or which cover image we should use and those kinds of things. So sometimes [there’s] an artist that they all love, and I don’t love it…but it goes without saying that certainly there are artists that years later, or even six months later I regret us interviewing…”

At this Wendy laughs. “I thought you were going to mention…”

“I’m not going to mention any!” Mark exclaims. “But it’s like maybe we shouldn’t have interviewed…” Wendy chimes in, the two finishing the thought together. “Blah blah blah blank!”

Giggles subsiding, Wendy continues. “That’s what we love doing more than anything is finding those bands when they just are born and watching them mature. And watch them become huge… as they deserve to be! I mean, everybody should know Death Cab [For Cutie] you know? And so that’s what we hope we can help with.”

In addition to helping break new bands; the two take pride in giving web and print space over to a few old favorites, a job perk that they were able to take advantage of from issue one.

Mark recalls the shock of his early days. “Even the first issue, somehow they give me an interview with Gorillaz and it was a rare time for the first album they actually did interviews as themselves. After that they only had the characters do the interviews. I was a big fan of Blur so I got to talk to Damon Albarn and Dan “the Automator”…”

Playing in the big leagues was something that would take some getting used to. “Why are you letting me talk to these people?” Mark laughs. “You should be giving me the drummer’s cousin! You shouldn’t be giving me the lead singer of Mercury Rev and The Divine Comedy [issue 2]. Issue three we got the Flaming Lips and Beck!”

Wendy also counts herself as lucky. The last photographer to shoot Elliott Smith before his untimely death in 2003, she looks back on the bittersweet experience. “It was sort of a risk for us because we hadn’t heard the album when we agreed to put him on the cover. But both Mark and I were like “doesn’t matter, trust me, it will be beautiful, it will be perfect!” And it appears they were right. She continues, “That experience was like an eight hour day.  It was all day at his house and at his studio, and photographing all day. And he gave us an extremely personal interview. And the fact that it was the last interview he did before he passed… So that to me, to date, is the best and most important photo shoot I ever did.  It means the most to me.”

Now, eight years into their accidental project, the Redferns love for music continues unabated. When asked for a Panel recommendation, they quickly pull out hand written lists and begin debating, names like indie-hard hitters Camera Obscura, Mew and Under the Radar cover artist Bat for Lashes thrown out among more obscure bands like French outfit Revolver and LA-based Local Natives (“They’re local and they’re native” quips Mark.)

Conversation winding down, they settle on their picks. For Mark, it’s Montreal-based band, Plants and Animals. “It just really snuck up on me. I felt myself going back to the record a lot last year when I was on deadline and working and I just put it on and it seemed to work.  And I was kind of surprised I put it on number two on my list of albums last year ‘cause I didn’t think I was going to do that. It just felt right.”

For Wendy, it’s Merge Records signee, Telekinesis. “It’s his first album and he’s a drummer/singer. It’s just a really fun, energetic album,” she says.

Two high quality picks from two people who’ve made it their lives work to discover great music. Hey, what are friends for?

Photos by Peter Harabedian

Written by Laura Studarus

(Under the Radar Official Website)