How I Started My Publisher with Velocity Press
Colin Steven has been part of the UK’s cultural scene since he started writing for List Magazine in his native Glasgow in 1988. He then went on to an editor position at the iconic, award-winning music magazine Knowledge, as well as writing for other renowned publications like i-D and Generator Magazine. These days, Colin dedicates his time to Velocity Press, a publishing house he founded focused on the essence, history, and innovation of electronic music and club culture through the last decades.
Velocity Press oscillates between fiction and non-fiction within the realm of electronic music culture, giving a home to the stories that have helped shape the culture we live in, or yearn for, today.
The publisher has already released genre-defining books like A Darker Electricity: The Origins of the Spiral Tribe Sound System by Mark Angelo Harrison, Trip City by Trevor Miller, Out of Space by Jim Ottewill, You Out Tonight, featuring work up-and-coming youth culture photographers from around the world, and First Floor Volume I by Shawn Reynaldo among many more titles. Velocity Press oscillates between fiction and non-fiction within the realm of electronic music culture, giving a home to the stories that have helped shape the culture we live in, or yearn for, today.
The current socio-political climate in the UK encourages us to look back at previous times with a nostalgic gaze, something that has become a trend on the internet, with people romanticising times that came before ours, where life, parties and culture were seemingly more free, more fun, and devoid of social media to document it. The online pastiche of nostalgia was also intensified during the pandemic, when most forms of socialising were on a pause during the various worldwide lockdowns. In a way, this allowed for art to be appreciated at a slower pace, at least for those who had the privilege of working from home, and finally found they had the time to settle down and read a book cover to cover or listen to an album from start to finish without having to engage with the outside world. It was in 2019, right before the pandemic, when Colin launched Velocity Press, with the mission of celebrating electronic music and its global impact through literature.
Maeve de Bordóns Álvarez: What first sparked the idea for Velocity Press?
Colin Steven: I've been self-employed for most of my life, the last Knowledge Magazine came out in 2009, which then transformed into a digital magazine for a few years, and after 2011 I stopped working with them. I went on to corporate work but found myself disillusioned. I had enjoyed working for myself and really wanted to get back to being self-employed again.
I realised there was a demand for quality non-fiction about music. There wasn't really anybody specialising in electronic music and pop culture aside from the odd book here and there. I could see there was a demand for people who want to buy physical as well. And I just thought that this was something I could do all by myself.
I was racking my brain for a while about what would be the best way to do it. I didn’t want to do Knowledge again, it had been great, but it had run its course. It took me a while for the penny to drop, but back in 2004 I published my first book called All Crews - A journey through jungle Drum and Bass - by Brian Belle-Fortune who had already self-published in 1999. Brian got in touch with me and when we published that book, it ran about 8000 copies, which I still can’t believe.
Eventually, I realised there was a demand for quality non-fiction about music. There wasn't really anybody specialising in electronic music and pop culture aside from the odd book here and there. I could see there was a demand for people who want to buy physical as well. And I just thought that this was something I could do all by myself.
How different was running a magazine to running a publishing house?
Colin and Shawn Reynaldo at the ‘First Floor Volume 1’ book launch in Glasgow
Photo by JD Kerrigan
It is very, very similar. I wouldn't have been able to do what I'm doing now if it hadn’t been for my tenure at Knowledge Magazine. I wouldn't have had the relationships, the contacts, and just the general experience of doing it. Naturally, there are differences, particularly with the advertising aspect of it. But all in all there are more similarities than differences, you’re dealing with the same types of things: printers and writers. Knowledge helped me with industry experience, and helped get my foot in the door. I use freelancers and proofreaders, but in terms of the company itself it’s just me. Decisions about what to publish just depend on myself, whereas in the magazine we had to run ideas past other people too.
You also have a background in promoting parties and running a label, are there any parallels between that and running Velocity Press?
What I do is essentially project management, so I think the main parallel is being organised. The same goes for promoting a club or running a record label. A lot of it is deciding what you’re going to do and then going backwards in terms of timelines and when things have to be delivered by.
I got my first break writing in Glasgow, for List Magazine, which was a bit like Time Out Magazine at the time, where I saw an ad to write about nightlife. I was just starting to go out to the clubs at that point and I thought it'd be a great way to get on the guestlist (which it was).
Did you ever get into the more musical side of things?
No, funnily enough. There were so many opportunities for me to get into it but it's just not me. I did dabble in DJing but I would never call myself a DJ. Knowledge felt like Christmas every day, especially in its heyday: I'd get sent about 20-30 records to review a day and I used to give them all away to the DJs. I kick myself sometimes because it would’ve been a goldmine if I’d kept them. But the magazine was my way of contributing to the culture.
From ‘Tough Luck: You Out Tonight?’
Photo by Tia Payne
How do you know when you've got a really good manuscript in your hands?
When running a publisher, you get approached by a lot of writers. Some with good ideas but occasionally you get approached by someone with a great idea. At times this can be in the form of a chapter, or perhaps a whole book. However, even with a great idea I have to take into account the commercial potential that it could have. Velocity Press is very niche, at times a mere 1000 or 2000 copies are printed, so I need to make sure that it is right for our audience.
I was speaking to an old colleague from i-D Magazine, Matthew Cullen, about Velocity Press, when he suggested I get in touch with Matt Anis, a writer he was speaking to. I sent him an email and Matt got back to me with an idea about a book on Bleep Techno. He sent over the introduction for what would then be Join the Future. It was only a few thousand words, but as soon as I read it I knew it was right. I went down to Bristol to meet him and commissioned the book.
With DIY (Dreaming in Yellow), Harry Harrison sent me two or three chapters, and straightaway I knew the quality of the writing was excellent. The same goes for Mark Angelo Harrison for Our Darker Electricity: The Origins of the Spiral Tribe Sound System. He did an Open University writing course, and sent me a chapter and I instantly knew we should publish it.
You launched the press right before the pandemic in 2019, how was that process?
It was a weird time, obviously, but in some ways, it was almost a good thing in the literature world because the printers were open, and so were the post offices. and people had more disposable income as they weren’t spending the money on going out..
The Knowledge 25th anniversary book first came out in October 2019 and our third book, State of Bass, came out in March 2020, right as the pandemic kicked off. However, part of the reason a publishing company exists is to also get out and meet people, at conferences, launches and other events, so it was also frustrating not being able to do this.
What are the main opportunities and challenges running as an independent publisher?
I would say the cost of living is a really tough one, as books can be considered a luxury when people are struggling to cover food and rent. But luckily, people are still buying our books.
I believe there are many opportunities, particularly in audiobooks. We've just done our first audiobook, which has been a big learning curve as we hadn’t done that before. We’re now looking at other books that we can do that with next.
The Trip City book, for example, is accompanied by a record by A Guy Called Gerald, I remember I was playing the record while I was reading it, to kind of get a sense of it. I’d never done that with a book before, which I thought was great.
That's one we'd like to do an audiobook for as well. This was an interesting project to work on, as we had music that we could use for it so we released it all together. It would also be interesting to create documentaries to accompany the literature, and it's something I´d love to think about for the future.
You grew up in Glasgow, how did that influence your approach to culture?
From ‘Tough Luck: You Out Tonight?’
Photo by Peter Aallyn
I used to love going to concerts and I was really spoiled in Glasgow, as we used to have a really, really good venue called Glasgow Barrowlands. I used to go and see a lot of bands there with my friend Mark who I went to Bristol with. I used to love going to places like the GFT (Glasgow Film Theatre). I didn't realise how good a city Glasgow was until I left. We have lots of great art galleries like the CCA, which is one of my favourite places in the city.
I got my first break writing in Glasgow, for List Magazine, which was a bit like Time Out Magazine at the time, where I saw an ad to write about nightlife. I was just starting to go out to the clubs at that point and I thought it'd be a great way to get on the guestlist (which it was). I replied to the ad and got the job, which led me to start my career.
What were your first club experiences like?
I was really into Indie in the 80s: Jesus and The Mary Chain, Body Men, Sonic Youth, The Smiths. I was really into hip hop, bands like Public Enemy were important in my life. At that time, a lot of what played in clubs was Hip-Hop, and the pre-Acid House and House Music was only just starting to filter through to the dancefloor.
How have you found that your music taste has evolved throughout your life?
These days I play more Jazz music and less Drum & Bass, but I’m very open minded and I still like to discover new music rather than just being set in my ways and listening to music from the “good old days”.
Colin’s Book Recommendations
Dance Your Way Home by Emma Warren (2024)
Raving by McKenzie Wark (2023)
All Crews by Brian Belle-Fortune (2024 reissue)
Adventures In Wonderland by Sheryl Garratt (2021)
Rave Art by Chelsea Louise Berlin (2020)
Replay by Ken Grimwood (1987)
45 by Bill Drummond (2000)
Westsiders by William Shaw (2019)
Join the Future by Matt Anniss (2019)
Out of Space by Jim Ottewil (2024 reissue)
Maeve de Bordóns Álvarez is based in London and from Spanish/Irish origin. She is the co-founder of independent label and party collective La bonne musique, where she focuses on A&R, programming, events, and working with up and coming artists.
She’s also co-founder of creative agency and space M-O Connects, and part-time writer. Maeve is interested in music and art from all around the world, reading and dancing.
