V/Vm

V/Vm is the experimental music and sound collage project of James Leyland Kirby, from Stockport, England. Although starting out mainly in the style of noise music, Kirby is also a composer of original electronic music and remixes. His vast output is released primarily on his own V/Vm Test Records label. Alongside the work of the V/Vm project, James Kirby also records most often as The Caretaker. He currently resides in Kraków.

History

Since 1996 there have been numerous releases by V/Vm on a host of labels and featuring the work of a number of musicians. Early releases were often electronic in nature, including a critically acclaimed split 12" release on Fat Cat Records. In 1999, V/Vm also released a recording of pigs feeding at a pig farm in the North West of England to the horror of many reviewers who mistook the sound of feeding pigs for that of pigs being killed.

Around the time of this release, V/Vm appeared on the cover of The Wire (October 1998, issue 176). Under the banner "Harder! Faster! Louder!" the article explored a developing scene which also included Alec Empire, DJ Speedranch, Diskono Records, and Fat Cat Records.