Indie determined not to sell its soul to the devil

for a company which specialises in dance music. According to the Concise

Oxford Dictionary, however, soma means ''of the body''. But although

Nigel has got it wrong his sentiment is not wide of the mark.

Music is an escapist drug for those addicted to its beguiling world.

Name-dropping his reading material, Nigel mentions junkie writer Alduous

Huxley's Brave New World, where the proles took soma at the end of the

day to get out their face, or ''escape'' as reality rebels call it.

Since the birth of the Rave, dance music has been inextricably linked

with swallowing oblivion, and the now socially acceptable Exstacy, taken

by narcotic narcissists in clubs all over the city, enables proles who

want to get high to do so, with Huxley's blessing.

An independent label, Soma has spotted a gap in the market; that of

remixing and distributing Scottish dance music to insatiable clubbers in

London and Glasgow.

For those unfamiliar with the term ''remixing,'' it could be compared

to dicing a carrot, giving it some colour, texture, and a new skin, and

punting it as something more exotic like a banana. Remixing also

prolongs the shelf life of a record. Nigel comments: ''Dance music is

the fruit and veg of the music industry. If it's not sold today then

it's off tomorrow.''

Summer this year saw the label's first release, Soma 1, featuring

co-workers Slam and Rejuvination, into Music Week's Buzz charts. Soma

contributed to the ''House Sound of the Underground Volume 6'' LP

released on FFRR, a subsidiary of London Records. The album went in at

No.13 and went No.11.

It's in chain stores like Virgin and HMV now. Hirst says ''Soma I''

has been selling remarkably well in London. Which is wonderful when

you're competing against the offshoots of major record companies that

have more clout. We're competing with the big boys. It's very

gratifying.''

Whether consumers bought the ''House Sound'' album specifically for

Soma 1 is debatable. Although its success cannot be denied, only three

thousand five hundred ''House Sound'' albums went to press. Two thousand

were sold. The majors sell hundreds of thousands of LPs.

Soma is not really competing with the big boys, yet, but it has won

the contract to remix the Average White Band's comeback single, I'm The

One, first featured on the Soul Searching album. The AWB, what's left of

them, currently, according to Nigel, living as tax exiles in the States,

will re-record I'm The One and send the tape back to Soma Scotland for a

facelift to fit the present groove.

The contract was snagged by lengthy telephone calls to ex-member Alan

Gorrie in the US. Apparently he jumped at the chance to come back as hip

and burst on to the rave scene. Nigel muses: ''Essentially we want to do

the whole album ourselves, but we'll wait to see how the first one goes

before we get remotely excited about it. It's quite weird y'know. I can

remember them when I was a kid.''

According to Hirst, Independent labels are vulnerable to bribes of fat

money from major companies who see them as a threat. Soma say they will

not sell out. ''The driving factor,'' says Hirst,'' is to make brilliant

records. If you get tied up with a major then professionally you're

signing your soul to the devil. They can manipulate you like a ragdoll,

if they choose to do so.''

I would presume that major companies treat Indies with the same

contempt a buffalo does a fly. They're a minor annoyance but not a

threat. And just as majors pick artists to fill Gucci wallets, Indies

must seek profit to survive.

By signing a commercially sounding ingenue for example, and selling

her to a major, they could finance their more adventurous signings.

Nigel does not dispute these tactics as a possibility.

''The only way that Soma will thrive as a business is to make money.

It is a dog-eat-dog world. There's so many shysters that will sell you

down the river and smile while they're doing it. But Soma is a

business.''

Although Soma insists it will not compromise its creative power, or

accept major cheques, it is struggling for its desired state of

independence. Soma Records resides at 49 Otago Street, Kelvinbridge, in

a basement belonging to Anne and Gerry Hirst, Nigel's parents.

No-one at Soma is yet on a wage. Equipment has to be paid off, and

Soma still needs a licensing deal with the facility to sell and

distribute more records. But Nigel Hirst MD has faith in its financial

future. ''As long as the music industry ignores up-and-coming talent,''

he revels, ''clubs and remixes and dance will be here for a long time to

come.''

Soma 3, 12in. featuring Slam and Rejuvination is available from Fopp,

and 23rd Precinct from November 16.