Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Lucas Sitdson, and I'm the label manager of EXERCISE1. I manage...the label...EXERCISE1. But not on my own, there's two other people called John and Tom, and a bunch of other people join in when they want to. They'll hate me for not mentioning all of their names but I really can't be bothered.

How did this label…that you manage…called Exercise1 come about?

By accident...You play in bands with your friends until suddenly someone becomes good enough to release a record. So you put all your money together and do it. Then eventually the bands you were in dissolve and you're left releasing other people's records. That's usually how these things start.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

The question is what was it doing there in the first place?

Tell us about the artists that are signed to Exercise1.

Currently there's The London Beach from Southend, and two electronica types from New York, one called A Million Billion, and another called Pandatone. There's a load of other things about to go on as well, but I don't want to talk about them yet. I have a tendency to jinx things. Oh, and in the past we've done things with Jeremy Warmsley and also The DIY Cravings amongst others.

Why should the people out there care about your label?

They should care about it if they are at all concerned about where the music they listen to comes from, where it is going, and what the product looks like in their hands. If they don't care about those sorts of things they'll probably hate what we do.

Where do you envision Exercise1 to be in 10 years time?

I'm hoping to have a beard and live in The Netherlands. Tom will probably end up as some sort of experimental jazz musician and John's future is hazy but he'll definitely have an earring. Hopefully we'll all still find the time to release records.

Comic books are pretty ace. Suppose your label had a comic book. What characters would you all be?

Tom would be the Superman type, saving people and being all nice whilst he does it. John would be Professor X, the figure of authority that keeps everyone else in line. And I would be the geeky guy that stays back at the lair and makes all their bionic suits and gadgets.

What bands should the great people be listening to, right now?

Well the new Sigur Ros album is verging on the sublime at times. I liked the new Death Cab for Cutie record too, and we're all huge fans of M Ward, he's excellent. Oh, and Tilly and the Wall are great if you like folk with tap dancing.

Enlighten us with a description of your [I am sure it's oh so interesting] day.

Well the EX1 world office is currently situated in a corner of my bedroom, so first thing I wake up, crawl to the PC and answer the 40-odd emails that John has sent me during the night (he is entirely nocturnal). I may allow myself time to brush my teeth and have a shower and then the main part of my day is spent listening to iTunes and dealing with people, 99% of the time all by email. We would be nowhere without email. But basically I oversee all aspects of the company and make sure everything is dandy. In the evenings I like to go to bars and get drunk with my friends…oh Christ, that all sounds very sad doesn't it?

What's coming up for the label and artists? Anything we can look forward to?

There will be another 4 releases between now and March 06, including singles from The London Beach and A Million Billion, and an album from Pandatone. Then after that we'll be releasing a compilation that tells the story of the first year of the label, called 'Come, Gentle Bombs'. It'll feature a track from each release as well as a previously unreleased track from each artist. Plus loads of promo videos etc on the enhanced section. It's kind of like our present to ourselves for 12 months of hard graft.

Would you like to add anything else??

Probably, but I can't think of anything right now.