I don't live in Leeds and I'm not going to pretend I ever have, but for a while now I've had a soft spot for its music. After hearing ¡Forward Russia! on the radio a year ago I discovered that there's more to Leeds than the Kaiser Chiefs, in the form of indie label Dance To The Radio. Set up in 2004, DTTR was originally created to give Leeds bands a chance of recognition among all the London-centric bands in the media. At the time, there wasn't a label with the knowledge to take them into the spotlight and it seemed to start with a DIY ethic.

Now three years down the line, Dance To The Radio has helped Leeds music onto the map. Last December saw the release of their second compilation, What We All Want, full to the brim with local and national bands, from indie hipsters, The Pigeon Detectives, to nu wave rappers Yes Boss.

Label head Whiskas doesn't take a backseat though. Far from it. He also plays guitar in ¡Forward Russia!, although with the majority of the band’s releases created through Dance To The Radio it’s increasingly hard for him to juggle both. “The reason our second single didn't come out on DTTR was because I couldn't do both,” he explains. “So DTTR went on a back burner while we tried to set the label up to run without me being involved day to day.”

Over the years, the label has kept its DIY roots and, even though he doesn’t strongly oppose major labels, Whiskas is definitely wary of them. “Bands that I know who've done things with bigger labels, I mostly find disappointing, because it's done in a really odd and possibly deceiving way. If some great guys from a massive label came and treated a DTTR band really well, and were honest in terms of working with them, then that would be great.”

Skip to today, then, and it’s a big moment for ¡Forward Russia! and Dance To The Radio - the band’s third single, Nine, is being released. To celebrate, they’re playing two sets in Leeds for friends and fans. But it’s a promotional deal too, with labelmates The Pigeon Detectives accompanying them for the evening’s events.

When asking Whiskas about juggling the band and the label it’s clear that he loves all the extra work. Tonight, for example, he's organised a four-band gig, an in-store appearance right in the middle of a ¡Forward Russia! tour and still has time to be socialising with the likes of me. It's also clear that his hard work has paid off as the venue quickly fills up with punters. When questioning them on the success of Leeds music, many seemed to bellow “New Yorkshire!” in my face.

Cathy, at Leeds record shop Jumbo, summed it up: "When they have launch parties, the other bands on the label always turn up in support - a lot of times they join each other onstage. And even though a lot of Leeds bands have gone on to greater things we'll still get Kaiser Chiefs, Black Wire or The Cribs coming in and buying records. There’s this sense of community, and FUN."

It’s this FUN and enthusiasm that has turned Dance To The Radio into a label known locally as well as nationally. As one fan put it, “Leeds music is amazing at the moment. We're finally ahead of Manchester.”