What are your favorite independent record labels?

[GirlsAloudFan]

Please tell us. And we can talk about them. I like record labels.

 

[u2popmofo]

I like Jagjaguwar.

 

[bono_212]

I'm pretty fond of 4AD, I think it is.

I hate Captured Tracks, though. Not their bands, their frikkin' store/order fill rate.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Jagjaguwar - Based in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. Home to such artists as Okkervil River and Volcano Choir.

4AD - Located in London, England. Home to such artists as The National and St. Vincent.

Yummy stuff. Keep em coming. I've learned so much already.

 

[u2popmofo]

About a decade ago, I pretty much bought every new thing Sub Pop released. They still have some phenomenal artists, but not nearly as consistent as they once were.

 

[iron yuppie]

Sacred Bones is a label that releases a lot of good stuff, but it tends to fly under the radar a bit. Zola Jesus is signed there.

 

[Danny Boy]

XL has a ridiculous stable of artists for an indie, though I understand they just have distribution contracts with many of them.

ADELE
Atoms For Peace
Basement Jaxx
Bobby Womack
Dizzee Rascal
Friendly Fires
Giggs
Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie xx
Jack Peñate
Jack White
Jai Paul
Kirin J Callinan
M.I.A.
Monkey
Peaches
Radiohead
Ratatat
RATKING
ROSTAM
SBTRKT
Sigur Rós
The Horrors
The Prodigy
The Raconteurs
The White Stripes
The xx
Thom Yorke
Titus Andronicus
Tyler, The Creator
Vampire Weekend
Willis Earl Beal

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Sub Pop. I know of them because they were the guys who got Nirvana. Located in Seattle, Washington, USA. Looks like they are currently the home of bands including Low, The Shins, King Tuff, Wolf Parade, Father John Misty, Dum Dum Girls, No Age, Beach House and....Patton Oswalt!

Sacred Bones - Based in Brooklyn, New York, USA. Home of a bunch of crazy shit that iyup likes.

 

[lazarus]

Not sure about currently, but nothing will ever top Matador in the 90's. Nothing.

Pavement
Guided By Voices
Spoon
Yo La Tengo
Liz Phair
Helium
Silkworm
Cat Power
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Bettie Serveert
Superchunk
Teenage Fanclub
Royal Trux
Pizzicato Five
Pussy Galore
Boards of Canada
Belle and Sebastian

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

XL has a ridiculous stable of artists for an indie, though I understand they just have distribution contracts with many of them.

This is something I'm totally naive about. How does that shit work? It's always a bit confusing to me when bands/artists are listed under multiple labels. I understand that there are different reasons for that, whether it's trying to get distribution in different parts of the world, or complicated contract stuff, etc.

But still. Wouldn't it be cool if every band/artist was only signed under one label? That shit would be cool. Not feasible, I'm sure. But hey.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

MATADOR.

They're still cool, Laz. They have New Pornographers, Ted Leo, Queens of the Stone Age, Perfume Genius, Kurt Vile, Savages, etc., and they still have Belle and Sebastian, Cat Power, Pavement/Malkmus, and Yo La Tengo.

Also, I'm sure Matador was involved with Superchunk at some point, but MERGE is Superchunk's true label. The two founders of Merge Records are the two lead members of Superchunk. Mac and Laura. Hell, Merge basically became a thing because they wanted to put out Superchunk 7" records.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I'm very fond of DOMINO. Based in London.

They're Arctic Monkeys' label, so they're cool as fuck immediately.

They also have:

DIRTY PROJECTORS
Animal Collective
Franz Ferdinand
The Kills
Etc.

 

[lazarus]

Also, I'm sure Matador was involved with Superchunk at some point, but MERGE is Superchunk's true label. The two founders of Merge Records are the two lead members of Superchunk. Mac and Laura. Hell, Merge basically became a thing because they wanted to put out Superchunk 7" records.

Yes, they put out 7"s on their own label, but their first three albums (including No Pocky For Kitty) were on Matador, probably because it was a bigger label.

So not sure what "true" label would mean here.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Superchunk and Merge are basically synonymous. That's all I'm saying. The band founded the label. You're right, though, those first three were on Matador.

Let's name more awesome indie labels!!!

 

[Imperor]

Tri Angle and Italians Do It Better, guys.

 

[lazarus]

Superchunk and Merge are basically synonymous. That's all I'm saying.

come at me bro

 

[Axver]

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[GirlsAloudFan]

Tri Angle and Italians Do It Better, guys.

Hey impy, why do you like these labels and what are your favorite bands on these labels?

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Hey Ax, why do you like this label and what are your favorite bands on this label?

 

[cobl04]

How has no one mentioned DFA?

Also Brainfeeder/Warp.

 

[LemonMelon]

Because there's like two or three good bands on DFA and one of them doesn't exist anymore, though they have released some cool remix albums.

Frenchkiss has some good bands. The Antlers, The Dodos, Passion Pit, Bloc Party, The Drums, The Hold Steady and Local Natives are on there.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Matador also had Interpol

 

[Imperor]

Hey impy, why do you like these labels and what are your favorite bands on these labels?

I'm glad you asked. Each label has an unmistakable sound that's totally its own, and they're putting out music that I find more exciting than much of what's going on these days. Favorites include Balam Acab and Holy Other for the former, Chromatics and Glass Candy for the latter.

 

[Danny Boy]

The two After Dark albums are a nice intro to the IDIB sound.

 

[cobl04]

I didn't like Kill For Love much at all. But I cannot fucking get enough of Chromatics' After Dark tracks

 

[LemonMelon]

Chromatics are better in small doses. I can't wait for them to release a single 45 minute record full of knockouts like Kill For Love. But I do think they're getting better with every album.

 

[Axver]

Hey Ax, why do you like this label and what are your favorite bands on this label?

Because they completely changed New Zealand music - which prior to Flying Nun's founding in 1980 was under the thumb of major international labels and was usually drab and boring as a result - and did more than anybody else to foster the Dunedin Sound scene and promote it on the international indie circuit. I can't think of a better label for jangle pop, and they're right up there for lo-fi and for encouraging more experimental post-punk and noise pop (though that tended to be released by Xpressway more than Flying Nun).

Favourite bands on Flying Nun? The Chills, The Bats, The Clean, Straitjacket Fits, Bailter Space, Able Tasmans, 3Ds, Ghost Club, Headless Chickens, Goblin Mix, Die! Die! Die!, Look Blue Go Purple, Dimmer, The Subliminals, The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience - pretty much anyone who's anyone from the arse end of the world.

I usually don't follow individual labels that much, but Flying Nun hold a special place for me.

 

[cobl04]

Turquoise Jeep.

 

[IWasBored]

Epitaph records was the first record label I cared at all about. Obviously they haven't put out much worth noting in the last 10 years, but before they shifted all their good bands to Hell Cat, it just made too much sense that epitaph was how a kid in the late 90s would discover punk rock. I never was too big on a lot of bands from fat wreck, nitro, Asian man. i prefered hell cat, tko, byo, type stuff.

Can't really leave out taang, although I'm fairly certain they're defunct now. I've read enough stories about how Curtis from taang screwed over a lot of people before he left Boston. All those reissues in 2003-2005 were great. All that old slapshot, Fu's, gang green, stranglehold, the cocksparrer best of, criminal class USA, the bruisers, etc.

Speaking of defunct labels, there's GMM. Pretty solid stuff was put out under that label, although anything in the last 10 years that was reported to be such and such's new album, out this fall on GMM--pretty much became a guarantee that band wouldn't have the album out til the following summer, and on an entirely different label at that. But still, some good albums came out on GMM.

Thorp Records has also put out some pretty decent hardcore/metal. And when they initially added the Sailor's Grave name to cover the punk/psychobilly side of things, there was one point early on where I owned every single album they'd released.

Haven't really paid lot of attention to labels since I finished school/stopped doing college radio. But I did generally tend to keep an eye out for things from your more well-known "indie" type labels like matador, 4ad, sub pop. Yep rock occasionally, although I think that was mostly that I gave them the benefit of the doubt for that rev Horton heat album.

I was supposed to mention Side One Dummy in here, too. Lots of good albums were put out by side one dummy.

 

[u2popmofo]

You should have mentioned that Nitro was pretty awesome for like 5 years, or less.

 

[IWasBored]

True. It was a very, very short window. And even then, awesome may be a bit of a stretch. I really listened to comparatively little of it. And one could arguably want to punch me in the face for lumping them in with fat wreck for a variety of justifiable reasons. But all of that post is based of old information. I haven't--outside of checking back at the sailors grave boards a once every couple months--thought much at all in terms of labels in like seven or eight years. I could have just as easily made this post in 2005, and knowing me, I probably did. Only thing is, back then it would have included a line about how hell cat is pretty much the way thing ever, since the way in which the give em the boot compilations had wholly eclipsed the punk o ramas from 6 onward in terms of quality, was much fresher in my mind.