Your favourite labels?

Record labels can make a real difference in shaping how an album turns out and even in defining the hallmarks of what later go on to be accepted genres, scenes or "sounds". A favourite of mine in this regard is ReR. Their catalogue pretty much defines RIO.

They can also be just plain lovely, like Trunk Records who have a wonderful way of digging out quirky and obscure records and turning them into charming, celebratory and revelatory compilations and reissues. I've just got hold of their reissue of a 1957 album of jazz reworkings/tributes to the music of Moondog, and my partner ranks their creepy and beautiful Fuzzy Felt Folk compilation as one of her absolute favourite CDs.

Your turn!

For new stuff, Unicorn.  Old stuff, One Way Records.  Caroline has been good to me, too.

I have a great regard for Burning Shed - for Porcupine Tree and Theo Travis amongst others. Also Inside Out - The Tangent, Neal Morse etc.

The Famous Charisma Label

Just a simple uniformed list off the top of my head, I'll skip over the big jazz ones people have already listed.

Kunsthall, HG Fact, Erstwhile Records, Improvised Music From Japan/Ftarri, For 4 Ears, A Bruit Secret, Edition Wandelweiser, B-Boim Records, Balloon & Needle, Slub, Doubt Music, Manual, HatART, Col Legno, Wergo, Edition RZ, Smithsonian Folkways, None Such, VDE Gallo, Screwed up records, etcetera.

So many good labels going around that we need to keep alive.

Henry Plainview wrote: Tzadik, ReR, and Cuneiform are the obvious choices for someone like me (although I greatly prefer the first), but I also like: Impulse!, Blue Note, Okkadisk, ESP, Atavistic, Emanem/Psi, Matchless, Erstwhile, Black Saint/Soul Note, Clean Feed, Naxos, and DG. Now, this isn't an entirely fair list, because I'm much more grateful that Impulse! was around than Erstwhile, but I think it's great that Jon Abbey is doing his thing over there and I'm happy that he can make a living from it, so I want to acknowledge that. Also, I made this thread almost exactly a year ago! That's eerie.

I have a Merzbow album on Tzadik. It's great.

Vompatti wrote: 4AD, ECM

mmmm, 4AD did fine things for the British indie/post rock scene throughout the nineties, so add them to my list.

As much as I respect ECM for the music they are putting out, I struggle with them aesthetically, mainly talking from a musical perspective, they hurt my ears. I wish it wasn't so. Not sure if anyone else has found the same thing? probably just me being picky.   

Oh come now!

We all know 99% of us have a majority of our albums on:

Atlantic/ATCO
Elektra/Asylum
WB/Reprise
Columbia
Polygram

and MCA/Decca for some old vinyl junkies.


Seriously though, I have a few that stick out for less corporate material.

Sensory/Lasers edge
Cuneiform
ECM
Caroline for digging up some older stuff.

In the next decade, we will all be saying, "Hey, remember the old days when we had record labels."  The internet is the world of self-promotion. The wall between artist and listener has come down.

catfood03 wrote: thellama73 wrote: harmonium.ro wrote: Didn't Rhino call it quits in 2009? Maybe, but can't I still like them? Hunh? Rhino's still re-issuing music. Just check out the "Upcoming" tab on their site (Van Halen, Stooges, and Bee Gees are next on their list)

I vividly remember reading an article about how they are ceasing the activity but I can't find it any more