Phew. Today was a very long day. It’s 5pm, but there is still so much work to be done. I’ve been out of the house since noon, running errands which brought me to each corner of Essex county. Now that I have a moment to sit and relax before dinner plans and an evening of debauchery, I can prepare my weekly Top Ten for you. Whoever you are.
Which record labels do you think are the most consistent solid producers of quality albums? Is there ever an instance in which you have browsed through shelves (or a “used” bin) at a music store and bought a record simply because you know the folks who run the label wouldn’t waste their resources on garbage? I know I have!
Here’s a list of my top ten favorite record labels throughout the world. Quality of a label’s roster, album manufacturing and ideology are all considered when formulating such a list.
TOP TEN RECORD LABELS WORLDWIDE
Honorable Mention: Soul Jazz Records, Kranky, 23five Incorporated, Ecstatic Peace
– Locust Music – Their featured artists include Ethan Rose, Alex Stimmel’s Apothecary Hymns, and Cast King, and additional artists include Espers, Keith Fullerton Whitman, and releases from Timothy Leary and Alan Watts. The packaging isn’t anything remarkable, but it’s also not terrible glossy blandness, either. Ethan Rose’s “Ceiling Songs” is an example of unique packaging for a wholly distinctive record.
– Important Records – Past releases include works from Merzbow, Mouthus, Axolotl, Boris, Larsen, and Grails. Three examples of albums that I picked up (and enjoyed greatly) based solely on their being associated with Important include James Blackshaw (O True Believers), Citay (Citay) and Rivulets (You Are Home). The vinyl edition of the James Blackshaw record is the epitome of minimalism, yet it is perfect. The Boris Vein record is another unique approach to manufacturing.
– Holy Mountain – The label that brings us Suishou No Fune, Six Organs of Admittance, Om, Daniel Higgs, Zodiacs, and the upcoming Blues Control re-issue. An oeuvre of fantastic psychedelic music, from giant rockers fuzzed-out folk, to gentle acoustics. If you should ever find yourself wondering what to listen to while losing your mind, pull at random from the Holy Mountain discography.
– (K-RAA-K)3 – Unbelievable grassroots label straight from the Belgium with a penchant for finding and forging relationships with some of the world’s foremost practitioners of psych, avant-garde and electronic music. Their roster includes off-kilter Appalachian folk troubadour Ignatz, sound constructors/deconstructors Tuk, and the hilariously named Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat. They’ve also released albums from Es, Kiila, and Pan American. The Ignatz packaging is beautiful, as is the stunning Tuk album Shallow Water Blackout (pictured above). I can’t wait to see where they folks go in the future to find new sounds.
– Paradigms Recordings – There may not be a more tripped out underground label than this one. Each release is given the utmost attention, and tailored perfectly for the band. The Titan album is a beautiful, psych-rainbow eyesore. From the exterior, they all look innocent, but once you get through the layer upon layer of packaging, you begin to realize the precision and detail that goes into each release. And, oh man, their discography is incredible. Amber Asylum (“Garden of Love”), The Angelic Process (“Coma Waering”), Hjarnidaudi (“Pain:Noise:March”), Titan, Plants (“Double Infinity”) and more.
– Fonal – So beautiful, these Finnish recordings! Islaja! Kemialliset Ystavat! Kiila! Paavoharju! Shogun Kunitoki! The artwork and packaging is always top notch, and the dedication to local acts earns them bonus points, because we know how geeked I get about regionalism and musical trends. I’ve not yet heard a dour note on any Fonal Records release, and I hope that continues for a very long time.
– Root Strata – When I first met Jefre Cantu, he handed me copies of RS-01, RS-02, and RS-03 just as he was preparing to release them on his then-new label. The packaging blew me away. All hand-crafted, unique and beautiful. The music those albums contained was even more stunning. I try to buy every release as soon as they are made available, and I’m always discovering new fantastic bands. The Zelienople album “Stone Academy” is one of the best records I’ve heard in years. Starving Weirdos’ Shrine Of The Post-Hypnotic might be even better.
– Häpna – Toshiya Tsunoda, Sheriff, Tape, Oren Ambarchi, David Grubbs, Pita, Stephan Mathieu, A Taste of Ra, 3/4Hadbeeneliminated…the list is intense. There’s nothing more exciting than wandering into Other Music and heading directly for the Häpna section to see if anything new has arrived since my last visit. The simple packaging is misleading. The contents of the albums they release are overwhelming. I don’t know where they find these people. [listen to 3/4HadBeenEliminated “In Every Tree A Heartache” from A Year Of The Aural Gauge Operation]
– Tumult – Andee from Aquarius Records says that he has a distinct musical taste that tends to wander. “The basic ground rules go something like this: A person has to like metal, must listen to more than just metal, like jazz, and have a sense of humor – a bad sense of humor, preferably.” From that mind, we get music like Weakling, Thuja, Circle, Harvey Milk, Skullflower, OCS, Guapo, Reeks And The Wrecks, and Solar Anus. All awesome. All varied in style and genre.
– Mystery Sea – To understand mystery sea, you have to love the sound of nothing. Not only that, you have to be quick with your mouse, because they only release 100 CD-r copies of all their albums. Each one I’ve heard has been stunning. They ask that artists attempt to capture the sound of night-ocean drones, then meticulously craft artwork that acts as a visual accompaniment to the soundmantras created by the artists. The result is unlike anything you’ve seen or heard before. Take for example the Cherry Beach Project silo 11 CD-r. Recorded sounds from a silo in Canada where all sorts of crimes are rumored to occur. It’s eerie. It’s beautiful. It’s the epitome of a Mystery Sea release.
