K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music" since the 1980s.
Wild Orchid was an American girl group consisting of Stacy Ferguson, Stefanie Ridel, and Renee Sandstrom. Beginning under the name "NRG" in 1990, the group changed their name to Wild Orchid in 1992 and signed with RCA Records in 1994. The group released two albums, earning Billboard Music Awards nominations with their debut. In 2001, Ferguson left the group. Sandstrom and Ridel continued as a duo, releasing Wild Orchid's final album Hypnotic in 2003. In 2013, Us Weekly named the group number 18 of the 25 'Best Girl Groups of All Time'.
Thomas Randolph Bell was an American record producer, arranger and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and producers ever, Bell found success crafting songs for Delfonics, Stylistics, and Spinners. In June 2006, Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.
Mirah is an American musician and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. After getting her start in the music scene of Olympia, Washington, in the late 1990s, she released a number of well-received solo albums on K Records, including You Think It's Like This but Really It's Like This (2000) and Advisory Committee (2002). Her 2009 album (a)spera peaked on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart at #46, while her 2011 collaborative album Thao + Mirah peaked at #7.
The Need is an American queercore band formed by singer/drummer Rachel Carns and guitarist Radio Sloan in Portland, Oregon in the mid-1990s.
Yamataka Eye is a Japanese vocalist and visual artist, best known as a member of Boredoms, Hanatarash and Naked City. He has changed his stage name three times, from Yamatsuka Eye, to Yamantaka Eye, to Yamataka Eye, and sometimes calls himself eYe or EYヨ. He also DJs under the name DJ 光光光 or "DJ pica pica pica", and has used numerous other pseudonyms.
Unwound is an American post-hardcore band. Formed in 1988 in Tumwater and Olympia, Washington, the band currently consists of Justin Trosper, Jared Warren, Sara Lund (drums), and Scott Seckington (guitar).
Allison Wolfe is a Los Angeles–based singer, songwriter, writer, and podcaster. As a founding member and lead singer of the punk rock band Bratmobile, she became one of the leading voices of the riot grrl movement.
You Think It's Like This but Really It's Like This is Mirah's debut album, released in 2000 on K Records. In July 2020, Mirah released a 20th anniversary reissue of the album via Double Double Whammy. The double LP reissue includes a remastered version of the record as well as a tribute to the album that features covers by Mount Eerie, Half Waif, Palehound, Shamir, Sad13, Allison Crutchfield and more.
This Is an Exercise is an album by experimental electropop artist Anna Oxygen, released in 2006 on Kill Rock Stars. Allmusic described the album as "just as fascinating as it is chilly and alienating. In her songs, Oxygen explores some of the same issues of authenticity, creation, and consumption that Tracy + the Plastics do, but with a sci-fi/fantasy bent."
All Your Faded Things is an album released by Anna Oxygen on July 22, 2003 under the Cold Crush Records label. It was produced by Justin Trosper.
Rachel Carns is an American musician, composer, artist and performer living in Olympia, Washington, U.S. Raised in small-town Wisconsin, she went on to study painting and drawing at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City, where she completed her B.F.A. in 1991. Carns began her career as drummer for Kicking Giant, later collaborating with several bands, including The Need. She is a celebrated graphic designer, working under the name System Lux, and plays drums and percussion with experimental performance art group Cloud Eye Control.
Justin Trosper is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, born in Olympia, Washington. He fronted the post-hardcore band Unwound from 1991 to 2002 and again from 2022 to present day. He has also been a member of bands such as Replikants, The Young Ginns, and Worst Case Scenario. Most of his work has been released on the independent record label Kill Rock Stars.
Thao Nguyen, also known as Thao, is an American singer-songwriter originally from Virginia and now based in San Francisco. She is the former lead singer, songwriter and figurehead of the defunct band Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, and has collaborated with Joanna Newsom and Andrew Bird. Outside of the band she has collaborated on projects with several artists including Merrill Garbus, The Portland Cello Project, and Mirah. Her music is influenced by folk, country, and hip hop.
Lori Goldston is an American cellist and composer. Accomplished in a wide variety of styles, including classical, world music, rock and free improvisation, she came to prominence as the touring cellist for Nirvana from 1993–1994 and appears on their live album MTV Unplugged in New York. She was a member of Earth, the Black Cat Orchestra, and Spectratone International, and also performs solo.
Tender Forever is the pop electronica project of Franco-American musician Vito Valera. Valera has released four albums with K Records and now works on multimedia projects where they reside in Olympia, Washington.
"Summer Trip" is the fifty-fifth single by singer-songwriter Koda Kumi. The single is a double a-side and contains one b-side. It debuted at No. 7 on the Oricon Daily chart.
This World Made Itself; Myth and Infrastructure; Dreaming of Lucid Living is a 2014 animated film by artist Miwa Matreyek. Matreyek combined three of her multimedia solo live performance pieces, mixed them with recorded music and projected animation including her body and different shapes like traversing ocean scapes, cityscapes, and dreamscapes. The film had its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2014.
Yoyo A Go Go, usually abbreviated to Yoyo and often typeset in various ways, was an independent music festival in Olympia, Washington, first held in 1994 and followed by successor festivals in 1997, 1999, and 2001. Five- and six-day concert marathons featured dozens of punk and indie rock acts stacked back to back, as well as a variety of associated entertainment and small-scale local retail. The concerts took place at the historic Capitol Theater and showcased performers from the local Olympia music scene, while also including national and international artists.
Miwa Matreyek is a director, animator, designer, and performer working in Los Angeles, California. In 2007, Matreyek received her MFA in Experimental Animation and Integrated Media at the California Institute of the Arts. While being a student, she developed her talent and passion for animation and collage. Matreyek collaborated with fellow students and interactive multi-media expert Chi-wang Yang and American singer Anna Oxygen to form a theater company called Cloud Eye Control. Miwa Matreyek blends animation, collage, and performance together in order to present her work of art to the public. She uses her own shadow body, rear-projected animation, and perfect timing in her work. Matreyek won the Student Grand Prize at the Platform Festival for her thesis project performance Dreaming of Lucid Living in 2007. She is known for her performance Myth and Infrastructure (2010) and her short film Lumerence (2012), which its premiere was presented at the reputable TED Global Conference in Oxford, England in July 2010. Matreyek's art have been presented in many conferences, festivals, museums, schools and art centres.
