 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2017) |
| Aquarius Records Ltd. | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Terry Flood Donald Tarlton Bob Lemm Dan Lazare Jack Lazare |
| Defunct | 2014 |
| Status | Inactive |
| Distributor(s) | Unidisc Music |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Location | Montreal, Quebec |
| Official website | aquariusrecords.com |
Aquarius Records was an independent record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Aquarius Records was founded in 1969. The first president was Terry Flood and the other founding owners were Donald Tarlton, Bob Lemm, Dan Lazare and Jack Lazare. [1] The label was initially distributed by London Records of Canada.
Among the first acts signed to the label was the Halifax band April Wine, [2] who had also worked with Much Productions. [3] Other artists developed by Aquarius during their first decade included Montreal's Walter Rossi and a rock band from Windsor, Ontario called Teaze. While still with London, Aquarius released records by Mashmakhan, Freedom North, Ross Holloway, Roger Doucet, The Rabble and others.
In 1978 Aquarius Records changed distribution to Capitol-EMI and it was early in this association that April Wine began achieving international success. In the 1980s Aquarius signings included Corey Hart, Sass Jordan, Mindstorm, Sword and Myles Goodwyn and the label also released albums by The Stampeders and The Guess Who. In its first twenty years Aquarius sold over 5 million records in Canada and Aquarius artists sold a similar amount in the rest of the world.
In the 1990s some of Aquarius' efforts were diverted by the launching of a French-language label called Tacca Musique which had success almost immediately with artists like Kevin Parent and France D'Amour. On the English side, Aquarius would release new artists Bif Naked and Serial Joe and also it licensed records by Men Without Hats and Deep Purple. By the end of the 1990s the ownership of Aquarius Records was acquired by Donald Tarlton (Donald K. Donald). [4]
Starting in 2000 Aquarius began expansion through the development of new imprints, including DKD Disques (La Chicane, Danni Bedard) and through joint ventures like Last Gang Records (Metric, Crystal Castles, Mother Mother, Chromeo), Arts & Crafts International (Stars, Amy Millan), Indica Records (Les Trois Accords, Dobacaracol, Priestess), Mensa Music (Adam Gregory), Moving Units (Bless, Platinumberg). The biggest selling new artist on Aquarius was Sum 41, and other artists, including Danko Jones, Jeremy Fisher, Gob and Mark Berube, came to the label. Also during this period, it began a distribution deal with Unidisc Music.
In 2006, Aquarius was one of six labels who resigned from the Canadian Recording Industry Association, complaining that their interests were not being represented. [4]
The music of Canada's Maritime provinces has included many artists from both the traditional and pop genres, and is mostly European in origin. The traditional genre is dominated by the music brought to the region by the European settlers, the most well known of which are the Scots & Irish celtic and Acadian traditions. Successful pop acts from all genres have had degrees of national and international success since the beginning of recorded music period. Performers as diverse as Hank Snow, Stan Rogers, Anne Murray, the Rankin Family, Barachois, The Men of the Deeps and April Wine have all experienced tremendous success as popular music acts with considerable national and international tours and record sales.
Bootsauce was a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock band based in Montreal. The band was composed of Drew Ling (vocals), Pere Fume (guitar), Sonny Greenwich Jr. (guitar), Alan Baculis, and John "Fatboy" Lalley (drums). Their style combined soul, funk and metal sounds. Two of their albums, The Brown Album and Bull achieved Gold status in Canada. Their style was sometimes compared favorably to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Stony Plain Records is a Canadian independent record label, which specializes in roots music genres such as country, folk, and blues. The label has released more than 300 albums.
BKS was a Canadian techno group created by radio DJ Chris Sheppard, with Hennie Bekker and Greg Kavanagh. They were best known for collaborating with hockey personality Don Cherry to create the song "Rock Em Sock Em Techno".
soulDecision was a Canadian pop band active from 1993 to 2005. They are best known for the single, "Faded", which hit number-one in Canada in 2000, and "Ooh It's Kinda Crazy", which became a hit as well the following year in early 2001.
Bass is Base was a Canadian R&B group based in North York, Ontario.
Jorane Pelletier, known professionally as Jorane, is a French-Canadian singer/cellist, who performs pop and alternative music style on the cello, a typically classical instrument, while singing at the same time. She has released eight full-length studio albums to date.
BMG Music Canada was the Canadian division of BMG, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Quartette is a Canadian country-folk group consisting of Cindy Church, Caitlin Hanford, Gwen Swick and Sylvia Tyson. Each of the four members also record as solo artists in addition to their work as a group.
J. Gaines and the Soul Attorneys is a Canadian pop R&B band based in Quebec City.
Smoother was a Canadian rock band from Hamilton, Ontario, headed by lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Andrew Franey. Members included Beau Cook on bass and vocals, keyboardist James Flemings-Strange, drummer Adam Benning and Todd Knight on guitar and vocals.
D-Cru was a Canadian R&B music group formed in Vancouver, consisting of singers Nicole Hutton, Tito Chipman, Craig Smart, Troy "Golden Child" Samson,Damien Kyles and Aimee Mackenzie.
Donald K. Tarlton, CM is a Canadian record producer and promoter. He promoted many concerts and Canadian musicians under the name Donald K. Donald.
Quality Records was a Canadian entertainment company which released music albums in Canada on behalf of American record labels. They also released recordings by Canadian artists.
"Patio Lanterns" is a song by Canadian rock musician Kim Mitchell that was first released as a single in June 1986 and later appeared in the 1986 album Shakin' Like a Human Being. An acoustic recording of the song was released as a single in 1995 and also included in the album Greatest Hits released the same year. By 1996, the song had been broadcast on Canadian radio stations more than 100,000 times. The song was described by the CBC as "quintessentially Canadian".
Charles Jordan was a Canadian baritone and voice teacher. As a performer he was mainly active on Canadian radio.
Too Bad to Be True, or TBTBT, was a Canadian hip hop group, based in Toronto, Ontario, active in the 1990s. They were best known for their 1993 album One Track Mind, which won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year at the 1994 Juno Awards. The group consisted of teenagers Jeromy "Lyric J" Robinson, Shaka "DJ Shaka" Dodd, Al "Al C" Cox, and Frankie "MC Styles" Scarcelli.
"I Surrender" is a song recorded by Canadian country music artist Michelle Wright. It was released in 2000 as the second single from her first greatest hits album, The Greatest Hits Collection. It peaked at number 10 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in April 2000. In 2001, it was named by SOCAN as one of the most performed Canadian country songs.
Vito Luprano is a Canadian music producer and talent manager. He was Vice-President of A&R for Sony Music Canada from 1986 until 2009. During those years, he oversaw the production of recordings for many musicians and bands, mainly in Quebec. Alongside René Angélil, Luprano executive produced over 20 albums for Céline Dion.
Caitlin Hanford is an American and Canadian country and bluegrass singer and a music teacher. She is a member of the group Quartette and also the band The Marigolds. She is the ex-wife of musician Chris Whiteley.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
