Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world, with records reaching the top of the Billboard music charts.
Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, and active in the Washington, D.C., area. The band released three albums before splitting up in 1996. The band reunited for one-off concerts in 2002 and 2023.
Naeem Juwan Hanks, better known by his stage name Spank Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore. He rose to fame with his 2006 album YoYoYoYoYo, which was produced by former group member Alex Epton (XXXChange). A harbinger of post-millennial alternative rap, the duo became known for its mixing of disparate hip hop and club genres, including Baltimore club, Miami bass, electro music and rock.
The Brunettes were an indie pop group from New Zealand formed in 1998 and lasting until 2009. The group consisted of core members Jonathan Bree and Heather Mansfield, with additional contributions from part-time members such as Ryan McPhun and Chelsea Nikkel. The group had released several well-received albums such as Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks (2002), which received 4.5/5 stars from AllMusic. Signed to Lil' Chief Records, they had opened for bands such as Rilo Kiley and Beirut.
Lo-fi is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The standards of sound quality (fidelity) and music production have evolved throughout the decades, meaning that some older examples of lo-fi may not have been originally recognized as such. Lo-fi began to be recognized as a style of popular music in the 1990s, when it became alternately referred to as DIY music.
Papercuts is an American indie pop project centered on San Francisco songwriter/producer Jason Robert Quever.
Astrid is a guitar-pop foursome formed in Glasgow in the mid-1990s, but with strong ties to Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides, Scotland. The group released three studio albums, as well as several singles and EPs, before breaking up in 2004.
Elephant Micah is a musical band or stage name of southern Indiana songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joseph O'Connell. Recording mostly at home, O’Connell has produced an eclectic body of work since beginning the project in 2000. Elephant Micah's inconsistently available music has become a cult favorite among some lo-fi/indie and folk rock audiences.
Ralph Lee "Mac" McCaughan is an American musician and record label owner, based in North Carolina. His main musical projects have been Superchunk since 1989 and Portastatic since the early 1990s. In 1989 he founded the independent record label Merge Records with Superchunk bandmate Laura Ballance.
Dan Boeckner is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist and podcaster. He is best known as one of the frontmen of Wolf Parade, which he helped found in 2003. Since 2013, he has also been a member of the Montreal-based band Operators. Boeckner began his career in the Victoria, Canada music scene, playing in multiple bands including Atlas Strategic. Since that time, he has been part of projects including Handsome Furs and Divine Fits with Spoon frontman Britt Daniel.
Times New Viking is an American lo-fi indie rock band from Columbus, Ohio. The lineup consists of guitarist Jared Phillips, drummer Adam Elliott, and Beth Murphy on keyboards. Murphy and Elliott share vocal duties.
Slumberland Records is an American independent record label, formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C., and based in Oakland, California. The label has released recordings by Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, Evans The Death, St. Christopher, Boyracer, Beatnik Filmstars, 14 Iced Bears, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
Peste Noire are a French black metal band from La Chaise-Dieu, France. The band was formed by "La sale Famine de Valfunde", also known simply as "Famine", in 2000. Their music uses standard black metal elements mixed with traditional Gallic instrumentation, and influences from genres like punk and electronic music. The band is sometimes referred to as P.N. or K.P.N.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were an American indie pop band from New York City, formed in 2007. The band centered around founding member and principal songwriter Kip Berman. In the band's final iteration, Berman was joined in concert by Christoph Hochheim (guitar), Jen Goma, Jacob Sloan (bass), and Anton Hochheim (drums). Former members and contributors include Peggy Wang, Connor Hanwick, Kurt Feldman and Alex Naidus.
Boyracer is a British punk band from Leeds, England.
Girls Names was a band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, formed in 2009 by Cathal Cully and Neil Brogan. Before they disbanded in 2019, the released four albums—Dead To Me, The New Life, Arms Around a Vision, and Stains on Silence—as well as several EPs, singles, and split singles.
Jonathan Owen Bree is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and producer, best known for his work as a solo artist, as well as co-founding the indie pop group The Brunettes, in 1998 and Lil' Chief Records, in 2002. He frequently collaborates with label-mates as a musician, engineer, and record producer.
Hiss Golden Messenger is an American folk band originating from Durham, North Carolina, formed in 2007 and led by singer and songwriter MC Taylor.
What to Do About Them is a 1992 EP by Boston indie rock band Swirlies. It was Swirlies' first release for Taang! Records and documents the band's early material recorded in 1991 and 1992. The album is mostly made up of songs selected from their three previous 7" records, as well as previously unreleased material.
Linda Smith is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and home recording artist who began self-releasing cassette albums in the late 1980s. Beginning in the 1990s, some of her recordings were released in vinyl and CD form on indie labels such as Slumberland Records and Harriet Records. In 2021, the Captured Tracks label reissued a selection of her recordings on an album called Till Another Time: 1988–1996. Paste Magazine described the release as a "hidden treasure of America’s pop underground."
