Bella Union | |
---|---|
Founded | 1997 |
Founder | Simon Raymonde Robin Guthrie |
Distributor(s) | PIAS |
Genre | Indie rock, alternative rock, folk, experimental, psychedelic |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Location | Brighton, England |
Official website | www |
Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde.
After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twins decided to start up the Bella Union record label in 1997, through which they could release their own work as well as any collaborative efforts. The band had a difficult relationship with 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell and also regretted signing with Universal Music Group's Mercury Records. [1]
The band split up not long after, but instead of letting the newly formed label go under, Robin Guthrie, Simon Raymonde and their former manager Fiona Glyn-Jones decided to take charge of it. One of the earliest bands to sign on was the Australian trio Dirty Three, who continue to release under Bella Union. Other early signees include Françoiz Breut and The Czars, who were the first American band signed to the label. [2]
Since 2000, when Guthrie moved to France to concentrate on his own music, Raymonde took the reins at Bella Union. [3]
In 2007, the 10th anniversary celebrations saw Bella Union host a two-night showcase at London's Royal Festival Hall featuring their artists such as Beach House and Midlake, along with guest appearances from Paul Weller and members of Editors. [4] That year, Fionn Regan's debut album was nominated for the Mercury Prize. [5]
The label underwent financial troubles in 2007 and Raymonde considered shutting it down. While in Oslo, Raymonde received a link to Fleet Foxes' Myspace page, who at the time had only released a demo version of "White Winter Hymnal". He immediately expressed interest and had to fight off Sub Pop in order to secure a European distribution contract with the band, which was ultimately agreed to. Fleet Foxes' 2008 self-titled debut became Bella Union's first platinum-selling album in the UK. [6]
The label has subsequently released music by Father John Misty, Beach House, Department of Eagles, Karl Blau, Explosions in the Sky, Fleet Foxes, The Acorn, Mercury Rev, Peter Broderick, PINS, M. Ward, Philip Selway, John Grant, Lawrence Arabia, The Low Anthem, Hannah Cohen, Laura Veirs, The Flaming Lips, Lanterns on the Lake, Inventions, John Tavener, Marissa Nadler, Arc Iris, Clarence Clarity, and Jambinai.
The label won the Independent Record Company Of The Year award at the Music Week Awards, as voted by the UK independent retailers, in 2010, 2012, 2014[ citation needed ] and 2016. [7]
In 2012, for the 15th anniversary the label took over the curation of one day at End of the Road Festival.
In 2014, signee John Grant was nominated for a Brit Award. In 2015, Raymonde signed the Yorkshire-born singer Holly Macve, releasing the single "Corner of my Mind". [8] [9] In 2016, artist Father John Misty was also nominated for a BRIT Award. In 2016, following his sold out show at Royal Albert Hall, artist John Grant received a Silver disc for the album Pale Green Ghosts.
The label's releases are distributed by the wholly independent distributors PIAS worldwide.
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrumentalist Simon Raymonde in 1983. The group earned critical praise for their ethereal, effects-laden sound and the soprano vocals of Fraser, whose lyrics often eschew any recognisable language. Fraser's vocals included unknown words she found in foreign language books, adding to the band's dreamy ambience. They pioneered the 1980s alternative subgenre of dream pop and helped define what would become shoegaze.
Head over Heels is the second studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. The album was released on 24 October 1983 through the label 4AD. It featured the band's signature sound of "Guthrie's lush guitars under Fraser's mostly wordless vocals" and is considered an archetype of early ethereal wave music.
Elizabeth Davidson Fraser is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins who achieved success in the UK primarily during the fifteen years from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums Victorialand (1986) and Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) both reached the top ten of the UK Album Charts, as well as other albums including Blue Bell Knoll (1988), Four-Calendar Café (1993) and Milk & Kisses (1996) charting on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States as well as the top 20 in the UK. She also performed as part of the 4AD group This Mortal Coil, including the successful 1983 single "Song to the Siren", and as a guest with Massive Attack on their 1998 hit single "Teardrop".
Simon Philip Raymonde is an English musician and record producer. He is the son of the late arranger and composer Ivor Raymonde. He is best known as the bass guitarist and keyboard player with the Scottish band Cocteau Twins from 1983 to 1997.
Laura Pauline Veirs is an American singer-songwriter based in Portland, Oregon. She is known for her folk/alternative country records and live performances as well as her collaboration with Neko Case and k.d. lang on the case/lang/veirs project. Veirs has written a children's book and hosts a podcast about parenting and performing.
Françoiz Breut is the stage name of Françoise Breut, a French illustrator and chanteuse of moody and melancholic pop. Breut got involved with music when her then-fiancé, French pop star Dominique A, asked her to contribute vocals on three songs of his 1993 album, Si Je Connais Harry. He then wrote and arranged most of the songs for her eponymous debut album. She has also collaborated with Yann Tiersen, Louise Attaque, and Calexico. She lives in Brussels, Belgium.
Midlake is an American folk rock band from Denton, Texas, formed in 1999. The band consists of Eric Pulido, McKenzie Smith, Scott Lee, Eric Nichelson, Jesse Chandler, and Joey McClellan.
Sing-Sing were an English indie pop/dream pop supergroup formed in 1997 in London, comprising vocalist Lisa O'Neill and guitarist/vocalist Emma Anderson. They worked with a variety of musicians to create a sound which nodded to 1960s girl groups, electronica and folk. They disbanded in 2007.
Vingt à Trente Mille Jours is the second album by French singer Françoiz Breut, released in 2000.
Fionn Regan is an Irish folk musician and singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Bray, Regan came to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, The End of History in 2006. He had been releasing extended plays for six years on independent record labels prior to the album's release. Regan's second studio album, The Shadow of an Empire was released in 2010 to positive reviews and his third studio album, 100 Acres of Sycamore, was released in 2011. His fourth studio album, The Bunkhouse Vol. 1: Anchor Black Tattoo, was released in 2012.
The End of History is the debut studio album by the Irish folk musician Fionn Regan, released on 7 August 2006 on Bella Union. The album was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Prize, and was also named Best Irish Album of 2006 by the Irish Independent.
"Be Good or Be Gone" is a song by the Irish folk musician Fionn Regan. It is the opening track and lead single from Regan's debut studio album, The End of History, and was released on 5 February 2006 on Bella Union.
The Triumphs and Travails of Orphan Mae is the second studio album by Laura Veirs, self-released in 2001. It was subsequently re-released under the Bella Union label on February 21, 2005.
"White Winter Hymnal" is the first single from Fleet Foxes' debut 2008 self-titled album. Released by European label Bella Union on July 21, 2008, the single was issued on 7" vinyl as well as digital MP3 format. The B-side is the non-album track "Isles".
Joshua Michael Tillman, better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician. He is known for his satirical lyricism and eccentric performance style.
The Shadow of an Empire is the second studio album by Irish singer-songwriter Fionn Regan, released on 8 February 2010 on Heavenly Records and Universal Music Ireland. The album's aesthetic differs from Regan's previous album, The End of History, featuring more electric guitar-based rock songs. Regarding this change in musical direction, Regan stated, "This album's lyrically quite fast, with lots of word changes and phrase changes, and it asked for a different kind of coat." In October 2009 the first single, "Protection Racket" was released as a free download.
Queen of Denmark is the debut solo album by American musician and former The Czars frontman John Grant, released via Bella Union on April 19, 2010. It is a collaboration between Grant and members of the American folk rock band Midlake, who had persuaded him to end his four-year hiatus from music following the break-up of The Czars.
The discography of Fionn Regan, an Irish folk musician and singer-songwriter, consists of five studio albums, five extended plays and seven singles.
Snowbird is a British/American band consisting of instrumentalist Simon Raymonde and vocalist Stephanie Dosen. Dosen, originally a member of the 1990s techno band Virus, sang live with Massive Attack in 2008 and later collaborated with The Chemical Brothers. Dosen and Raymonde first worked together on her second solo album, A Lily for the Spectre, released by Bella Union in 2007. The duo's debut album as Snowbird, Moon, was released on 27 January 2014 on Bella Union.
Holly Macve is an Ireland-born musician who performs as a solo artist. She released her first album Golden Eagle on the Bella Union label in March 2017. Her follow up album Not The Girl was released in May 2021.