| Important Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | John Brien |
| Distributor(s) | Forced Exposure, Cargo [1] |
| Genre | Contemporary classical, experimental, electronic, rock, folk, jazz |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Location | Groveland, Massachusetts |
| Official website | www |
Important Records is an American independent record label based in Groveland, Massachusetts. [2] [3]
John Brien started Important Records in 2001 out of his Newburyport, Massachusetts apartment, initially as an online store. Important's first two releases were Impossible Love by the American songwriter Daniel Johnston and Amlux by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. [4] [5] [6] In 2003, Important released A Is for Accident , the debut album of The Dresden Dolls. [7]
Important also operates two sublabels: Cassauna, started in 2011, which releases cassettes in letterpress packaging; and Saltern, started in September 2014, curated by Tashi Wada. [8]
Kazuyuki Kishino, known by his stage name KK Null, is a Japanese experimental multi-instrumentalist active since the early 1980s. He began as a guitarist but learned how to compose, sing, play drums, and create electronic music. He also studied Butoh dance at Min Tanaka's workshop.
Xiu Xiu is an American experimental rock band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of multi-instrumentalists Stewart, Angela Seo, and percussionist David Kendrick. The band's name comes from the Chinese film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl, which has influenced the sound of their music, according to Stewart.
Amanda MacKinnon Palmer is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a member of the duo Evelyn Evelyn and the lead singer and songwriter of Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra. She has gained a cult fanbase and was one of the first musical artists to popularize the use of crowdfunding websites.
Brian Viglione is an American drummer best known for his work with The Dresden Dolls and Violent Femmes. For a short time, he was also a member of New York City's cabaret punk orchestra The World/Inferno Friendship Society.
RRRecords is a record label and used- and new-record shop based in Lowell, Massachusetts. RRRecords was the first American record label to publish underground "noise music" in the early 1980s as well as publishing the first American vinyl by Merzbow, Masonna, Hanatarash, Violent Onsen Geisha, and various other artists. In its first twenty years, the label issued hundreds of releases. RRR's owner, Ron Lessard, is a supporter of new artists who has created several sub-labels and series to specifically highlight unknown and underground musicians.
Zeni Geva is a Japanese noise rock band featuring singer and guitarist KK Null and drummer Tatsuya Yoshida. Formed in Tokyo in 1987, the group's name translates roughly as "money violence".
Japanoise, a portmanteau of "Japanese" and "noise", is the noise music scene of Japan.
"Good Day" is the debut single by The Dresden Dolls duo, taken from the self-titled debut album The Dresden Dolls. It was originally released by Important Records in December 2003 in an edition of 500 on white vinyl. The set also included a photograph signed by Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione. The 7" was later reissued in October 2005 on Palmer's own 8 Ft. Records during the band's Fall 2005 North American tour. The cover of the reissue depicted a painting by Barnaby Whitfield that recreated the photo from the original release.
Venereology is an album by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. It was inspired by death metal and grindcore.
This is a comprehensive discography of the Japanese noise musician Masami Akita, best known for his project Merzbow. Since 1980 he has released hundreds of recordings, collaborated with dozens of musicians, contributed over two hundred exclusive tracks to compilations, and made numerous guest appearances on recordings by other artists.
Stephan Mathieu is a German mastering engineer and former musician. He currently lives in Bonn, Germany where he runs Schwebung Mastering, an independent studio for audio mastering and restoration.
Rock Dream is a collaborative live album between Japanese band Boris and Japan noise musician Merzbow.
Who Killed Amanda Palmer is the first solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer. The album was largely recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, with collaborator Ben Folds and was released on Roadrunner Records on 16 September 2008. The name of the album is a reference to the series Twin Peaks, which revolves around events surrounding the death of Laura Palmer.
Terry Jennings was a Fluxus-related California-born American minimalist composer and woodwind performer.
The Dresden Dolls are an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione. The two describe their style as "Brechtian punk cabaret", a phrase invented by Palmer because she was "terrified" that the press would invent a name that "would involve the word gothic". The Dresden Dolls aesthetic exemplifies dark cabaret.
Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by Masami Akita, best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 500 recordings and collaborated with numerous artists.
Julia Shammas Holter is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, artist, and academic, based in Los Angeles. Her work has received critical acclaim and incorporates elements of Art pop, Chamber pop, baroque pop and Ambient music. Following three independent album productions, Holter released Tragedy as her first official studio album in 2011. Ekstasis followed in 2012. After signing with Domino Records in 2013, she released the albums Loud City Song (2013), Have You in My Wilderness (2015), the live-in-the-studio album In the Same Room (2017) and the double album Aviary (2018).
James Stewart is an American musician and writer best known for their role in experimental rock band Xiu Xiu. They have appeared in other bands, including XXL, Former Ghosts, and Sal Mineo.
Aaron Funk, known as Venetian Snares, is a Canadian electronic musician based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is widely known for innovating and popularising the breakcore genre, and is one of the most recognisable artists to be signed to Planet Mu, an experimental electronic music label. His signature style involves meticulously complex drums, eclectic use of samples, and odd time signatures, in particular, 7
4.
Merzxiu is a collaborative album by Japanese noise musician Merzbow and American art rock band Xiu Xiu. It was released exclusively for the Record Store Day on April 18, 2015 through Canadian record label Kingfisher Bluez. The initial run of the LP was limited to only 1000 copies.
