Instant Karma is an independent record label created by former Warner Music Group chairman and head of the BPI, Rob Dickins, in 1999. [1] The label was founded by Dickins after his resignation from Warner Music, where he gained fame for his track record of signing female vocalists such as Enya and the Corrs. [2] Instant Karma's first release was Helicopter Girl's How to Steal the World album in June 2000; [3] [4] the label received attention for the fact that its very first release was short-listed for the Mercury Prize. [5] Helicopter Girl signed with Instant Karma on the condition that she be permitted not to tour. [6] [7]
Dickins noted that he was pleased to have How to Steal the World as the label's "calling card", but that he planned other releases to have more immediate commercial appeal. [8]
The label was funded by Sony Music UK. British DJ/producer K-Gee's first solo single and album were released on Instant Karma in October 2000 and October 2002, respectively. [9]
Eithne "Enya" Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. Enya is also the best-selling Irish solo artist, with an estimated 80 million albums sold worldwide;the second-best-selling music act from Ireland overall, after the rock band U2. The music of Enya has been widely recognised for featuring multi-layers of her own vocals and instrumentation, lengthened reverb, and interwoven elements of Celtic music. Enya's career in music spans across four decades; she has been composing and recording music since the 1980s.
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Meshell Ndegeocello is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her mid-career work. Her music incorporates a wide variety of influences, including funk, soul, jazz, hip hop, reggae and rock. She has received significant critical acclaim throughout her career, being nominated for eleven Grammy Awards, and winning two. She also has been credited for helping to "spark the neo-soul movement".
Watermark is the second studio album by Irish singer, songwriter and musician Enya, released on 19 September 1988 by WEA. After the release of her previous album Enya (1987), she secured a recording contract with Warner following a chance meeting with chairman Rob Dickins, who had become a fan of her music. Her contract allowed her considerable artistic and creative freedom, with minimal interference from the label and no deadlines. Enya recorded Watermark in ten months with her long-time collaborators: manager, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. It was initially recorded in Ireland in demo form before production relocated to London to re-record, mix, and master it digitally. Watermark features music in different styles, displaying Enya's sound of multi-tracked vocals with keyboards, percussion instruments, and elements of Celtic, ambient, and new-age music, though Enya believes her music does not belong in the latter genre.
The Memory of Trees is the fourth studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released on 20 November 1995 by WEA. After travelling worldwide to promote her previous album Shepherd Moons (1991), and contributing to film soundtracks, Enya took a short break before she started writing and recording a new album in 1993 with her longtime recording partners, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. The album is Enya's first to be recorded entirely in Ireland, and covers themes that include Irish and Druid mythology, the idea of one's home, journeys, religion, dreams, and love. Enya continues to display her sound of multi-tracked vocals with keyboards and elements of Celtic and new age music, though Enya does not consider her music to be in the latter genre. She sings in English, Irish, Latin, and Spanish.
Enya is the debut studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released in March 1987 by BBC Records in the UK and by Atlantic Records in the US. It was renamed as The Celts for the 1992 international re-release of the album by WEA Records in Europe and by Reprise Records in the US. The album features a selection of music that she recorded for the soundtrack to The Celts, a BBC documentary series about the origins, growth, and influence of Celtic culture.
"Instant Karma!" is a song by English rock musician John Lennon, released as a single on Apple Records in February 1970. The lyrics focus on a concept in which the consequences of one's actions are immediate rather than borne out over a lifetime. The single was credited to "Lennon/Ono with the Plastic Ono Band", apart from in the US, where the credit was "John Ono Lennon". The song reached the top five in the British and American charts, competing with the Beatles' "Let It Be" in the US, where it became the first solo single by a member of the band to sell a million copies.
"Anywhere Is" is a song by Irish singer Enya, released on 6 November 1995 by WEA as the lead single from her fourth studio album, The Memory of Trees (1995). The lyrics of the song are in English, written by Roma Ryan and it was produced by Nicky Ryan. The song peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart and became a top-10 hit in Austria, Iceland, and Ireland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the song peaked at number 36. Its music video was directed by David Scheinmann.
Jason Charles Beck, professionally known as Chilly Gonzales or just Gonzales, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and producer. Currently based in Cologne, Germany, he previously lived for several years in Paris and Berlin. Gonzales’ career spans numerous genres. He is known for his rap albums, his collaborations with singer and musician Feist and rapper Drake, his albums of classical piano compositions, and for his collaborations with electronic musicians Daft Punk and Boys Noize, the latter of whom he also produces under the moniker Octave Minds. In 2022, he and Plastikman released a piano rework of the latter's 1998 minimal techno classic album Consumed in collaboration with Canadian musician Tiga, titled "Consumed in Key".
Amarantine is the sixth studio album by Irish singer-songwriter and musician Enya, released on 21 November 2005 by Warner Bros. Records internationally and by Reprise Records in the United States the next day. Following the release of her 2002 compilation box set Only Time – The Collection, Enya took a short break before she started work on a new album in September 2003, her first since A Day Without Rain (2000). Amarantine was recorded in Ireland with her longtime recording partners, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. It is Enya's first album not to include a song in Irish and her first to include songs sung in Japanese and Loxian, a fictional language created by Roma.
"Breathless" is a song by Irish pop rock family group The Corrs. It was released in June 2000 as the first single from their third studio album, In Blue (2000). "Breathless" was co-written and produced by famed music producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who produced for Shania Twain, Bryan Adams and Def Leppard, among others. "Breathless" is a pop song with lyrics about seduction.
The discography of American singer Donna Summer includes 17 studio albums and 89 singles, plus several other releases. Her first single, "Wassermann", a German version of the song "Aquarius" from the musical Hair, was released in Europe in 1968 under her maiden name, Donna Gaines. She would become known as Donna Summer from 1974 onwards. Her first full-length album under that name was Lady of the Night.
Bernard Patrick Fallon, also known as BP Fallon, is an Irish DJ, author, actor, photographer, and musician. He lives in Rathfarnham, Dublin.
Helicopter Girl is the stage name of Jacqueline Margaret “Jackie” Joyce, a musician from Perth, Scotland. She was born to a Scottish mother and Ghanaian father. She was previously a member of the groups Mouth Music and Ambisonic.
Rob Dickins is a British music industry executive, who currently holds a number of trustee and consultant positions in music and the arts in the United Kingdom. Dickins began his music industry career at Warner Music UK.
This page lists a discography of albums and extended plays released under or distributed by Def Jam Recordings, a division of Universal Music Group, which had been created in 1984. Records distributed by another label, but released under Def Jam, are also included or otherwise reviewed. Also included are albums or EPs that were released under Rush Associated Labels and subsidiaries like Original Black Recordings, DJ West, Def Soul, Disturbing tha Peace, Def Jam South, Roc-A-Fella Records, Murder Inc. Records, and GOOD Music.
Dharma Records is a British independent record label. Dharma Records was established in 2002 to run alongside its sister company Instant Karma. Dharma's first release was the top 5 hit single, "Mundian To Bach Ke”, by bhangra artist Panjabi MC.
"Impressive Instant" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 2000 studio album Music. Originally intended to be the fourth single of the album, the release was cancelled due to a disagreement between Madonna and her recording company. Finally Warner Bros. released it in the United States as a promotional single on September 18, 2001. Written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï, the track is bright and uplifting in its content and composition. It was the first song that Madonna and Ahmadzaï worked on and recorded. Ahmadzaï had to work separately on his laptop to generate the sound elements which Madonna wanted in the song, since it was difficult to generate the music in the recording studio. "Impressive Instant" has been described as a club-savvy acid techno, pop-trance, electropop and electro house stomper containing futuristic keyboard lines, with Madonna's vocals being distorted and robotic. Backed by laser noises and synths, the song's lyrics deal with love at first sight, and contains somewhat absurd, nonsensical lyrics.
The Alice Band were a pop group formed in 2000 by Rob Dickins and featured the artists Charity Hair from Florida, Amy Lindop from Glasgow and Audrey Nugent from Dublin. All three artists were vocalists and played guitar.
An independent record label is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented by trade associations in their country or region, which in turn are represented by the international trade body, the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN).