Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another label recently acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island having exerted a major influence on the progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. Island Records operates four international divisions: Island US, Island UK, Island Australia, and Island France. Current key people include Island US president Darcus Beese, OBE and MD Jon Turner. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels.
Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with record label 4AD and one with American Recordings, he left the label and formed a new band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He re-adopted the name Black Francis in 2007.
Thompson Twins were a British pop band formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around the world. In 1993, they changed their name to Babble, to reflect their change in music from pop to dub-influenced chill-out. They continued as Babble until 1996, at which point the group permanently broke up.
Our Lady Peace is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guitars, and Jason Pierce on drums. The band has sold several million albums worldwide, won four Juno Awards, and won ten MuchMusic Video Awards—the most MMVAs ever awarded to a band. Nineteen of their singles have reached the Top 10 on one of Canada's singles charts. Between 1996 and 2016, Our Lady Peace was the third best-selling Canadian band and the ninth best-selling Canadian artist overall in Canada.
The Unicorns were a Canadian rock band formed in the year 2000 by Nicholas Thorburn of British Columbia and Alden Penner of Quebec. J'aime Tambeur joined in December 2003. The band announced their split in late 2004, before reuniting for a short run of shows in 2014.
Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the other core members of the band are Justin Peroff (drums), Andrew Whiteman (guitar) and Charles Spearin (guitar).
Jim Guthrie is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded both as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Islands, Royal City and Human Highway. He has also composed music for TV ads and video games, and has scored multiple films including Indie Game: The Movie, A Short History of the Highrise, and The Bodybuilder and I.
Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? is the second and final studio album by Canadian indie rock band the Unicorns. It features several re-arranged versions of songs from their earlier self-released album Unicorns Are People Too. The album was first issued on CD and on vinyl in North America by Alien8 Recordings on October 21, 2003, and on CD in Europe by Rough Trade Records in 2004. It has since been repressed in limited quantities on pink and brown vinyl by Alien8 and was re-released on August 26, 2014 on the band's own label, Caterpillar Records.
Islands is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec. The group was founded in 2005 by Nicholas Thorburn and Jamie Thompson, shortly after the breakup of The Unicorns, of which both were members. Their current lineup includes Thorburn, often known by his stage name Nick Diamonds, along with brothers Evan Gordon and Geordie Gordon, and Adam Halferty. The band has released 8 studio albums, with their 8th album Islomania released on June 11, 2021.
Return to the Sea is the first studio album by Islands. It was released by Equator Records on 4 April 2006. "Rough Gem" was released as a single from the album. The remastered version of the album was released on 11 November 2016.
Nicholas Thorburn, also known by his stage name Nick Diamonds, is a Canadian musician originally from Campbell River. He has fronted numerous bands such as The Unicorns, Th' Corn Gangg, Islands, Reefer, and Human Highway.
Alden Penner is a Canadian musician and producer best known for his work with the Unicorns, Clues, and for his solo output.
Joseph E. Plummer is an American drummer from Portland, Oregon. From 2004 to 2012 Plummer was a percussionist and drummer for the indie rock band Modest Mouse and performed on their album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.
TTNG are a British math rock band from Oxford, formed in 2003, and currently signed to the American label Sargent House Records. Following numerous departures, the band went from being a four-piece to a trio, featuring Henry Tremain on bass and lead vocals, Tim Collis on guitar and his brother Chris Collis on drums. Their debut full-length album, Animals, was released in the UK via Big Scary Monsters Recording Company in October of 2008 and shortly after in the US via Sargent House Records. They have released four studio albums, as well as numerous EPs and singles.
Arm's Way is the second studio album by Montreal-based indie rock band Islands. It was released on May 20, 2008, on CD and download. The album's title is a play on the words "harm's way". The album leaked online on April 11, 2008.
Human Highway is a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario. It is composed of singer-songwriter Jim Guthrie and Nicholas Thorburn of the band Islands. Their style is influenced by 1960s and 1970s AM radio pop music.
Vapours is the third studio album by Montreal-based indie rock band, Islands. It was released on September 22, 2009. Talking to Pitchfork, singer Nick Diamonds stated how he stripped away many of the layers present on the previous Islands album, 2008's Arm's Way. "I needed to withdraw from overblown metaphors and filling every possible sonic space," said Diamonds. "So this record is just made up of sequenced programming, synths, drum machines, guitars, and real bass. And an electric sitar." In this album, Nick "Diamonds" began going by his real name, "Nick Thorburn" and original drummer Jamie Thompson returned to the band.
The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx, and formerly Baria Qureshi. They are known for their distinct and minimalist sound that blends indie rock, indie electronic, indie pop, dream pop and electro-rock and the dual vocalist setup of both Croft and Sim. Their music employs soft, echoed guitar, prominent bass, light electronic beats and ambient soundscape backgrounds.
Mister Heavenly is an indie rock supergroup consisting of Honus Honus of Man Man, Nicholas Thorburn of Islands and The Unicorns, and Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse and The Shins. They recorded their first album in late 2010, finishing the year with a string of tour dates supporting Passion Pit, joined by Michael Cera as their touring bassist. In January 2011, they released two songs, the eponymous "Mister Heavenly" and "Pineapple Girl". Their first album, Out of Love, was released August 16, 2011. On July 19, 2017, a brief "coming soon" video was posted on the official Mister Heavenly Facebook account teasing a new release. On July 26, 2017, their first single "Beat Down" from the new album titled Boxing the Moonlight was released on YouTube. The album was released October 2017.
"Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" is a charity record inspired by "Do They Know It's Christmas?". It was released on October 11, 2005, in Canada on Vice Records by a cast of rock artists and other performers under the name "North American Halloween Prevention Initiative" (NAHPI). It reached number four on the Canada pop chart.
