Murmur (record label)

Last updated

Murmur
Murmur logo.svg
Parent company Sony Music Entertainment
Founded1994 (1994)
Founder John Watson
John O'Donnell
Defunct2007 (2007)
StatusInactive
GenreVarious
Country of origin Australia

Murmur was a record label that started as an imprint of Sony Music Australia in mid-1994. Named after R.E.M.'s first album, Murmur signed a number of Australia's most successful rock bands, including Silverchair, Ammonia, Something for Kate and Jebediah. Notable alumni of Murmur include John O'Donnell, a former Rolling Stone journalist who became the head of EMI Australia, and John Watson, who runs a music management company and independent record label Eleven.

Contents

History

While the label was initially operated independently, it was eventually merged with Sony's head office in 1999. In 2007, Something for Kate, the label's only remaining act, released the final contractual album with Murmur. [1]

Roster 1994–2007

Notes

  1. Andrew Murfett (7 September 2007). "Something for Kate – Gig Previews & reviews". The Age . Retrieved 5 October 2007.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Something for Kate</span> Australian alternative rock band

Something for Kate are an Australian alternative rock band, which formed in 1994 with Paul Dempsey on lead vocals and guitar, and Clint Hyndman on drums. They were joined in 1998 by Stephanie Ashworth on bass guitar and backing vocals. The group have released seven studio albums: both The Official Fiction (2003) and Desert Lights (2006) topped the ARIA Albums Chart; while Beautiful Sharks (1999), Echolalia (2001) and Leave Your Soul to Science (2012) reached the top 10. Two of their singles have reached the ARIA top 20: "Monsters" (2001) and "Déjà Vu" (2003). The band have received a total of 11 nominations for ARIA Music Awards in 1999, 2001 and 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverchair</span> Australian rock band

Silverchair was an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, Ben Gillies on drums, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo competition conducted by SBS TV show Nomad and ABC radio station Triple J. The band was signed by Murmur and were successful in Australia and internationally. Silverchair has sold over 10 million albums worldwide.

<i>Frogstomp</i> 1995 album by Silverchair

Frogstomp is the debut studio album by Australian rock band Silverchair. It was released on 27 March 1995, when the band members were only 15 years of age, by record label Murmur. The album features the band's commercially most successful single, "Tomorrow".

<i>Neon Ballroom</i> 1999 album by Silverchair

Neon Ballroom is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair, released in 1999 by record labels Murmur and Epic. The songs "Anthem for the Year 2000", "Ana's Song " and "Miss You Love" were released as singles and a short film was released for the song "Emotion Sickness". Neon Ballroom debuted at No. 1 on the Australian albums chart and peaked at No. 50 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was also their most successful album on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 29. The album was nominated for 10 ARIA Awards and was certified Triple Platinum by the ARIA for selling over 210,000 copies in Australia. The album has been described as "heavy rock with orchestral flourishes and synthetic touches with powerfully emotional lyrics" that reflects the personal demons of frontman Daniel Johns, due to the band's rapid international success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jebediah</span> Australian alternative rock band

Jebediah are an Australian alternative rock band formed in 1994 in Perth, Western Australia. They were formed by Chris Daymond on lead guitar, Kevin Mitchell on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and Vanessa Thornton on bass guitar. They were joined a year later by Kevin's older brother, Brett Mitchell, on drums. After winning the National Campus Band Competition, the group were brought to national attention when their 1996 single "Jerks of Attention" received heavy airplay on Australian alternative radio station Triple J – which was followed by their breakthrough debut album, Slightly Odway.

<i>Braxton Hicks</i> (album) 2004 studio album by Jebediah

Braxton Hicks is the fourth studio album by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah. It was recorded between January and February 2004 and released on 12 July 2004 by record label Redline, a defunct independent record label that was co-owned by the band, making it the band's first independent release.

The 17th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 21 October 2003 at the Sydney Superdome. The ceremony aired on Network Ten.

<i>Jebediah</i> (album) 2002 studio album by Jebediah

Jebediah is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah. It was recorded at Mangrove Studios, outside Sydney with producer Magoo, and released on 3 March 2002 by record label Murmur.

<i>Glee Sides and Sparities</i> 2003 compilation album of B-sides and Rarities by Jebediah

Glee Sides and Sparities is a 2003 compilation album by Australian alternative rock band, Jebediah. The compilation contains eighteen rare tracks and B-sides and the band did not record any further material with the Murmur label following its release.

<i>Twitch</i> (EP) 1996 EP by Jebediah

Twitch is an EP, and the first official release, by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah. It was released on 5 August 1996 by record label Murmur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ammonia (band)</span>

Ammonia was an alternative rock band from Australia which made a name for itself in the 1990s, producing a mixture of grunge and guitar pop. The group began in 1992, initially comprising guitarist Dave Johnstone, drummer Alan Balmont and bass guitar player Phil Natt. This line-up performed under the name Fuzzswirl and, following the departure of Natt, they continued to perform with a variety of bass guitar players around their hometown of Perth. In 1993, when the bass guitarist Simon Hensworth joined the group, the name was changed to Ammonia. The band was considering the name "Glorious Noise Earthquake", but selected Ammonia for its simplicity after Hensworth stumbled across the word in a science textbook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluebottle Kiss</span> Australian indie rock band

Bluebottle Kiss, sometimes known as BBK, are an Australian indie rock band formed in Sydney in 1993 by mainstay member Jamie Hutchings on guitar and vocals. The band issued six albums, Higher Up the Firetrails (1995), Fear of Girls (1996), Patient (1999), Revenge Is Slow (2002), Come Across (2003) and Doubt Seeds (2006) before their split in 2007.

John O'Donnell is a long-standing member of the Australian music industry. Starting as a freelance writer, he eventually became the music editor of Rolling Stone Australia before leaving to co-found and edit Juice Magazine.

Eleven: A Music Company is an Australian record label and management company known for its small but successful roster, currently including Birds of Tokyo, Cold Chisel, Dustin Tebbutt, Gotye, Midnight Oil, Missy Higgins, Paul Mac, Peter Garrett, The Presets, and Silverchair. The company was founded on 11 November 2000 by artist manager, John Watson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Time (Jebediah song)</span> 2004 single by Jebediah

"First Time" is a song by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah. It was released in May 2004 as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album, Braxton Hicks and reached number 50 on the Australian ARIA Singles Charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomorrow (Silverchair song)</span> 1994 single by Silverchair

"Tomorrow" is a song by Australian rock band Silverchair, which was released on 16 September 1994 on their debut extended play album, also titled Tomorrow. The song was later released on Frogstomp, the band's debut studio album, in 1995. Written by lead singer and guitarist Daniel Johns and drummer Ben Gillies, it was produced and engineered by Phil McKellar at the national radio station Triple J's studios for SBS-TV's show, Nomad, which aired on 16 June 1994. After the broadcast the band were signed to the Murmur label – a Sony Music subsidiary – which subsequently issued the Tomorrow EP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harpoon (Jebediah song)</span> 1998 single by Jebediah

Harpoon is a song by Australian alternative rock band Jebediah. It was released in June 1998 as the fourth and final single from the band's debut studio album,Slightly Odway and peaked at number 46 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.

<i>Sleepwalking</i> (EP) 1995 EP by Ammonia

Sleepwalking is the second release by Ammonia, released in March 1995. The EP reached No. 86 on the Australian singles chart.

<i>100 Best Australian Albums</i> 2010 book by John ODonnell

The 100 Best Australian Albums is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books. Sony Music has released a five CD compilation to support the book.

The Channel V Oz Artist of the Year was an annual award presented by Channel V Australia and is voted by the Australian public, and is awarded to the artist on the same day as the annual ARIA Music Awards presentation events. Since its inauguration in 1997, Silverchair has won the Artist of the Year award for six consecutive years, from 1997 to 2002.