Nabil Ayers | |
---|---|
Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, author, musician |
Instrument(s) | Drums |
Labels | Beggars Group, 4AD, The Control Group, V2, Mercury, Barsuk |
Website | www |
Nabil Ayers is an American music industry entrepreneur, author, musician and podcast host.
Ayers' debut memoir, My Life in the Sunshine, was published by Viking Press on June 7, 2022. The book focuses on Ayers' relationship with his father, the jazz musician Roy Ayers, growing up as a mixed-race person in America, and Ayers' life in the music industry. [1] The title, My Life in the Sunshine, is a reference to the Roy Ayers song, "Everybody Loves the Sunshine." [2] In a June 4, 2022 CBS Saturday Morning segment, Ayers, when asked about how the memoir portrays his father, stated, "In the end, it's positive. It's about all the great things he's given me, even though he hasn't been part of my life." [3] My Life in the Sunshine has received accolades from author/musician, Michelle Zauner, who said the book "ultimately redefines what it means to be a family." Ashley C. Ford, John Hodgman also gave praise, and Rolling Stone, called the book "[an] affecting new memoir." [4] [5]
As a writer, Ayers is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, People, GQ, Huffington Post, and The Root, among others. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] His writing is often autobiographic, and touches on topics of music and race.
In June 2024, Ayers launched the new podcast, Identified, which focuses on family and identity. Some of the musicians, authors, comedians, and actors Ayers has interviewed on Identified include Dawn Richard, Hrishikesh Hirway, Ione Skye, Geoff Rickly, Reggie Watts, and Nate Mendel. [14] In the podcast trailer, Ayers states his reason for starting the podcast toward the end of his eighteen-month-long book tour: "I felt a persistent desire to continue exploring stories of family, shifting the focus from my own experiences to those of others. On "Identified, we'll engage with authors, musicians, and people from a diversity of backgrounds to unravel what family means to them." [15]
With over 30 years of experience in the music industry, Ayers is the current U.S. President of the UK-based Beggars Group of record labels, assuming the role in early 2022 after his work for 4AD where he had served as the label's U.S. General Manager since 2009. [16] [17] While with 4AD, he led album campaigns for Grimes, Big Thief, St. Vincent, Purity Ring, Deerhunter, Tune-Yards, Future Islands, The Breeders, and The National, whose album Sleep Well Beast won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. [18] Ayers served on the Recording Academy's Board of Trustees from 2022-2024, and previously served as a two-term elected Governor. Ayers is continually named one of Billboard Magazine's Indie Power Players, earning a spot on the list each year from 2019-2024. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]
Ayers co-founded Seattle’s Sonic Boom Records store with his business partner, Jason Hughes in 1997. Sonic Boom has been named one of the best record stores in America by Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal and SPIN Magazine, and has been profiled by NPR, The New York Times and The Seattle Times. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] In July 2016, it was announced that Sonic Boom Records was sold to a longtime customer. [29] After the sale, Ayers wrote a memoir about the store that was published in Seattle newspaper, The Stranger. [30]
In 2002, Ayers founded the independent record label The Control Group where he has released music by Lykke Li, Cate Le Bon, and El Perro del Mar. In 2018, Ayers founded the independent record label Valley of Search to reissue his uncle Alan Braufman's album of the same name. The label has gone on to release music by Tomas Nordmark and Patricia Brennan. [31] As a drummer, he has performed with various acts, most recently The Long Winters and Tommy Stinson.
He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, where Brooklyn Magazine named Ayers #7 in a list of "The 100 Most Influential People In Brooklyn Culture.” [17]
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City and formed in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo remained together for the entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley (drums) followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, rounding out the core line-up. Jim O'Rourke was also a member of the band from 1999 to 2005, and Mark Ibold was a member from 2006 to 2011.
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moore was ranked 34th in Rolling Stone's 2004 edition of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced.
Pavement is an American indie rock band that formed in Stockton, California, in 1989. For most of their career, the group consisted of Stephen Malkmus, Scott Kannberg, Mark Ibold (bass), Steve West (drums), and Bob Nastanovich. Initially conceived as a recording project, the band at first avoided press or live performances, while attracting considerable underground attention with their early releases. Gradually evolving into a more polished band, Pavement recorded five full-length albums and ten EPs over the course of their decade-long career, though they disbanded with some acrimony in 1999 as the members moved on to other projects. In 2010, they undertook a well-received reunion tour, followed by another international tour in 2022–24.
Mark William Lanegan was an American singer, songwriter and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age and The Gutter Twins. He released 12 solo studio albums as well as three collaboration albums with Isobel Campbell and two with Duke Garwood. He was known for his baritone voice, which was described as being "as scratchy as a three-day beard yet as supple and pliable as moccasin leather" and has been compared to Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave.
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991 is a book by Michael Azerrad. It chronicles the careers of several underground rock bands who, while finding little or no mainstream success, were hugely influential in establishing American alternative and indie rock, mostly through nearly constant touring and records released on small, regional independent record labels. Azerrad conducted many interviews with band members, and also conducted extensive research of old fanzines, as well as more mainstream newspapers and books.
Sonic Temple is the fourth studio album by British rock band The Cult, released on 10 April 1989. The album features some of the band's most popular songs, including "Fire Woman" and "Edie ". Sonic Temple was the last album recorded with longtime bassist Jamie Stewart, who left in 1990, and the first to feature session drummer Mickey Curry.
The Long Winters are an American indie rock band based in Seattle, Washington.
The National is an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1999. The band consists of Matt Berninger (vocals), twin brothers Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner, as well as brothers Scott Devendorf (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). During live performances, the band is joined by longtime touring members, Ben Lanz and Kyle Resnick. Carin Besser, the wife of Berninger, is not a band member but has written lyrics for the band alongside her husband since its 2007 album Boxer.
The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) is a trade association that represents independent record labels in the United States, founded in 2005. A2IM is headquartered in New York City, with chapters located in Nashville, Chicago, Northern California, Southern California, and the Pacific Northwest. Among other events, they organize the annual Libera Awards.
George Ryan Bingham is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose music spans multiple genres. He is currently based in Los Angeles. As of 2019, Bingham has released six studio albums and one live album, the last four of which were released under his own label, Axster Bingham Records.
Martin Mills is the founder and chairman of the Beggars Group.
Alien Crime Syndicate, often abbreviated to ACS, were a rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1997. From 1999 to the band's breakup in 2005, the lineup consisted primarily of Joe Reineke, Jeff Rouse, Nabil Ayers (drums), while guitarists Jason Krevey, Mike Squires and Mike Davis were also members of the band.
Nabil Elderkin is an American-born Australian film and music video director and photographer, who is of Iranian and American descent. He is mononymously credited as Nabil in his videos. Elderkin has directed videos for musical artists such as: Dua Lipa, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, John Legend, and Foals. Born in Chicago and raised in Australia, he is most recently based in Los Angeles, California.
The Head and the Heart is an American indie folk band. They were formed in the summer of 2009 by Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell. The band also includes Charity Rose Thielen, Chris Zasche (bass), Kenny Hensley (piano), and Tyler Williams (drums). The band is signed to Warner Bros. Records and have released five albums. Their fifth and most recent studio album, Every Shade of Blue, was released April 29, 2022.
The Lemons was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1991. The first lineup of the group consisted of Jimmy Paulson, Greg Lovell (guitar), Brent Saunders (bass) and Jeff Ramirez (drums). Ramirez was soon replaced by Rob Cunningham and the band released their debut album entitled Marvel in 1993.
John Sturgill Simpson, also known as Johnny Blue Skies, is an American country music singer-songwriter and actor. As of February 2022, he has released seven albums as a solo artist. Simpson's style has been met with critical favor and frequent comparisons to outlaw country.
Sonic Boom Records is an independent record store located in Seattle, Washington. The store was opened by Jason Hughes and Nabil Ayers on September 26, 1997. Between 1997 and 2014, Sonic Boom had expanded to three locations in Seattle and currently has one location at 2209 NW Market Street in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.
Snail Mail is the American indie rock solo project of guitarist and singer-songwriter Lindsey Erin Jordan. Originally from Ellicott City, Maryland, Jordan first performed as Snail Mail live in 2015 at the age of 15, and attracted attention with the EP Habit in 2016. After signing with Matador Records, Snail Mail released her debut studio album, Lush (2018), to critical acclaim. In 2021, Snail Mail followed up with her second album, Valentine, to further critical recognition.
Alan Michael Braufman ; born May 22, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York, United States), is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer.