PC Music | |
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Founded | June 25, 2013 |
Founder | A. G. Cook |
Genre | |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Location | London |
Official website | pcmusic |
PC Music is a record label and art collective based in London and run by producer A. G. Cook. [1] It was founded in 2013, uploading its first releases to SoundCloud that year. [2] Artists on its roster have included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L Harle, Easyfun (now Finn Keane), Namasenda, and Planet 1999. The label's releases have been showcased on the compilations PC Music Volume 1 (2015), Volume 2 (2016), and Volume 3 (2022). Following a decade-long run, since 2024 the label is now only dedicated to archival projects and special reissues. [3]
The label is known for its surreal or exaggerated take on pop music tropes from the 1990s and 2000s, [4] often featuring pitch-shifted, feminine vocals and bright, synthetic textures. [5] PC Music has been characterized as embracing the aesthetics of advertising, consumerism, and corporate branding. [5] Its artists often present devised personas inspired by cyberculture. [6] The label has inspired both praise and criticism from journalists, and has been called "polarizing". [7]
The label functions as a collective in which acts frequently collaborate with each other. [1] Many of the acts are aliases, obscuring the identities and number of artists on the label. [8] Early on, the label kept tight control over its branding and limited its interaction with journalists, [9] and as its profile grew, Cook declined to engage with press, described as a sort of Berry Gordy figure within the group. [10] Vice magazine said that PC Music's acts are best understood not as living people but as "meticulously planned and considered long-running art pieces…living installations who put out music." [11] Cook mentioned preference for "recording people who don't normally make music and treating them as if they're a major label artist." [12] Rather than engaging in extended promotional campaigns, the label continually announces new acts. [1] Each develops a persona that is conveyed through Internet slang and cartoon imagery. [6]
Cook had previously worked on Gamsonite, a "pseudo-label" and blog collecting his early collaborations, among other projects while studying music at Goldsmiths, University of London. [13] He founded PC Music in August 2013, as a way of embracing an A&R role. [12] Within a year the label had published 40 songs on SoundCloud where, as of September 2014, some of its songs had accumulated over 100,000 listens. [2] [6] It had not released a physical single, [2] and its first paid download did not come until the November 2014 release of Hannah Diamond's "Every Night". [14] QT's "Hey QT" single was also released in 2014, on XL Recordings, with production from Cook and PC Music-affiliate Sophie. [15]
In March 2014, the label made their live debut in the United States when Cook, Sophie and QT performed at Hype Machine's Hype Hotel during South by Southwest. [16] The following year, in March 2015, several members of the collective appeared at a label showcase at South by Southwest. [17] Cook described it as a "rebirth moment" for the group, moving toward functioning as a real record label. [18] Shortly after, they released their first official compilation album, titled PC Music Volume 1 . [19] On 8 May 2015, PC Music artists performed at BRIC House in Brooklyn, New York as part of the Red Bull Music Academy Festival, to premiere Pop Cube, "a multimedia reality network". [20]
On 21 October 2015, the label announced on Facebook a partnership with major record label Columbia Records. The first release through this partnership was an EP from Danny L Harle. [22] In December 2015 PC Music released the single "Only You", a collaboration between A. G. Cook and the Chinese pop star Chris Lee, with a music video directed by Kinga Burza. [23]
On 18 November 2016, PC Music released PC Music Volume 2, a compilation featuring most of the label's roster. A review in The Guardian praised it for being "more beautiful and progressive than ever before" and proof that "Cook and his gang are the cleverest, most thoughtful people in British pop". [24]
On 16 February 2018, PC Music released a limited dual-vinyl compilation of both PC Music Volumes 1 and 2 [25] and in December 2018, PC Music announced new vinyl and CD reissues of PC Music Volumes 1 and 2, as well as the first physical release of the label's Month of Mayhem compilation. [26]
On 25 June 2023, the label's 10th anniversary, PC Music announced that 2023 would be the label's final year of new releases, and from 2024, the label would be dedicated to archival projects and special reissues. Coinciding this announcement was the release of a mixtape featuring the work of many PC Music artists. [27]
PC Music's final new release was Thy Slaughter's debut album Soft Rock, released December 1, 2023. [28] The album featured appearances from Alaska Reid, Caroline Polachek, Ellie Rowsell, and Charli xcx, as well as additional songwriting from Alma, Patrik Berger, Noonie Bao, and Sophie. [29]
The label has released music with a consistent sound that Clive Martin, writing for Vice, described as "A playful composite of disregarded sounds and genres". [1] Lanre Bakare, writing for The Guardian, identified the music's elements as "the huge synth blasts favoured by Eurodance chart-botherers such as Cascada, grime's sub-bass, and happy hardcore's high-pitched vocal range". [9] The styles and influences of music incorporated include bubblegum dance, Balearic trance, wonky and electro house. Cook cites Korean & Japanese pop music and gyaru culture, as well as the production work of Max Martin and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. [12] His production involves layering discordant sounds on top of each other to produce chaotic mixes, [12] similar to the techniques used in black MIDI music. [8] Abrupt shifts in timbre and rhythm are used to create multiple perspectives of a personality. [30] Cook also indirectly cites American musician Conlon Nancarrow as a source of inspiration in the PC Music Pop Cube Trailer 1. [31]
PC Music's songwriting often deals with consumerism as a theme. In their take on haul videos, [32] Lipgloss Twins include references to fashion and makeup brands. [33] Vocals on the label's mix for DIS Magazine reflect various forms of marketing: producer ID tags, film trailers, and product placement for a sponsor. [8] [33] The label brings in inexperienced singers to record its songs. [13] It thoroughly processes the vocals, shifting the pitch upward or chopping it to use as a rhythmic element. [12] [8] These distortions create a post-ironic representation of consumerism, money, and sex. [34]
PC Music's aesthetic combines elements of cuteness, camp, and kawaii, [1] [9] [33] though often, as music critic Maurice Marion points out for Rare Candy, with a sinister, Lynchian undertone achieved by dissonant inversions and caustic harmonization. [35] Critics likened the label to Ryan Trecartin in its irregular pacing and valley girl slang. [36] In a piece for Vice, Ryan Bassil suggested that PC Music's style allows for a more candid expression of emotions. [6]
PC Music has been described as less "macho" take on the "house revival", [9] bringing "playfulness and femininity" [1] to dance music subculture. The availability of music software has allowed for the spread of high-production dance music by independent musicians, particularly on SoundCloud. PC Music often exaggerates the homogenised, high-fidelity aesthetics of these songs. [36] Vogue deputy editor Alex Frank commented that the overt manipulation of cultural references showcased a cynical sense of humour, creating an insular approach to making dance music during a period of house revival. [37]
In the late 2010s, the term "hyperpop" began to be used as a microgenre referring to music associated with the PC Music label and the artists it influenced. [38]
As PC Music became more prominent in 2014, the reaction to it was often described as "divisive". [9] [11] Joe Moynihan, writing in Fact , remarked that "PC Music have, in just over a year, released some of the most compelling pop music in recent memory." Some critics have found its high-tempo trance sound artless or aggravating. [8]
PC Music received accolades in several 2014 year-end summaries. Dazed included A. G. Cook at number 12 in their "Dazed 100"; [39] Fact named PC Music the best label of 2014; [40] The Huffington Post included PC Music at number 3 in their "Underrated Albums - 2014"; [41] Resident Advisor included PC Music at number 4 in their "Top Labels of The Year" in 2014; [42] and Tiny Mix Tapes included it in their "Favorite 15 Labels of 2014". [43] Spin magazine named PC Music its "Trend of the Year" for 2014. [44] In 2021, The Forty-Five named several PC Music artists – including A.G. Cook, umru and Hannah Diamond – in their list of the best hyperpop songs of all time. [45]
PC Music have produced a number of label focused showcases since their inception. After a brief showcase at SXSW in 2015, on 8 May 2015, PC Music launched a "multimedia reality network" called 'Pop Cube'. An event in conjunction with the network was created and became part of the Red Bull Music Academy Festival in New York, which quickly sold out. [46] In May 2016, PC Music presented 'Pop Cosmos' at the Scala in London, featuring Danny L Harle, Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, A. G. Cook, Felicita, Easyfun and Spinee. [47] In July 2016 PC Music held a new one-off event called 'Pop City' at Create in Los Angeles. As well as scheduled performances from PC Music performers, the show featured guests, including Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli xcx, and QT. [48] On the 405 webzine, PC Music’s live shows have been described as being surrounded by a care-less authentic aura and have been recognised for their "forward-thinking fearlessness to push pop music into new and daring areas". [49]
Artists previously signed to the label
Artists with only one solo release on the label
Group projects and alternative aliases on the label
Vocalists and other featured artists on the label
Artists with at least one remixed release by an artist on the label
Timeline
Title | Album details |
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PC Music Volume 1 |
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PC Music Volume 2 | |
PC Music Volumes 1 & 2 | |
Month of Mayhem |
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Appleville (Golden Ticket) |
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Pop Crypt (Skeleton Key) |
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Pop Caroler's Songbook |
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PC Music Volume 3 |
|
Away From Keyboard [file not found] |
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Title | Album details |
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Pop Carol (Free Present with RSVP) |
|
Charlotte Emma Aitchison, known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, Charli XCX began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. She signed a recording contract with Asylum Records in 2010, releasing a series of singles and mixtapes throughout 2011 and 2012. She later featured on "I Love It" with Swedish duo Icona Pop, with the song becoming her first number-one in the UK and receiving global success. Her debut studio album, True Romance (2013), was released to positive reviews but failed to meet commercial expectations.
English singer Charli XCX has released six studio albums, five mixtapes, three extended plays, one live album, one soundtrack album, one remix album, two DJ mixes, 48 singles, and 13 promotional singles. In 2007, XCX began recording her debut album on a loan granted by her parents. Titled 14, after her age at the time, it received only a restricted public release. Two singles, "!Franchesckaar!" and double A-side "Emelline" / "Art Bitch", were released in late 2008 under Orgy Music. In June 2012, Charli XCX released her first mixtape, titled Heartbreaks and Earthquakes, a one-track file consisting of eight songs. A second mixtape, titled Super Ultra, was released in November of the same year. Charli XCX's major-label debut studio album, True Romance, was released in April 2013, and peaked at number 85 on the UK Albums Chart. While failing to appear on any main album charts internationally, the album reached number five on the Heatseekers Albums chart in the United States and number 11 on the ARIA Hitseekers chart in Australia. The album spawned five singles—"Stay Away", "Nuclear Seasons", "You're the One", "You " and "What I Like". In 2012, Charli XCX was featured on Icona Pop's song "I Love It", which peaked at number one in the UK and reached the top 10 in various countries including the US, Canada, Ireland and Germany.
Caroline Elizabeth Polachek is an American singer, producer, and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek cofounded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late-2000s Brooklyn music scene with the sleeper hit "Bruises". In 2014, she released her first solo project, Arcadia, as Ramona Lisa. Under CEP, she released Drawing the Target Around the Arrow in 2017.
Sophie Xeon, known mononymously as SOPHIE, was an English music producer, songwriter, and DJ. Her work is known for its brash take on pop music and is distinguished by experimental sound design, "sugary" synthesized textures, and incorporation of underground dance styles. It would help pioneer the 2010s hyperpop microgenre.
Alexander Guy Cook is an English music producer and the head of the now-closed UK record label PC Music. Cook released his first solo singles in 2014. He has also collaborated with PC Music artists such as Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Finn Keane, Danny L Harle and Felicita. He formed the one-off project QT with musician Sophie and performance artist Hayden Dunham, producing the 2014 single "Hey QT".
Hannah Amond, known professionally as Hannah Diamond, is an English singer, songwriter, photographer, and visual artist. She has recorded on A.G. Cook's PC Music label since 2013, beginning with her debut single "Pink and Blue". Her music and visual art employs an aesthetic of hyperreality and heavily produced cuteness in tension with sincerity.
Daniel Jack Eisner Harle is a British music producer and composer who records under the name Danny L Harle. He was formerly signed to the London-based PC Music label and is a member of Dux Content with A. G. Cook. He has produced, composed, and remixed music for a number of artists; most prominently, he executive produced Caroline Polachek's 2019 album Pang and 2023 album Desire, I Want to Turn Into You. He released his debut album Harlecore (2021) through the label Mad Decent, featuring collaborations with Polachek, Hudson Mohawke, and Lil Data.
Thy Slaughter is a British musical duo formed in 2014 that consists of producers A. G. Cook and Finn Keane under Cook's label PC Music. In 2014, the duo released only one original song, "Bronze", which appeared in the label's debut compilation album the next year. They did not release any new music until their 2023 debut album, Soft Rock, less than a month prior to the label switching to archival releases only.
Number 1 Angel is the third mixtape by English singer Charli XCX, released on 10 March 2017 by Asylum Records. The mixtape contains ten tracks and was created in Los Angeles as a collaboration with producer A. G. Cook, the founder of PC Music. Several other producers associated with the label also contributed to the mixtape, including Sophie, who previously produced Charli XCX's extended play Vroom Vroom. Musically, it has been labeled as avant-pop and electropop.
Pop 2 is the fourth mixtape by English singer Charli XCX, released on 15 December 2017 by Asylum Records. Executively produced by A. G. Cook of PC Music, sessions for the mixtape began several months before its release and featured a wide variety of guest contributions. The mixtape was backed by its only single "Out of My Head" featuring Alma and Tove Lo, released exactly one week before its release.
Charli is the third studio album by English singer Charli XCX. It was released through Asylum and Atlantic Records UK on 13 September 2019. Charli was preceded by the singles "1999" with Troye Sivan, "Blame It on Your Love" featuring Lizzo, and "Gone" with Christine and the Queens. Charli was also promoted by the promotional singles "Cross You Out" featuring Sky Ferreira, "Warm" featuring Haim, "February 2017" featuring Clairo and Yaeji, and "2099" also featuring Sivan. Musically, it has been described as avant-pop, electropop, futurepop, and hyperpop.
"Click" is a song by English singer Charli XCX featuring German singer Kim Petras and Estonian rave rapper Tommy Cash from Charli XCX's third studio album Charli (2019).
Pang is the third overall solo studio album by American singer-songwriter and producer Caroline Polachek, and her first album to be under her own name. It was released by Sony Music, The Orchard, and Polachek's imprint Perpetual Novice on October 18, 2019. The album received critical acclaim from and was placed on several critics' year-end lists, topping Dazed's list. Commercially, Pang peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and number 40 on the Independent Albums chart, making it Polachek's first charting solo album.
Finn Keane, previously known as Easyfun, is a British songwriter and record producer. He is known for his frequent collaborations with Charli XCX, his releases on experimental pop label PC Music, and his work with the label's founder A. G. Cook in the duo Thy Slaughter. His work with Charli XCX has earned him two nominations at the Grammy Awards; Album of the Year for Brat and Best Dance Pop Recording for "Von Dutch".
"Ringtone" is a song by American experimental musical duo 100 gecs, composed of Dylan Brady and Laura Les, from 100 Gecs' debut studio album 1000 Gecs (2019). Its remix, included on their remix album 1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues (2020), features vocals from British singer Charli XCX, American rapper Rico Nasty, and British singer Sarah Bonito of the indie pop band Kero Kero Bonito. The song is a remix of "Ringtone". The song's production is glitchy with "80's video game-inspired blips" and uses heavy bass and Auto-Tune.
how i'm feeling now is the fourth studio album by English singer Charli XCX, released on 15 May 2020. Released eight months after her previous LP, Charli (2019), the album was conceived in the span of six weeks during the COVID-19 lockdown in a "do it yourself" collaborative process with her fans. Charli XCX, A. G. Cook and BJ Burton served as the album's executive producers.
English producer A. G. Cook has released three studio albums, one remix album, one mixtape, one extended play and 15 singles. In 2012, Cook released the classical style piano album Disklavier Concert 1, with fellow labelmate Danny L Harle, Spencer Noble and Tim Phillips, under the moniker "Dux Consort". In 2013, Cook released the album Lifestyle with labelmate Danny L Harle, under the moniker "Dux Content". He also released his debut EP Nu Jack Swung. Cook would not release a full-length solo project until 2020, where he released his two debut studio albums, 7G and Apple.
Hyperpop is a loosely defined electronic music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated in the United Kingdom during the early 2010s. It is characterised by an exaggerated or maximalist take on popular music, and typically integrates pop and avant-garde sensibilities while drawing on elements commonly found in electronic, hip hop, and dance music.
Apple vs. 7G is the debut remix album by British producer A. G. Cook. It compiles reworked versions of songs from his first two albums 7G and Apple, both released in 2020. It was released on 28 May 2021 by Cook's label PC Music. A deluxe "Silver Edition" includes 7 extra tracks and is exclusively available for purchase on Bandcamp. Many of the remixes featured were premiered on various compilation albums, DJ mixes or hidden zip files prior to Apple vs. 7G's release. The album was promoted by seven singles.
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