In 2022, celebrating their fifth anniversary, the label was extensively documented by online platforms such as Bleep,[1]Carhartt Work in Progress,[2] HHV,[3] The Ransom Note,[4] Threads Radio[5] and others.
The organisation also offers music publishing[9] (in partnership with the Wise Music Group) and label services, and has a live agency[10] wing that programmes tours and events for label-affiliated and other artists.
History
Background and founding
James Vella founded Phantom Limb in June 2017 following a long working history in independent music, having set up O Rosa Records in 2006 and Injazero Records (as a consultant) in 2016, and additionally working in A&R and international distribution for FatCat Records from 2008 to 2016. He is also an experienced musician, co-founding the band yndi halda and releasing solo records as A Lily. Vella invited fellow music industry professionals Ken Li (formerly of Thrill Jockey) and George Clift (director of the Hot Salvation record store, record label, and distributor) to join Phantom Limb. On its inauguration, Phantom Limb Touring - the organisation's live agency - was headed by Andrew Halliday, who left the company in 2023 and was replaced by Tommy de Nys. Former Mute Records Director of A&R Dean Wengrow joined in 2022 to run the company's label services division Five Worlds.
Phantom Limb's series include Spirituals, a digital-only imprint focussing on ambient and experimental music from around the world, with contributors as far flung as Georgia, South Korea, Nigeria, Taiwan, Iran, and Colombia.
Their Sun Language imprint exclusively releases reissues of works originally released in earlier periods, such as the Venezuelan electronic solo artist Miguel Noya and his works from the 1980's, Japanese musician K. Yoshimatsu and his home-recorded cassette albums originally released from 1981 to 1985, experimental poet Ellen Zweig and her spoken word recordings, and AztecNew Age duo Xochimoki, whose records were self-released in the early 1980's.
Geist im Kino is a soundtrack imprint, generally releasing film scores such as the soundtrack to 2022 Maltese movie Luzzu by The War on Drugs' Jon Natchez, but also including soundtracks to television productions, dance, theatre, ballet. With its Imaginal Soundtracking sub-series, Geist im Kino also releases rescores to older film works such as those by Kihachiro Kawamoto and Nazim Tulyakhodzayev.
Events
In 2023, to celebrate its fifth anniversary (which actually occurred the previous year), Phantom Limb curated a series of concerts in London and Amsterdam, including the Dutch premiere of Loraine James' tribute to Julius Eastman.
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