Psyche Industry Records

Last updated
Psyche Industry Records
Founded1984 (1984)
FounderDan Webster
Randy Boyd [1]
Genre Alternative, indie, punk rock, hardcore punk
Country of originFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Location Montreal, Quebec

Psyche Industry Records was the leading alternative, punk and hardcore independent record label in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the beginning of the 80's. [2] The music label was established in 1984 on Cartier Street by show promoter Dan Webster and Randy Boyd [3] and released mostly records by Montreal bands, but with many exceptions, some artists who appeared on compilations including Porcelain Forehead and Direct Action (on Primitive Air Raid), as well as most of the artists on It Came from the Pit, and solo releases by Groovy Religion and NoMeansNo. [1] [4]

Contents

History

Webster and Boyd started Psyche Industry Records [3] as the Musicians Promotional Assistance Society, putting out the legendary Primitive Air Raid compilation featuring mostly Montreal punk and alternative bands, but also bands from elsewhere in Canada, in 1984. This first release was mostly paid for by a benefit show entitled Freedom 84, which took place on June 16, 1984, at Salle Louis De France on Rue Duluth in Montreal. In 1985, the label released another compilation, which was more alternative, avantguarde and industrial leaning, entitled "Panic, Panic". Psyche Industry also re-released the Asexuals first LP, "Be What You Want", that had been released on First Strike Records in 1984 but was out of print. [5] They released a total of eight LP's in 1985, including records by Montreal legends The Nils, Asexuals, S.C.U.M., Disappointed a Few People and NoMeansNo before folding in 1987.

Boyd went on to be a partner in Cargo Records.

Discography

[6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psyche (band)</span> Canadian dark synthpop band

Psyche are a Canadian dark synth-pop band, now based in Germany. They are centered on singer Darrin Huss, who has been the only constant member, with various line-ups including his brother Stephen Huss, later followed by David Kristian, Per-Anders Kurenbach, and Remi Szyszka, all recording albums with Darrin under the name Psyche.

Mystic Records is an American record label and music production company specializing in hardcore punk, crossover thrash, underground music, vintage and cult records. It is owned and operated by Doug Moody. The label was first established in Hollywood, California, and subsequently moved its operations to Oceanside, California. Mystic Records is an independent label and is a member of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Balance</span> English musician and poet (1962–2004)

Geoffrey Nigel Laurence Rushton, better known under the pseudonyms John Balance or the later variation Jhonn Balance, was an English musician, occultist, artist and poet.

The Miracle Workers were a rock and roll band in the 1980s, who began as a garage rock revival band in Portland, Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Farm (British band)</span> British band from Liverpool

The Farm are a British band from Liverpool. Their first album, Spartacus, reached the top position on the UK Albums Chart when it was released in March 1991; Spartacus 30 was released in 2021 to commemorate the anniversary. Spartacus includes two songs which had been top 10 singles the year before. In 2012, they toured with their Spartacus Live shows and formed part of the Justice Tonight Band, supporting the Stone Roses at Heaton Park, Phoenix Park, Lyon and Milan. The Justice Collective had the 2012 Christmas number one with their recording of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rational Youth</span> Canadian new wave synthpop band

Rational Youth was a Canadian new wave synth-pop band that was originally active between 1981 and 1986, and at various points up until the end of 2021.

<i>Brave New Waves</i> Canadian radio program

Brave New Waves was a Canadian radio program which aired on CBC Stereo, later known as CBC Radio 2, from 1984 to 2007. Airing overnight five nights a week, the show profiled alternative and indie music and culture, including film, comics, literature and art. The show was once described by longtime host Brent Bambury as "explaining fringe culture to a comfortable mainstream audience," and by his successor Patti Schmidt as "invented with an idea of what John Peel's show was, but without ever having heard it."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Gabriel Fischer</span> Swiss musician

Thomas Gabriel Fischer, also known by the stage names Tom Warrior and Satanic Slaughter, is a Swiss musician. He led the extreme metal groups Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, and today is the frontman of the band Triptykon.

Luba is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and recording artist from Montreal. She was professionally active from 1980 to 1990, 2000 to 2001, and is active again as of 2007. At the beginning of her career, Luba performed with the traditional Ukrainian music group Via Zorya, with whom she released a self-titled album in 1973. In the 1980s, she sang with her own band, Luba, which released the album Chain Reaction in 1980. She went on to have a solo career using the mononym Luba. Two of her albums have been certified Platinum by the Canadian music industry. She has had nine top-40 hits on the Canadian pop charts. Her most successful song is a cover of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman", which reached number 6 on the Canadian pop chart and number 3 on the Canadian adult contemporary chart, in 1987.

<i>Sex Mad</i> 1986 studio album by Nomeansno

Sex Mad is the second full-length album by Canadian punk rock band NoMeansNo. Released in 1986, it is both the first Nomeansno LP to feature long-time guitarist Andy Kerr in addition to founding members Rob Wright and John Wright and the first Nomeansno album issued through Alternative Tentacles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Og Music</span>

Og Music was a small but influential independent record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Genetic Control is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Montreal, Quebec, whose "First Impressions" single is a sought after disc for punk record collectors worldwide. They existed from 1983 to 1985, and reunited in 1998. They played with many bands such as the Dead Kennedys, GBH and Suicidal Tendencies. They were known for the comical disguises they wore on stage.

Fatal Charm is a post-punk turned alternative rock band that formed in Nottingham, England in 1978.

The Nils are a Montreal punk rock band formed in 1978 by Alex Soria. The Nils first gained local notoriety upon the 1982 release of a five-song demo entitled Now. Their self-titled debut album was released to critical acclaim in 1987, and earned praise from Rolling Stone and contemporary punk rock bands, including Hüsker Dü. The Nils disbanded and reformed on various occasions in the 1990s and early 2000s, until the death of Alex Soria in 2004. In 2010 Carlos Soria reformed the band, and in 2015 The Nils released Shadows and Ghosts, their first album of new material in over 25 years.

Ian Stephens was a Canadian poet, journalist and musician from Montreal, Quebec, best known as one of the major Canadian voices in the spoken word movement of the 1990s. Most of his work focused on his experiences living with AIDS.

Alex Soria (1965–2004) was a rock and roll musician and songwriter from Montreal. He was the founding member of the power pop/punk rock groups The Nils (1978–2004) and Chino (1999).

The Subway Organization was a British independent record label founded in 1985 in Bristol by Martin Whitehead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asexuals (band)</span> Canadian hardcore punk band

The Asexuals is a hardcore punk band from Beaconsfield that was a mainstay of the Montreal punk scene in the 1980s before changing into an alternative band following the departure of singer John Kastner. Kastner left to form the Doughboys and later, All Systems Go!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Kastner</span> Canadian musician and composer (born 1969)

Jean-Guy "John" Kastner is a Canadian musician and composer born in Beaconsfield, Quebec. He was the singer for Montreal hardcore punk band the Asexuals as well as singer-guitarist for Montreal alternative band Doughboys and alternative band All Systems Go!. He is also the manager and former rhythm guitarist for the band Men Without Hats.

Cargo Records was a Canadian independent record label and distributor, active in the 1980s and 1990s. Based in Montreal, the company both released albums directly as a label, and distributed albums on behalf of many other small independent labels, making it one of the largest and most influential Canadian record companies of the alternative rock era.

References

  1. 1 2 "Dan Webster page on the Hour magazine website".
  2. "Histoire de chez nous website".
  3. 1 2 Bottenberg, Rupert (September 30, 2010). "Sound of the Suburbs". Montreal Mirror .
  4. "Dan Webster page on Marbelus Arts Foundation sitee".
  5. "Asexuals article in the Mirror". 20 December 2023.
  6. "Psyche Industry Records discography on Kill from the Heart". Archived from the original on January 25, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

See also