Reflective Records is an independent San Francisco-based record label for electronic music, operated by Jonah Sharp and his wife. The first release was the Fluorescence 12" EP by Spacetime Continuum, which was released in August 1993 with an initial pressing of 500 copies. In the mid-1990s, Reflective's releases were known for featuring holograms on the CD or record cover, as well as on the label in the middle of the record.
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a city in, and the cultural, commercial, and financial center of, Northern California. San Francisco is the 13th-most populous city in the United States, and the fourth-most populous in California, with 883,305 residents as of 2018. It covers an area of about 46.89 square miles (121.4 km2), mostly at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, making it the second-most densely populated large US city, and the fifth-most densely populated U.S. county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs. San Francisco is also part of the fifth-most populous primary statistical area in the United States, the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area.
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists, and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label" derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information. Within the mainstream music industry, recording artists have traditionally been reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and be both promoted and heard on music streaming services, radio, and television. Record labels also provide publicists, who assist performers in gaining positive media coverage, and arrange for their merchandise to be available via stores and other media outlets.
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments and circuitry-based music technology. In general, a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means, and that produced using electronics only. Electromechanical instruments include mechanical elements, such as strings, hammers, and so on, and electric elements, such as magnetic pickups, power amplifiers and loudspeakers. Examples of electromechanical sound producing devices include the telharmonium, Hammond organ, and the electric guitar, which are typically made loud enough for performers and audiences to hear with an instrument amplifier and speaker cabinet. Pure electronic instruments do not have vibrating strings, hammers, or other sound-producing mechanisms. Devices such as the theremin, synthesizer, and computer can produce electronic sounds.
Artists that have released on Reflective:
- Blaktronics
- Kid Spatula (real name: Mike Paradinas, also known as µ-ziq)
- Me-Sheen
- MLO (members: Jonathon Tye and Peter Smith)
- Move D (real name: David Moufang)
- Single Cell Orchestra (real name: Miguel Angelo Fierro)
- Spacetime Continuum (real name: Jonah Sharp)
- Subtropic (real name: Jake Smith)
- Velocette (real name: Jason Williams)
- Vulva (members: Tom Melchior and Tim Hutton)
Michael Paradinas, better known by his stage name μ-Ziq, is an English electronic musician from Wimbledon, London. He was associated with the electronic style intelligent dance music (IDM) during the 1990s, and recorded on Rephlex Records alongside artists such as Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. His critically acclaimed 1997 album, Lunatic Harness, helped defined the drill 'n' bass subgenre and was also his most successful release, selling over 100,000 copies. He is also founder of the record label Planet Mu, begun in 1995, where he has championed genres such as juke and footwork.
David Moufang is a German ambient techno musician. He records with his partner, Jonas Grossmann as Deep Space Network project and his solo releases as Move D. His other projects include Earth to Infinity, Reagenz, Koolfang, and Conjoint.
Single Cell Orchestra is the performing name of Miguel Fierro, a San Francisco-born musician who has worked for many years in electronic music and techno. His first successful single was "Transmit Liberation", an underground hit that proved influential in the development of trip hop. His first full-length was Dead Vent 7 (1995), followed by Single Cell Orchestra (1996). Later that year, he collaborated with Daum Bentley to produce an album entitled Freaky Chakra vs Single Cell Orchestra.
