Ninja Tune is an independent record label[1] based in London with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by Matt Black and Jonathan More, known professionally as the electronic duo Coldcut, with Peter Quicke joining as label manager in 1992. The label was created as an outlet for more experimental music, allowing Coldcut to break free from the restrictions they faced in the mainstream music industry.
Si Begg is an English electronic dance music DJ, musician and record producer. His recording career began in 1993 and he has used a number of different pseudonyms and band names, and released music in different styles on several record labels.
Gym Class Heroes is an American rap rock band from Geneva, New York. The group formed in 1997 when Travie McCoy met drummer Matt McGinley during their high school gym class. The band's music displays a wide variety of influences, including hip hop, rock, funk, and reggae. After the addition of guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo and bassist Eric Roberts in 2003, the group was signed to Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records, on which they released their debut album, The Papercut Chronicles. The group gained a strong fanbase while promoting the album, appearing at festivals such as The Bamboozle and Vans Warped Tour.
Travis Stewart, better known as Machinedrum, is an American electronic record producer and performer from North Carolina. He is also known as Syndrone and Tstewart. He is one half of Sepalcure, with Praveen Sharma, one half of JETS, with Jimmy Edgar, as well as half of Dream Continuum with Jim Coles, a.k.a. Om Unit.
People Under the Stairs was an American hip hop duo from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2019. Since their inception, the group consisted solely of Christopher Portugal and Michael Turner. The group employed a DIY work ethic of sampling, MCing, DJing, and producing all of their output.
40 Below Summer is an American nu metal band from New Jersey. Formed in 1998, the band broke up seven years later in 2005. After two small reunions in 2006 and 2010, they permanently reformed in 2011. Their latest album, Transmission Infrared, was released in 2015.
Sacrilege is a band from the Midlands region of England originally formed in 1984 by guitarist Damian Thompson and vocalist Lynda "Tam" Simpson and Tony May. Originally rooted in hardcore punk, their sound later changed to thrash metal and doom metal. Despite having played relatively few gigs during their original existence, Sacrilege is recognized as an important band, both as an influence on later crust punk, thrash metal and doom metal bands and as an example of the blending of hardcore punk, radical politics, and thrash/death metal that occurred during the mid-1980s, making Sacrilege one of the prototypical crust punk bands of the time.
Audiovent is an American alternative rock band from Calabasas, California. Initially forming as "Vent" in the early 1990s, the band changed their name to Audiovent upon signing with Atlantic Records in 2001. The band released their one and only album on a major record label, Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris, in 2002. Two singles were released to rock radio and charted with moderate success - "The Energy" and "Looking Down". The band began work on a second album in 2003, demoing over 19 tracks over the course of the year, but disbanded in mid-2004 before the album could be formally recorded, due to creative differences between band members. They reformed in 2017 for several reunion shows, then began writing and recording new material in 2022. They released their first single, "Sleepless Machine" in late 2023, with more music to follow.
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were an American funk and soul band signed to Daptone Records. They were part of a revival movement of mid-1960s to mid-1970s style funk and soul music. They released their debut album Dap Dippin' in 2002, the first of seven studio albums. Their 2014 album Give the People What They Want was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. Following Sharon Jones' death in 2016, the band released the posthumous album Soul of a Woman in 2017 and a compilation of cover songs in 2020.
Thanksgiving and Adrian Orange & Her Band are the names under which Portland, Oregon singer/songwriter Adrian Orange performs. First adopting the "Thanksgiving" moniker around 1999–2000, Orange played experimental folk music, often accompanying himself on guitar and self-recording his albums using analog equipment. While Thanksgiving is essentially a solo act, Orange often collaborates with other musicians in his recordings and performances.
Ralph Lee "Mac" McCaughan is an American musician and record label owner, based in North Carolina. His main musical projects have been Superchunk since 1989 and Portastatic since the early 1990s. In 1989 he founded the independent record label Merge Records with Superchunk bandmate Laura Ballance.
Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris is the only major label album by alternative rock band Audiovent. It was released in 2002 on Atlantic Records. The album had two singles, "The Energy" and "Looking Down". Audiovent toured with Saliva and Theory of a Deadman in promotion of the album.
Throwing Muses is the 1986 debut album of the band Throwing Muses, released on British independent label 4AD. This was the first album by an American band to be released on 4AD, which had concentrated primarily on British-based acts up to this point. The release marked a shift in the label's direction; a year later 4AD would sign Pixies based in part on the band's connection to Throwing Muses, and by the mid-1990s much of the label's roster was made up of American bands.
Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Warner Music Group and run by recording artist Madonna, as well as Frederick DeMann and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev. It included a record label, a film production company, book publishing, music publishing, an adjacent Latin/Spanish language record label, and a television production company.
The Rudiments are an American ska punk band from the East Bay, California, United States.
Home Town Hero was an American rock band from Southern California active in the early 2000s. Founding members Aaron Bruno, Drew Stewart, and Jon Monroy began playing together while attending Westlake High School, where their early project was known as the Ice Monkeys. They were greatly influenced by the success of Southern California punk bands of the early 1990s and the grunge aesthetic popularized by bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. With the later addition of bassist Todd Burnes and drummer Ray Blanco, who replaced Ryan Cox, the band re-christened themselves as Insurgence. As Insurgence they began playing famous California venues, including The Roxy Theatre and Whisky a Go Go.
Under the Influence of Giants is the self-titled debut studio album by Under the Influence of Giants, released on August 8, 2006. AllMusic gave it 4/5 stars, calling it "a fun, slightly trashy affair" and praising the musical versatility. PopMatters rated it 3/10, commenting that "there's just not enough substance here to qualify as either bad or good. Their debut is so derivative that the overall effect is little more substantial than gossamer."
Little Girls is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2008 from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The band emerged from Toronto's post-punk scene as a solo recording project of multi-instrumentalist Josh McIntyre. With a focus on Minimalist Electronic, Little Girls released CULTS EP on Hand Drawn Dracula and are currently working on their second full-length record.
Awolnation is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed and fronted by Aaron Bruno, formerly of Under the Influence of Giants, Home Town Hero, and Insurgence. The band is signed to Better Noise Music and formerly was signed to Red Bull Records. Their first EP, Back from Earth, was released on iTunes on May 18, 2010. They released their first studio album, Megalithic Symphony, on March 15, 2011; it featured their most notable hit, "Sail", which peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 4 on the Billboard Rock Songs chart, and number 5 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. On June 14, 2021, Sail became just the 57th song to be certified diamond by the RIAA and has sold 10,000,000 copies in the United States. As of February 29, 2016, the album has been certified platinum.
Aaron Richard Bruno is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, who is best known as the founder, lead singer and last remaining original member of Awolnation. He is a former member of the indie rock band Under the Influence of Giants, the post-grunge band Home Town Hero, and the post-hardcore band Insurgence.
