This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
|
Xemu Records | |
---|---|
Founded | 1992 |
Founder | Cevin Soling |
Distributor(s) | Cobraside Distribution, Cargo Records (UK), The Orchard |
Genre | Rock, indie rock, experimental, alternative |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | New York City |
Official website | www |
Xemu Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.
Xemu Records is an independent record label, founded in 1992 in New York City by writer, filmmaker, musician, music producer and artist Cevin Soling as a vehicle for his music and music production endeavors. Originally conceived as a "record label" nod to underground cult movements of the 60's and 70's the label has since grown to be a home to burgeoning young bands in the psychedelic music and independent music scenes. Xemu Records uses the trademarked motto " We're Happier Than You Are" as well as the name "Xemu" to play on the myth of "Xemu"/"Xenu".
During the 1990s Xemu Records signed a number of alternative rock acts with regional success but it was in 2002 with the compilation album When Pigs Fly (Cevin Soling album), a collection of popular songs recorded by artists unlikely to record them, that the label gained international attention. Soling after his earlier success convincing Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot to record a mellow version of the song "Metal Health" with him, he got the idea for the project and began recruiting musicians to participate. Some of the songs on the album include a version of "Unforgettable" by Ani DiFranco and Jackie Chan, which he co-produced with DiFranco, Blondie's "Call Me" by Alex Chilton and his band The Box Tops, and a cover of "Shock The Monkey" by Don Ho which Soling also produced.
Later in 2002 after a chance meeting with bassist Steve Kille, of Dead Meadow, while on tour with The Brian Jonestown Massacre the two decided to join forces and redirect the label to reissue Dead Meadow's back catalog. After a few years of hiatus the first Dead Meadow reissue was released in 2006 "Dead Meadow" followed by Howls from the Hills 2007, "Three Kings" live film and double album 2010 and "Peel Session" in 2012. After the success of the Dead Meadow line of unreleased albums and reissues the label has since focused on releasing a schedule of full-time artists in the psych-alternative music scene. Xemu is also releasing a series of "children's books for grown-ups" called the Rumpleville Chronicles.
Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco is an American singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influences from punk, funk, hip hop and jazz. She has released all her albums on her own record label, Righteous Babe, giving her significant creative freedom.
Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Founded by lead singer-songwriter and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, the band went through a succession of drummers before recruiting Dave Grohl in 1990. Nirvana's success popularized alternative rock, and they were often referenced as the figurehead band of Generation X. Their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock and roll culture.
Indie rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the United States and United Kingdom in the 1970s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock or "guitar pop rock". In the 1980s, the use of the term "indie" started to shift from its reference to recording companies to describe the style of music produced on punk and post-punk labels. During the 1990s, grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream, and the term "alternative" lost its original counter-cultural meaning. The term "indie rock" became associated with the bands and genres that remained dedicated to their independent status. By the end of the 1990s, indie rock developed several subgenres and related styles, including lo-fi, noise pop, emo, slowcore, post-rock, and math rock. In the 2000s, changes in the music industry and a growing importance of the Internet enabled a new wave of indie rock bands to achieve mainstream success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.
Alternative rock is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial rock or pop music. The term's original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their collective debt to either the musical style or simply the independent, DIY ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for alternative music.
Kevin William Crompton, known professionally as cEvin Key, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, producer, and composer. He is best known as a member of the industrial music group Skinny Puppy, which he co-founded in 1982 with singer Nivek Ogre. Initially a side project while he was with the new wave band Images in Vogue, Skinny Puppy quickly became his primary musical outlet after landing a record deal with Nettwerk Records in 1984.
Dover was a Spanish band, founded in Madrid in 1992. The group was composed of the sisters and group leaders Cristina Llanos (vocals) and Amparo Llanos, drummer Jesús Antúnez and bassist Samuel Titos. They recorded eight albums, selling around two million copies. They are known for their second album Devil Came to Me, which led them to international fame. In 2006, their sixth album, Follow the City Lights caused controversy as the style of the group changed from alternative rock to electronic pop. The band won, among other things, the revelation group awards at the 1997 Premios Ondas and the award for best Spanish artist at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards. The band was disbanded in 2016 by Amparo Llanos, who has since begun another project without her sister.
The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir were a Canadian alternative rock band that formed in 1985 in Toronto.
François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi was a musician from the Congo. He was a major figure in 20th-century Congolese music, and African music in general, principally as the leader for over 30 years of TPOK Jazz, the most popular and significant African band of its time. He is referred to as Franco Luambo or simply Franco. Known for his mastery of African Rumba, he was nicknamed by fans and critics "Sorcerer of the Guitar" and the "Grand Maître of Zairean Music", as well as Franco de Mi Amor by female fans.
Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar. Secretly Group includes the three record labels as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publishing, representing artists, writers, film makers, producers, and comedians.
Dead Meadow is an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Washington, D.C. in 1998 and currently composed of vocalist and guitarist Jason Simon, bassist Steve Kille, and drummer Mark Laughlin. The band have released seven studio albums, two live albums, and a Peel Session.
Anton Alfred Newcombe is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and founder of the music group The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well as the compilation album Pillows & Prayers. In addition to releasing new music, Cherry Red also acts as an umbrella for individual imprints and catalogue specialists.
Electrasy were an English rock band. Formed in 1994 in Dorset, UK, the band consisted of vocalist Alisdair (Ali) McKinnell, guitarists Nigel Nisbet and Steve Atkins, bassist Alex Meadows, drummer Paul Pridmore and keyboardist Jim Hayden. The band were active until 2002, although several members of the band still based in the UK after this time continued to perform occasional gigs. Nigel Nisbet has subsequently released four solo albums, Calling All The Dreamers in 2007, Musicians are Different in 2015, Mainstream Panic in 2016 and Falling from the Stars in 2018. Alex Meadows has also released recent solo material under the name The Inexperienced, and is also a regular performer with various other acts.
Alice, also known as Alice Visconti, is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist, active since 1971. Alice had her breakthrough after winning the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Per Elisa" in 1981, followed by European hit singles like "Una notte speciale", "Messaggio", "Chan-son Egocentrique", "Prospettiva Nevski" and "Nomadi" and albums like Gioielli rubati, Park Hotel, Elisir and Il sole nella pioggia charting in Continental Europe, Scandinavia and Japan.
Cevin Soling is an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, musician, music producer, and artist. He has three graduate degrees from Harvard University.
Cheryl Lyndsey is an American singer–songwriter and musician best known as touring member of alternative rock band The Breeders. She is noted as guitarist for Exene Cervenka's solo band and contributed to Exene's 2011 album The Excitement of Maybe. She was declared "One of LA's Best" by LA Weekly. She currently hosts a podcast titled Livin with Me.
Scary Chicken is a Buffalo, New York–based band that was active 1989–2002.
The Love Kills Theory is an alternative rock band based in New York City. They were formed in 2006 by Cevin Soling, and in January 2007 they released their debut album Happy Suicide, Jim!, a thirteen track CD with philosophical and anti-consumerist themes. The band's original lineup consists of Bill Brandau on keyboard, Cevin Soling on vocals and guitar, Jim Minics on guitar, Darren Pilato on bass, and Jaron Stewart on drums.
Happy Suicide, Jim! is The Love Kills Theory's debut full length album that was released on January 9, 2007. It was published on Xemu Records, mixed by Martin Trum, engineered by Jim Sommers, and produced by Cevin Soling.
When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear is a compilation album devised and produced by musician Cevin Soling in 2002. The album is a collection of popular songs recorded by artists considered unlikely to cover them.