FatCat Records
Fat Cat | |
---|---|
Fat Cat Logo | |
Founded | 1997 |
Founder | David Cawley Alexander Knight |
Status | active |
Genre | Post Rock Psych folk Electronica Noise rock Avant-garde music |
Country of origin | ![]() |
Location | Brighton, England |
Official website | Fat Cat website |
Fat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output ranges from electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop. Artists of particular note signed to the label are Sigur Rós, Múm, Animal Collective, Frightened Rabbit, The Twilight Sad and Vashti Bunyan.
History
FatCat originally began in 1989 as a record store in Crawley, West Sussex, formed by Alex Knight and Dave Cawley. It moved to central London in 1990, and originally specialised in Detroit and Chicago-based techno and house music. The store closed down in 1997, and the record label was born in its place, initially releasing dance and electronic 12"s.[1]
The label moved to Brighton in 2001.
As well as Sigur Ros, another Icelandic band, Múm, were signed and proved successful for the label. The same year also saw the establishment of the 130701 imprint for the Set Fire To Flames album. A home for ‘post-classical’ music, the imprint was later appended with the signing of pianist / composers, Sylvain Chauveau, Max Richter, and most recently Hauschka. In the same period FatCat consolidated its roster with the inclusion of artists like David Grubbs, Giddy Motors, and Party Of One.
The departure of Sigur Ros to EMI in late 2004 lead to the label going back to being entirely independent. In 2005, FatCat expanded its set-up with the establishment of a US office in New York, and with the FatCat Publishing arm. That same year saw the release of Vashti Bunyan’s ‘Lookaftering’ album. Besides picking up European licences in Vetiver and Blood On The Wall, the label also signed singer / songwriter Nina Nastasia, as well as new acts like Tom Brosseau, David Karsten Daniels, No Age, The Rank Deluxe, and Songs Of Green Pheasant around this time. In 2007, FatCat put out the first FatCat DVD release by audiovisual artists Semiconductor, who had previously worked on videos for Mum and QT?, as well as taking part in a number of FatCat showcases.
In 2007 the label released The Twilight Sad’s ‘Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters’.
The label has recently begun curating a bi-monthly live music event in Brighton, titled Furballs.[2]
Series and sublabels
Fat Cat has several series they release music across: Splinter Series, Split Series, 8” Series, and E-RMX, amongst others. They also have a sublabel called 130701, which was set-up to release more orchestrated and instrumental material.
Artists
Fat Cat's current roster of artists includes Múm, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver, The Twilight Sad, Nina Nastasia, Frightened Rabbit, Max Richter, Mice Parade, David Grubbs, Amandine, Songs of Green Pheasant, Blood on the Wall, Ensemble, Our Brother The Native, Tom Brosseau, Hauschka, Silje Nes, David Karsten Daniels, Welcome, No Age, Crescent, Charlottefield, Drowsy, The Rank Deluxe, Gregory and the Hawk, Psychedelic Horseshit and We Were Promised Jetpacks.
Alumni
- Amandine
- Animal Collective
- Aoki Takamasa + Tujiko Noriko
- Björk mit Funkstörung
- Black Dice
- Blood on the Wall
- Brakes
- Charlottefield
- Chib
- Crescent
- David Grubbs
- David Karsten Daniels
- Di Lacuna
- Dorine_Muraille
- Dr. Smith & Professor Ludlow
- Drowsy
- Olivier Alary Ensemble
- Foehn
- Fonn
- Frightened Rabbit
- Giddy Motors
- Grain
- Gregory and the Hawk
- Grindverk
- Hauschka
- HiM
- Immense
- Insync v Mysteron
- Janek Schaefer
- Kemialliset Ystävät
- Live Human
- Max Richter
- Mice Parade
- múm
- Nina Nastasia
- No Age
- Our Brother The Native
- Panda Bear
- Party of One
- Pimmon
- Process
- Programme
- Semiconductor
- Set Fire To Flames
- Sigur Rós
- Silje Nes
- Songs of Green Pheasant
- Sons of the Sun
- Storsveit Nix Noltes
- Stromba
- Sunroof!
- Sylvain Chauveau
- Ten Kens
- The Balky Mule
- The Bug
- The Dylan Group
- The Mutts
- The Rank Deluxe
- The Realistics
- The Twilight Sad
- To Rococo Rot
- Tom Brosseau
- Transient Waves
- Ultra-red
- Various Artists
- Vashti Bunyan
- Vetiver
- We Were Promised Jetpacks
- Web
- Welcome
- Xinlisupreme
See also
External links
- Fat Cat Records – official site.
- Fat Cat Records / 130701 discographies at Discogs.