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Orchid Tapes
Founded2010 (2010)-present
FounderWarren Hildebrand
StatusActive
GenreIndie rock, Dream pop, art rock, shoegaze, Lo-fi
Country of originToronto, Ontario
LocationRidgewood, New York
Official websiteorchidtapes.com

Orchid Tapes is an independent Queens-based record label founded in 2010 by Warren Hildebrand.[1] Operated by Brian Vu and Hildebrand as of 2012, the label has released a number of indie pop and indie rock compilations and original releases on cassette tape, limited edition vinyl, and digital download.[2] Among Orchid Tapes' signed bands are Coma Cinema, Foxes in Fiction and Alex G. The label focuses on "music and artwork that breaks free of the established norm...reflects the dedication of its creator and provokes a strong emotional resonance..."[3]

History

Founding

Orchid Tapes was first founded in 2010 by Warren Hildebrand, while Hildebrand was attending an art university in Toronto, Ontario. He had first started putting the idea for a label together in 2009, and had picked the name Orchid Tapes partly after a song by the band Deerhunter, called "Tape Hiss Orchid." According to Hildebrand, "I was really inspired by all the little cassette labels that were popping up on different blogs around that time. It seemed like a really cheap and easy way to get music out into the world beyond just the proliferation of mp3s."[4]

He founded Orchid Tapes while living in his apartment in downtown Toronto[5] and working on the debut album of his solo project, Foxes in Fiction.[4] Hildebrand had started Foxes in Fiction in April 2005 while still in high school, and began to take the project more seriously in 2008, while inspired by artists such as Brian Eno and Atlas Sound.[6]

First album

Hildebrand states that the label was originally started as a vehicle for his solo project, Foxes in Fiction.[6] The label's first release was the Foxes in Fiction album Swung from The Branches, released on February 19, 2010.[2] The album became a surprise hit on the internet, eventually being covered by Pitchfork.[5]

Many of the other early bands signed to the label met Hildebrand through MySpace. According to Hildebrand, "It felt good meeting a group of other sad weirdos that recorded music from home that I felt like I genuinely connected with, even through something as seemingly alienating as the Internet."[4]

Move to New York

In 2012, Hildebrand moved from Toronto to Queens, settling down in the neighborhood of Ridgewood.[6] Brian Vu joined the label later that year,[4] helping expand the roster and the label's scope. For most of the label's lifespan, Hildebrand would dub each cassette tape on his stereo tape deck, a several-day process he was still using after the 20th release. Finally in the fall of 2013, he purchased a cassette duplicator for the label.[5] According to No Fear of Pop in 2013, "Orchid Tapes embodies the D.I.Y. aesthetic that has implanted itself on the internet. Digital downloads are always free and cassette prices are reasonable, and the quality of music is so good that it entices intrigued listeners to search through the rest of the catalog."[7]

Orchid Tapes states on its website that it seeks "music and artwork that breaks free of the established norm, disregards trends, reflects the dedication of its creator and provokes a strong emotional resonance within whoever experiences it."[3]

The label's first release on vinyl was the LP Three Love Songs by Ricky Eat Acid, released in late 2013 with limited copies available.[5] According to Noisey in January 2014, "a largely ambient project from Maryland's Sam Ray, Three Love Songs sold out its pre-release vinyl run on the up-and-coming Orchid Tapes label in two days." Noisey reviewed the album positively, stating "Featherweight electronics, aching piano, snippets of speech, even a pitched up Drake sample swirl around in a stew of delicately rendered pathos."[8]

In February 2014, the label released Virgo Indigo by Fog Lake, which is the solo project of Aaron Powell from Newfoundland. The album was mastered by Hildebrand.[9] Later that month the label released the vinyl compilation Boring Ecstasy, which features tracks by artists such as Alex G, Ricky Eat Acid, R.L. Kelly, Home Alone and Four Visions.[10]

Showcases

Orchid Tapes periodically organizes and hosts musical showcases, with three in 2013 alone.[5] Venues have included Hildebrand's rooftop, a 100-year-old synagogue in Los Angeles,[6] in conjunction with [11] and multiple New York venues. For the March 2014 release of Boring Ecstasy, artists including Elvis Depressedly, Alex G, Ricky Eat Acid, R.L. Kelly, Home Alone and Four Visions played a showcase at Brooklyn’s Shea Stadium.[10]

Artists

Template:Multicol

Current

Template:Multicol-break

Previous
  • luhn
  • Actual Water
  • The Bilinda Butchers
  • Ghost Animal
  • HAPPY TRENDY
  • Julia Brown
  • Lazy Dre
  • Mickey Mickey Rourke
  • Paneye
  • Teenage Reverb
  • Trans-Bedroom Sound
  • Weed (Will Anderson)
  • Wonder Bear
  • Young WavesTemplate:Multicol-end

Discography

Orchid Tapes discography[2]
Cat# Released Album title Artist(s) Notes
OCT001 February 19, 2010 Swung from The Branches Foxes in Fiction
OCT002 June 7, 2010 Isolation Tape Night Teenage Reverb
OCT003 May 31, 2010 Elmwood EP Trans-Bedroom Sound
OCT004 June 29, 2010 *LUHN *LUHN
OCT005 July 20, 2010 The Concrete Thoughts of Felix Tengen EP Ryan S. Welfle
OCT006 July 25, 2010 M M R Mickey Mickey Rourke Cass, Album, Ltd
OCT007 August 2, 2010 Beko_CS02 August Compilation Various Cass, Ltd
OCT008 September 30, 2010 Summertime in Heaven Ghost Animation
OCT009 December 23, 2010 Alberto EP Foxes in Fiction Cass, Ltd, c35
OCT010 October 18, 2010 Double Negatives Actual Water
OCT011 October 20, 2010 Octogasm Lazy Dre
OCT012 October 30, 2010 Descending Dusk Trans-Bedroom Sound
OCT013 November 23, 2010 Lost in a Dark Aquarium Paneye
OCT014 January 22, 2011 Down in The Valley EP Weed (Will Anderson) Cass, EP, Ltd
OCT015 January 2, 2011 Old Friends Happy Trendy Cass, Ltd
OCT016 June 1, 2011 Golden Years + G A L A Wonder Bear
OCT017 November 1, 2011 We Grew Up Young Waves
OCT018 November 20, 2011 Die Young Happy Trendy Cass, Ltd
OCT019 December 6, 2012 Nothin’ Compares Compilation Various Cass, Ltd
OCT020 January 28, 2014 LUST Meishi Smile
OCT021 October 2, 2012 Lately Evenings Cass, Album, Ltd
OCT022 October 9, 2012 Hotter Sadness Elvis Depressedly Cass, Ltd
OCT023 December 13, 2012 Bluest of Them All Anthology Coma Cinema Cass
OCT024 December 17, 2012 You Get Sick; You Regret Things Ricky Eat Acid Cass, Ltd
OCT025 January 21, 2012 Alberto EP (reissued edition) Foxes in Fiction
OCT026 October 27, 2013 What Would Your Closest Friend Do?
 Showcase Compilation		 Various Cass
OCT027 February 16, 2013 Teddybears & Weed Home Alone
OCT028 February 19, 2013 Life’s a Bummer EP R.L. Kelly
OCT029 April 16, 2013 Holo Pleasures Elvis Depressedly
OCT030 June 11, 2013 Posthumous Release Coma Cinema Cass, 250
OCT031 September 28, 2013 ANGELTOWN Showcase Compilation Various
OCT032 June 27, 2013 When We’re Snow Infinity Crush
OCT033 December 14, 2013 Euphoria Again Euphoria Again
OCT034 February 4, 2014 Virgo Indigo Fog Lake Cass, digital[9]
OCT035 January 21, 2014 Three Love Songs Ricky Eat Acid Label's first vinyl release,[5] digital
OCT036 January 25, 2014 Three Love Songs: B-Sides & Outtakes Ricky Eat Acid Cass
OCT037 March 4, 2014 Their Bodies in a Fog Arrange
OCT038 March 15, 2014 There’s A Light Coming Through Home Alone
OCT039 March 25, 2014 Boring Ecstasy: The Bedroom Pop of Orchid Tapes Various Digital, vinyl[10]
OCT040 October 4, 2014 Brown Horse Spencer Radcliffe & R.L. Kelly
OCT041 August 26, 2014 Flow Ex-Confusion
OCT042 June 17, 2014 DSU Alex G
OCT043 July 15, 2014 HEAVEN The Bilinda Butchers
OCT044 October 28, 2014 Shadow Mister Lies
OCT045 September 23, 2014 Ontario Gothic Foxes in Fiction
OCT046 January 13, 2015 Angeltown II Various
OCT048 May 12, 2015 New Alhambra Elvis Depressedly
OCT049 July 28, 2015 You're Worth More To Me Than 1,000 Christians Les Mouches Vinyl reissue[12]
OCT052 June 11, 2015 asdfasdf Katie Dey
OCT053 June 30, 2015 "Victoria Park" Fog Lake

Further reading

Interviews
  • "Cassette Tapes and Synesthesia with Warren Hildebrand". Composer Quest. March 23, 2013.
  • "Label Profile: Orchid Tapes". Caterwaul Magazine. February 2014.
  • "Warren Hildebrand's radiant Orchid Tapes". Interview Magazine. March 18, 2014.

References

  1. ^ McCarron, Charlie (March 23, 2013). "Cassette Tapes and Synesthesia with Warren Hildebrand". Composer Quest. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Discography". Orchid Tapes. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "About". Orchid Tapes. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Hodges, Nicholas (February 2014). "Label Profile: Orchid Tapes". Caterwaul Magazine. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Wilson, Andi (November 11, 2013). "Label Profile: Orchid Tapes". No Fear of Pop. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d Joyce, Colin (March 18, 2014). "Warren Hildebrand's radiant Orchid Tapes". Interview Magazine. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  7. ^ "orchid tapes and the importance of the microlabel". dimestore saints. January 5, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  8. ^ Marcus, Ezra (January 17, 2014). "Listen to Ricky Eat Acid's New Album "Three Love Songs"". Noisey. Vice Magazine. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Fog Lake - Virgo Indigo". Scary Pretty. February 5, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  10. ^ a b c Cooper, Duncan (February 27, 2014). "Orchid Tapes Announces Boring Ecstasy: Bedroom Pop Compilation". The Fader. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  11. ^ The LA Fort
  12. ^ "Orchid Tapes Treats Les Mouches to Reiusse". Exclaim. May 13, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
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