Sonic Unyon

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Sonic Unyon
Founded1993 (1993)
FounderSandy McIntosh
Mark Milne
GenreAlternative
Indie
Country of origin Canada
LocationHamilton, Ontario
Official websitesonicunyon.com

Sonic Unyon Recording Company is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Their former retail store was located on Wilson Street near James Street North. The label has put out releases by bands including Tristan Psionic, Sianspheric, Shallow North Dakota, Eric's Trip, Hayden, Chore, Frank Black and the Catholics, A Northern Chorus, Raising the Fawn, Teenage Head and Voivod.

History[edit]

Headquarters, on Wilson Street, downtown Hamilton, Ontario

Sonic Unyon was founded in 1993 by Mark Milne, Sandy McIntosh of the band Tristan Psionic.[1][2] At first they released their own band's music, and then began releasing and promoting music by other local bands.[3][4] By 1995 Sonic Unyon had grown to be one of the largest independent labels in Canada.[5] The basement of their headquarter often held shows, and many local musicians got jobs working for the record label and operated their own record labels out of the shop.[6]

As of 2005, Sonic Unyon releases were distributed in the United States exclusively by Caroline Distribution.

Tim Potocic and Mark Milne created Sonic Unyon Distribution as a branch of the record label, and distributed releases in Canada from independent labels from around the world and select co-releases with other independent labels including Jagjaguwar, Nuclear Blast, WARP, Fearless and Plexifilm (including the Death Cab for Cutie tour DVD, Drive Well, Sleep Carefully).

Sonic Unyon branched out into events production, by organizing Supercrawl,[7] the annual version of the monthly Artcrawl, which is dedicated to showcasing the arts scene in the James North region of Hamilton. The event has featured many national and international touring artists; in 2014, its attendance was estimated at 165,000.[8]

Selected artists[edit]

The following artists have made at least one release through Sonic Unyon.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Larry LeBlanc (23 September 1995). "Sonic Unyon Stays True to its Artists". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 64–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  2. ^ "Sonic Unyon wafts to greatness" Toronto Star - Toronto, Ont.By Ira Band Dec 19, 1996 Page: G.9
  3. ^ "For two Hamilton buddies, home building is a gut job". Dave LeBlanc, The Globe and Mail, Jan. 22, 2015
  4. ^ Tennant, James. "Sonic Unyon throws a musical Christmas bash". The Spectator - Hamilton, Ont. Dec 14, 2006. page G.15
  5. ^ Rockingham, Graham. "The Many Layers of Sonic Unyon". Hamilton Magazine. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  6. ^ Julien, Alexandre (November 3, 2011). "Redstar Records Interview". Abridged Pause Blog. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  7. ^ Taylor, Ric. "Supercrawl II". Weekly Paper Article. View Magazine. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Supercrawl named Ontario tourism event of the year". CBC Hamilton, Nov 12, 2015.

External links[edit]