PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

founded in 1982 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, In September 2024, the company was acquired by Universal Music Group. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European independent labels in the early 1980s. Play It Again Sam's prominent early artists were electronic-rock acts like Front 242, Meat Beat Manifesto and The Young Gods. They later added artists such as The Sound, Soulwax/2ManyDJ's,

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...

and

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...

History

The first release on the label in 1984 was the mini album ''Faces in the Fire'' by the cult experimental psychedelic band The Legendary Pink Dots. This was immediately followed by the 'Four Your Ears Only' EP, featuring Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Red Guitars, Party Day and Luddites. This laid the ground for releases from many other artists with very diverse musical backgrounds and geographical origins, including the Butthole Surfers,

Parade Ground A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

, The Neon Judgement, The Sound, Skinny Puppy, Taxi Girl, Bill Pritchard and The Cassandra Complex. In 1988 the label released the album '' Front By Front'' by Front 242 including the single "Headhunter" (with a video directed by Anton Corbijn). The year 1983 marked a distribution agreement in which

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based Wax Trax! Records distributed Play It Again Sam releases in the USA. The agreement continued into the 1990s. In 1999, Play It Again Sam signed a German distribution deal to distribute

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based dance label Mo' Wax's releases. In 2000, the label moved from

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

to London and was renamed PIAS Recordings. PIAS Recordings released the first two albums by Icelandic band

. The Scottish band

signed to PIAS in 2001. PIAS announced at the end of 2010 that it would be re-launching Play It Again Sam as a label. In November 2022,

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

purchased a 49% stake in IAS(including IASRecordings).

Current roster

* Agnes Obel * Andy Burrows * Arcane Roots * Balthazar * Black M * Blanche * Bohren & der Club of Gore * Brodka * Cameron Winter * Champs * Circa Waves * Courting * Day Wave * Dead Can Dance *

dEUS ''Deus'' (, ) is the Latin word for 'God (word), god' or 'deity'. Latin ''deus'' and ''dīvus'' ('divine') are in turn descended from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''deiwos'', 'celestial' or 'shining', from the same root ( ...

Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

* Eliza * Elliot Moss *

Failure Failure is the social concept of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and is usually viewed as the opposite of success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. On ...

* Fews * Foxes * Ghostpoet * Harper Simon * Jean-Louis Murat * Jesswar * The Jezabels * Keaton Henson * Joan As Police Woman * Lisa Mitchell * Lord Huron * Lucius * Lykke Li * Mew * Minor Victories * Pixies * Public Service Broadcasting * Rose Gray * Salvatore Adamo *

Shura Shura () is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It can, for example, take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praise ...

* The Slow Show * Soap&Skin * Soulwax * Twin Wild * Wave Racer * White Lies

Former artists

Band of Skulls Band of Skulls are an English rock band from Southampton, fronted by Russell Marsden (guitar, vocals). Emma Richardson ( bass, vocals; 2002–2021) and Matt Hayward (drums; 2002–2016) were previously members. The group formed after meeting i ...

* Causes * Cabaret Voltaire *

Crystal Castles Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass. Crystal Castles was known for their chaotic live shows and lo-fi music, lo-fi melanc ...

Enter Shikari Enter Shikari are a British Rock music, rock band formed in St Albans in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and drummer Rob Rolfe. In 2003, guitarist Rory Clewlow joined the band to complete its current li ...

* The Darkness * Dinosaur Jr. * Drive-By Truckers * I Am Kloot * The Jim Jones Revue * Jurassic 5 * Maxïmo Park * The Middle East *

My Morning Jacket My Morning Jacket is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Kos ...

* My Vitriol * The Pains of Being Pure at Heart *

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

* Rodrigo y Gabriela * Seasick Steve *

* Steve Burns *

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

* Trisomie 21 * Young Guns * Zulu Winter

References

External links

Play It Again, Sam

PIAS site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pias Recordings IFPI members British record labels Belgian independent record labels Record labels established in 1982 Rock record labels

History

Current roster

Former artists

See also

References

External links