Founded 1992 by John Loder, Southern Records is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

(Loder also ran the recording facility Southern Studios). It is based in London and until 2008 had offices in the United States, France and Berlin. The label is closely associated with

Crass Records Crass Records was an independent record label that was set up by the anarchist punk band Crass. Overview and history Prior to the formation of Crass, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher had published their creative works via their own Dial Ho ...

, Corpus Christi Records and

Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release '' Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles ...

History

Background

Southern Studios was a recording label owned and operated by John Loder from the 1970's until his death. Loder became friends with musician

Penny Rimbaud Penny Lapsang Rimbaud (born Jeremy John Ratter, 1943) is a writer, poet, philosopher, painter, musician and activist. He was a member of the performance art groups EXIT and Ceres Confusion, and in 1972 was co-founder of the Stonehenge Free Fes ...

and collaborated with him in an experimental band called EXIT. Rimbaud later formed anarchist punk band

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestylism, way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the ...

, and Loder and his Southern Studios were chosen to record their first album ''

The Feeding of the 5000 In Christianity, the feeding the multitude is two separate miracles of Jesus reported in the Gospels. The first miracle, the "Feeding of the 5,000", is the only miracle—aside from the resurrection—recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 14:1 ...

''. That record was originally released on Small Wonder Records. When Small Wonder encountered problems manufacturing the release, due to the allegedly blasphemous nature of the lyrics, Crass decided they needed their own label to take full control of their output. Loder facilitated this by acting as the business manager behind Crass Records. He arranged manufacture, distribution and accounting. After the Crass record's success in 1978, Loder became the go-to alternative distributor for a generation of independent musicians. This connected Loder with the emerging international independent record business. He formed alliances with small distributors around the world to distribute Crass's output, and in the process U.S. labels like Touch and Go found outlets for their releases overseas. Circa 1984, he formed a lasting partnership with

. In 1986,

Ian McKay Ian John McKay, VC (7 May 1953 – 12 June 1982) was a British Army soldier and a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Bo ...

traveled to London looking to forge a deal with Loder that would satisfy the demand for Minor Threat records in the UK. The deal struck resulted in the manufacture of Dischord records in a factory that Southern had contracted with on the European mainland, and for decades Minor Threat records were stamped "Made in France." Southern served as their pressing agent and distributor through 1993.

First releases

The first release on Southern Records was Babes in Toyland's album Fontanelle, in August 1992.

2000s

Label founder Loder died in 2005. In the same year Allison Schnackenberg, label boss, set up the Latitudes imprint to record and release one sessions, in a similar spirit to the BBC's

Peel Sessions John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

. Starting in late 2008, Southern closed its international office and moved all operations to London. Chicago closed November 2008,

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

closed July 2009, and Berlin closed December 2012.

Imprints

Other label imprints operated by Southern include Black Diamond,

Latitudes In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pole ...

and

Truth Cult Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs, ...

Roster

* 90 Day Men *

Antisect Antisect are a punk rock band based in London, England. Their roots are in hardcore/ anarcho punk and metal. Formed in Daventry in 1982, their debut album, ''In Darkness There Is No Choice'', was released in 1983. 1985's follow-up EP ''Out fr ...

* Action Beat * Asva * Atombombpocketknife * Babes in Toyland * Bellafea * Bell Gardens * Billy Mahonie * Bob Tilton * Boduf Songs * Cat On Form * Chrome Hoof *

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enoug ...

Crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (La ...

Darediablo Darediablo is an instrumental rock trio from New York City. They are influenced by 1970s heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath and AC/DC, their bassist/guitarist often wearing an AC/DC T-Shirt. Their catalog of music have all been independent re ...

Dianogah Dianogah (pronounced Dye-ah-NO-gah) is an American indie rock band formed in 1995, noted for their use of two bass guitars. Members include Kip McCabe, Jay Ryan (artist), Jay Ryan, and Jason Harvey (musician), Jason Harvey. History Dianogah's ...

* Geoff Farina *

Frightwig Frightwig is an all-female punk rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1982 by Deanna Ashley and Mia Levin. After many line-up changes, Frightwig retired in 1994. Frightwig reformed in 2012 with Rebecca Sevrin and Rachel Thoele. Fr ...

* Faucet * Glorytellers *

Hawnay Troof Hawnay Troof is an American electronic indie band formed in late 2001. Despite of the band's American punk and electronic background, many elements of pop, dance-punk, electronica, soul, noise music and club. have been incorporated into it ...

* Him * Jenny Hoyston *

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

Karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

The Lapse The Lapse was an American indie band formed in late 1997. The band was first signed to Gern Blandsten, then Southern Records. A larger deal with Matador Records fell through in 2001. The Lapse was the duo of then boyfriend/girlfriend Chris Leo (ex ...

Les Savy Fav Les Savy Fav ( ) is an American indie rock band based in New York City. Their style is influenced by art punk and post-hardcore. The group is known for the stage presence of lead singer Tim Harrington. The band is signed to Frenchkiss Records, ...

* Lungleg * Mothlite * NoMeansNo *

The Owl Service ''The Owl Service'' is a low fantasy novel for young adults by Alan Garner, published by Collins in 1967. Set in modern Wales, it is an adaptation of the story of the mythical Welsh woman Blodeuwedd, an "expression of the myth" in the autho ...

* The Paper Chase * P.W. Long * Racebannon * Rex * Therapy? * The Sorts *Slow Loris * The Smoothies * Sweep the Leg Johnny * Tartufi * Ten Grand *

Todd Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

* Trencher * Ui * William Elliott Whitmore

Southern imprints

Black Diamond

Hella ''Hella'' is an American slang term that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is used as an intensifying adverb such as in "hella bad" or "hella good" and was eventually added to the '' Oxford English Dictionary'' in 2002. It is possib ...

* Goon Moon * P.W. Long * Oxbow * Unsane