Owsla (stylized in all caps) is an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

and creative collective. It was founded by

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead si ...

, Tim Smith, Kathryn Frazier, and Clayton Blaha in 2011. Skrillex announced the label on August 17, 2011. The label's first release was Porter Robinson's ''

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

''. The name "Owsla" is a reference to

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''Watership Down'', '' Maia'', ''Shardik'' and '' The Plague Dogs''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Ar ...

' fantasy novel ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural ...

'', in which it refers to the governing caste in a society of anthropomorphized rabbits.

History

In 2012, Owsla launched a monthly subscription, ''The Nest'', with benefits including early access to Owsla releases. In 2013, Bromance Records partnered up with Owsla to create an American branch titled Bromance US with releases from Gesaffelstein,

Illangelo Carlo Montagnese (born July 29, 1987), known professionally as Illangelo, is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, musician and mixing engineer from Calgary, Alberta, who came to attention as long-time collaborator of the Weeknd. A Grammy Awa ...

, Brodinski and LOUISAHHH!!!. A year later, Owsla launched the Nestivus Charity Campaign, a series of holiday initiatives with all proceeds going to the international music nonprofit, Bridges for Music. On September 18, 2016, Owsla celebrated five years of establishment with a party in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. In a video published by Owsla, Skrillex spoke about the establishment. He said "I make music 'cause I love music and it all starts from there. And I surround myself with good people that I believe in as well. I think it’s important to create your family." The General Manager of Owsla, Blaise DeAngelo asserted that Skrillex previously, like many other artists, had issues with record labels, implying that it caused him to create his own. Owsla was described as a label started for electronic music artists who "couldn’t get good label deals or resources and support they needed."

Porter Robinson Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, record producer, musician, and singer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Robinson began producing music in his childhood. He signed to Skrillex's record label OWSLA at the age of 18, ...

's ''

'' was the label's debut release. Releases that followed, such as

Zedd Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German DJ, record producer, and songwriter. Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaiserslautern, G ...

’s ''Shave It'', Gesaffelstein’s ''

Aleph Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician , Hebrew , Aramaic , Syriac , Arabic ʾ and North Arabian 𐪑. It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱 and Ge'ez . These lett ...

'' and What So Not’s ''Jaguar'', were described as prominent. Owsla Head of A&R Chris Morris explained that "In order for an artist to be signed, there has to be that passion from the top down," asserting that it is an "artist-driven" company. On May 5, 2017, Owsla released an annual compilation album, ''Howsla''. It was described by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' as "a focused take that’s largely modeled on bassline house, a style from the northern UK that’s distinguished by greasy low-end melodies, hard-thwacked drums, and a slippery, skippy sense of swing." Subsidiaries of Owsla include ''Nest HQ'', a website dedicated to giving exposure to electronic music artists and Owsla Goods, a 'fashion wing'.

Key people

* Sonny Moore (Skrillex) – founder, chief executive officer * Tim Smith – co-founder, artist manager * Kathryn Frazier – co-founder, publicist * Clayton Blaha – co-founder, director of artists and repertoire (A&R) * Chris Morris – head of A&R * Blaise DeAngelo – former general manager

Artists

Releases

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owsla (Record Label) Dubstep record labels Electronic dance music record labels Record labels established in 2011 Vanity record labels