Ache 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 ...

based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. It was started by the musician

Andy Dixon Andy Dixon (born 25 August 1979) is a Canadian artist and musician, who gained notoriety as a member of the North Vancouver punk rock band d.b.s. He founded the record label Ache Records, and later played in The Red Light Sting. Beginning in ...

around 1999. Ache releases music for both Canadian and foreign acts. The first release on Ache Records was

Hot Hot Heat Hot Hot Heat is a Canadian indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, formed in 1999. The band was signed by Seattle label Sub Pop in 2001 and released its first EP, ''Knock Knock Knock'', and first full-length album, ''Make Up the Breakdo ...

's release, ''

'' (1999), a four-song EP. Other notable artists to work with Ache include

Death from Above 1979 Death from Above 1979 (also known as Death from Above) is a Canadian rock duo consisting of bassist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band released their debut album, ''You're a ...

Four Tet Kieran Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting UK albums such as '' Rounds'' ( ...

, Hrvatski, Konono N°1, and

Matmos Matmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore. M. C. (Martin) Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their per ...

. Ache Records releases albums from disparate genres. The

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

newspaper, ''

The Sheaf ''The Sheaf'' is a student-run newspaper serving the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan since 1912. A new issue comes out every Thursday with approximately 3,000 copies per issue. ''The Sheaf'' is a student-run non-profit o ...

'', says that Ache has an "inconsistency of genres" and the label distances itself from using genres to describe its releases. Ache has been described by the ''

Montreal Mirror ''Montreal Mirror'' or just ''Mirror'' was a free English language alternative newsweekly based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which was distributed every Thursday. It had a circulation of 70,000 and reached a quarter of a million readers per week. ...

'' as having an "uncanny ability to meld seemingly disparate worlds into a cohesive whole". ''

Discorder CiTR-FM, is a Canadian FM radio station based out of the University of British Columbia's Student Union Building in the University Endowment Lands, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia. Its transmitter is also locat ...

'' magazine named Ache Records "Label of the Year" for 2004, citing a featured review on ''

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

'' for Flössin's album ''Lead Singer'', as well as the label's DIV/ORCE 7″ series.

Ache Records releases

The first release on Ache Records was

's ''

'', a four-song EP. Hot Hot Heat also recorded a

split album A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from " va ...

with The Red Light Sting for the label's (and Hot Hot Heat's) second release. Dixon's first band, d.b.s., released its final album on Ache in 2001, a five song EP entitled ''

Forget Everything You Know ''Forget Everything You Know'' is the final album released by the North Vancouver punk band d.b.s. It was released by Ache Records on April 1, 2001. Only 1,000 copies were pressed.

''. One thousand copies were issued. Dixon has also released several of his solo albums through the label (as The Epidemic, Secret Mommy, and by his real name), and with the bands The Red Light Sting and Winning. Femme Fatale's second album, '' As You Sow, So Shall You Reap'', was released by Ache in 2002.

released their first EP, '' Heads Up'', on Ache in 2002, as well as the vinyl edition of their 2004 album ''

You're a Woman, I'm a Machine ''You're a Woman, I'm a Machine'' is the debut studio album by Canadian rock duo Death from Above 1979. It was released October 26, 2004, through Last Gang Records. The album was produced by Al-P who would later work alongside Jesse F. Keeler ...

''. The Swedish band Kid Commando released their only album, ''Holy Kid Commando'', with Ache in 2003. They also released a split single with

Kid606 Miguel Trost De Pedro (born July 27, 1979), better known by his stage name Kid606, is an electronic musician who was raised in San Diego and later moved to San Francisco. He is most closely associated with the glitch, IDM, hardcore techno and b ...

for Ache's DIV/ORCE 7″ series. The Congolese band Konono N°1 released the vinyl version of their 2004 album ''

Congotronics ''Congotronics'' is the official debut album by Konono Nº1. It was released in 2004. by Crammed Discs. It has won the band massive favour in the dance and alternative rock scenes as well as in world music circles and in the North American and Eu ...

'' through Ache. Ache has issued three pressings of the album.

DIV/ORCE 7″ series

On the DIV/ORCE 7″ series of split 7-inch singles, the musicians on each side have different musical styles. The series began in order to challenge what Ache Records called "finicky sub-genrifying", believing instead that "underground art forms should not be defined". Although Ache does not describe the genres of its releases, the ''

'' says that the pairings on these records are typically between

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

acts. The split releases in the series include: * ACHE013 – Hella / Four Tet * ACHE016 –

/ Die Monitr Batss * ACHE019 – Sightings / Hrvatski * ACHE023 –

/ Kid Commando * ACHE028 – Greg Davis / Of * ACHE031 –

Gorge Trio Gorge Trio is an American experimental rock band based in Oakland, California. It is composed of three-fourths of the critically acclaimed math rock band Colossamite, which disbanded in 1998, and is survived by three releases on Skin Graft Record ...

/ Uske Orchestra * ACHE035 –

Bulbs In botany, a bulb is structurally a short Plant stem, stem with fleshy leaf, leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food st ...

/ Wobbly * ACHE039 – The Secret Mommy Quintet /

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

''Project: Bicycle''

Another project of Ache Records was its compilation album ''Project: Bicycle''. The album had eleven songs by various

or electro-acoustic musicians. These musicians were given a single sample of music, a recording of a bicycle recorded by Jesse Gander at Hive Studios in Vancouver, and they were tasked with composing a song using only that sample.
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References

External links

* {{Authority control Record labels established in 1999 Canadian independent record labels Indie rock record labels Companies based in Vancouver Netlabels Online music stores of Canada 1999 establishments in British Columbia