Barsuk 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 and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

which was founded in 1998 by Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, the members of the band

This Busy Monster This Busy Monster was an American indie rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in the early 1990s. The band was composed of Christopher Possanza (vocals, guitar), Josh Rosenfeld (bass guitar), Jason Avinger (guitar, vocals) and Barrett Wilke ( ...

, to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a vinyl record in its mouth. Barsuk played a key role in shaping the mainstream view of indie rock in its early years, with albums like

Nada Surf Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1992, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). After initially operating under the name Helicopter, Caw ...

's ''Let Go'',

The Long Winters The Long Winters are an American indie rock band based in Seattle, Washington. History Singer-songwriter John Roderick was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. He later returned to Seattle, where he formed the Bun Fam ...

' ''When I Pretend to Fall'', and

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...

's influential fourth album, ''Transatlanticism''. The label also became a platform for Seattle-based singer-songwriters such as

Rocky Votolato Rocky Votolato (born March 8, 1977, in Dallas, Texas, United States) is an American indie and folk singer-songwriter. He was also a member of the rock group Waxwing. in 2025, he started a new band called Suzzallo with bandmate Rudy Gajadhar on d ...

Jesse Sykes Jesse Sykes (born Jessica Ann Sykes, née Solomon; July 17, 1967) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her band Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, which was formed in 1999 with Phil Wandscher. Early life and education Sykes was ...

, and

David Bazan David Shannon Bazan (; born January 22, 1976) is an American indie rock singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona who now resides in Edmonds, Washington. Bazan is the lead singer and creative force behind the band Pedro the Lion and was the lead ...

. The name of the label comes from the Russian word ''барсук'' , "badger". However, the label is named after Possanza and Jason Avinger's dog, a black

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

. The dog can be heard barking in two

tracks: "Song 69" and "Time to Sleep".

Artists

* Active Bird Community * ¡All-Time Quarterback! * The American Analog Set * Aqueduct * Aveo * Babes *

Big Scary Big Scary is an Australian musical duo formed in Melbourne in 2006, by Tom Iansek and Joanna Syme. The pair have released several EPs and five studio albums. Their 2013 album '' Not Art'' was nominated for the Australian Album of the Year at ...

Charly Bliss Charly Bliss are an American power pop band from Brooklyn, New York, who formed in 2011. The band's line-up is composed of siblings Eva (lead vocals, guitar) and Sam (drums) Hendricks, lead guitarist Spencer Fox, and bassist Dan Shure. To date, t ...

* Blunt Mechanic * Common Holly *

Cymbals Eat Guitars Cymbals Eat Guitars were an indie rock band from Staten Island, New York,Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...

The Dismemberment Plan The Dismemberment Plan is an American indie rock band formed in Washington, D.C. on January 1, 1993. Also known as D-Plan or the Plan, the name was derived from an industry phrase used by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the 1993 comedy film ...

Benjamin Gibbard Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...

Laura Gibson Laura Anne Gibson (born August 9, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter. She currently records for the U.S. independent label Barsuk Records, and the Berlin-based label City Slang. Gibson's most recent album ''Goners'' was released October 26, 20 ...

* The Globes * Abigail Grush *

Harvey Danger Harvey Danger was an American indie/alternative rock band. It was formed in 1992 in Seattle, Washington, by Aaron Huffman and Jeff J. Lin, who were both journalism students at the University of Washington. Drummer Evan Sult and singer Sean N ...

* Hibou * Jessamine *

Kind of Like Spitting Kind of Like Spitting is an American indie rock band. They formed in 1996 in Portland, Oregon. The band is led by singer-songwriter Ben Barnett, whose work has drawn comparisons to Elliott Smith, Mark Eitzel, Billy Bragg, and Robert Pollard. ...

Lackthereof Lackthereof is the solo project of Danny Seim, a founding member of the Portland, Oregon-based band Menomena. History The first six Lackthereof albums were recorded at home and given out to Seim's friends on cassettes and CD-R's. In 2005, F ...

Little Champions Little Champions is an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, United States, formed in 1996. The band's founding members are Becky Harbine (bass, keyboards, vocals), Scott Harbine (guitar, vocals), and Fred Stuben (drums). Later Fred ...

* Lo Tom *

Maps & Atlases Maps & Atlases is an American indie rock group from Chicago, Illinois, United States, influenced by alternative rock, folk and experimental music. They have been labeled as a math rock band. The band has released three official EPs and three ...

Mates of State Mates of State are an American indie pop duo, active since 1997. The group is the husband-and-wife team of Kori Gardner (born June 16, 1974) (vocals, organ, synthesizer, piano, electric piano, and occasional guitar and drums) and Jason Hammel (b ...

Menomena Menomena is an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, made up of Justin Harris and Danny Seim. Both members of the band share singing duties and frequently swap instruments while recording. In concert, Seim plays drums, while Ha ...

Minor Alps ''Get There'' is a studio album collaboration by American singer-songwriter Juliana Hatfield and Matthew Caws (lead singer of the band Nada Surf) under the band name Minor Alps. It was released on October 29, 2013, by Barsuk Records. Background ...

* Travis Morrison (of the

Dismemberment Plan The Dismemberment Plan is an American indie rock band formed in Washington, D.C. on January 1, 1993. Also known as D-Plan or the Plan, the name was derived from an industry phrase used by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the 1993 comedy film ' ...

) *

* Jim Noir * Pacific Air *

Phantogram Phantogram may refer to: *Phantogram (band) Phantogram is an American music duo from Greenwich (town), New York, Greenwich, New York (state), New York, formed in 2007 and consisting of multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Sarah Barthel and Josh ...

* Pea Soup * Pearly Gate Music * The Prom *

Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard. History Ra Ra Riot formed in January 2006, playing at houses and ve ...

* Ramona Falls *

The Revolutionary Hydra The Revolutionary Hydra were an indie rock band on Barsuk Records based in Washington. It had a rotating cast of members, including Bart Sharp, Joe Chilcote, Jay Chilcote, Benjamin Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie), Chris Walla (also of Death Cab ...

Rilo Kiley Rilo Kiley ( ) is an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consists of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Jason Boesel. The group released their debut album '' Take-Offs and Landing ...

* Ruler * Mathieu Santos *

Say Hi Say Hi (previously known as Say Hi to Your Mom) is a Seattle-based indie rock band formed in Brooklyn in 2002 by Eric Elbogen. Say Hi's albums are recorded at Elbogen's home, with him playing all of the instruments & providing vocals. Backgro ...

* Small Feet *

Smoosh Chaos Chaos are an American indie (music), indie synthpop band based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. The band was formed in Seattle under the name Smoosh in 2000 and adopted their current name in 2012. The band consists of two sisters, ...

Chris Staples Chris Staples is an American indie rock musician originally from Pensacola, Florida, long based in Seattle, Washington. He released ''Panama, Burned and Blistered'', '' Blackest Hair, Bluest Eyes'', ''Badlands'', and ''American Soft'' independe ...

Starlight Mints Starlight Mints were an American indie pop band from Norman, Oklahoma, United States. The band was formed in the 1990s and released four albums during the 2000s, after which they disbanded. Their last lineup consisted of Allan Vest (vocals, g ...

* Steady Holiday * Sunset Valley * Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter *

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

* Trails and Ways *

John Vanderslice John Warren Vanderslice (born May 22, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. He is the owner and founder of Tiny Telephone, an analog recording studio in San Francisco, California, San Francisco and O ...

Viva Voce ''Viva voce'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "with living voice" but most often translated as "by word of mouth." It may refer to: *Word of mouth *A voice vote in a deliberative assembly *An oral exam ** Thesis defence, in academia *Spoken ev ...

Chris Walla Christopher Ryan Walla (born November 2, 1975) is an American musician, record producer, and film music composer, best known for being a former guitarist and songwriter for the band Death Cab for Cutie. Musical career Early bands While at B ...

* What Made Milwaukee Famous * The Wooden Birds *

Yellow Ostrich Yellow Ostrich is an American indie rock band based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The band formed in 2009 and ostensibly serves as the solo project of multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Alex Schaaf. Previous collaborators inclu ...

File:Death Cab for Cutie at Manchester Academy, 4 July 2011.jpg,

performs at Manchester Academy, 2011

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1998 American independent record labels Companies based in Seattle Indie pop record labels Rock record labels Pop record labels Mass media in Seattle

Artists

See also

References

External links