Bella Union is a British

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 ...

founded in 1997 by

Simon Raymonde Simon Philip Raymonde (born 3 April 1962) is an English musician and record producer. He is the son of the late arranger and composer Ivor Raymonde. He is best known as the bass guitarist and keyboard player with the Scottish band Cocteau Twins ...

and Robin Guthrie of

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...

. It is now run solely by Raymonde.

History

After releasing records with

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

for a large part of their career,

decided to start up the Bella Union record label in 1997, through which they could release their own work as well as any collaborative efforts. The band had a difficult relationship with 4AD founder

Ivo Watts-Russell Ivo Watts-Russell (born 1954) is a British music producer and record label executive. He was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the independent record label 4AD. He has produced several records, although he prefers to use the term "musical director" ...

and also regretted signing with

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, ...

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. The band split up not long after, but instead of letting the newly formed label go under, Robin Guthrie,

and their former manager Fiona Glyn-Jones decided to take charge of it. One of the earliest bands to sign on was the Australian trio

Dirty Three Dirty Three are an Australian instrumental rock band, consisting of Warren Ellis (musician), Warren Ellis (violin, keyboards), Mick Turner (electric guitar, organ and bass) and Jim White (drummer), Jim White (drums), which formed in 1992. Their ...

, who continue to release under Bella Union. Other early signees include Françoiz Breut and The Czars, who were the first American band signed to the label. Since 2000, when Guthrie moved to France to concentrate on his own music, Raymonde took the reins at Bella Union. In 2007, the 10th anniversary celebrations saw Bella Union host a two-night showcase at London's

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

featuring their artists such as

Beach House Beach House is an American indie music, indie band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore in 2004 by current members Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals, drum programming). Their work is char ...

and Midlake, along with guest appearances from

Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...

and members of

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 ...

. That year,

Fionn Regan Fionn Regan (born 1981) is an Irish folk musician and singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Bray, Regan came to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, '' The End of History'' in 2006. He had been releasing extended plays for si ...

's debut album was nominated for the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

. The label underwent financial troubles in 2007 and Raymonde considered shutting it down. While in Oslo, Raymonde received a link to

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes are an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band currently consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backin ...

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

page, who at the time had only released a demo version of " White Winter Hymnal". He immediately expressed interest and had to fight off

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

in order to secure a European distribution contract with the band, which was ultimately agreed to. Fleet Foxes' 2008 self-titled debut became Bella Union's first platinum-selling album in the UK. The label has subsequently released music by

Father John Misty Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician. He is known for his satirical lyrics and eccentric performance style. Tillman began his career in Seattle in the early 2000s. O ...

, Department of Eagles,

Karl Blau Karl Blau is an American indie rock and country vocalist, producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, previously based in Anacortes, Washington for over two decades. A member of the Knw-Yr-Own/K Records c ...

, Explosions in the Sky,

, The Acorn, Mercury Rev, Peter Broderick, PINS, M. Ward, Philip Selway, John Grant, Lawrence Arabia, The Low Anthem, Hannah Cohen,

Laura Veirs Laura Pauline Veirs (born October 24, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter based in Portland, Oregon. She is known for her folk and alternative country records and live performances as well as her collaboration with Neko Case and k.d. lang o ...

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...

, Lanterns on the Lake,

Inventions An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious music, religious works. Among his best known works are ''The Lamb (Tavener), The Lamb'' (1982), ''The ...

, Marissa Nadler, Arc Iris, Clarence Clarity, and

Jambinai Jambinai () are a Korean post-rock band formed in Seoul in 2009. The band currently consists of Kim Bo-mi, Lee Il-woo, Sim Eun-yong, Yu Byeong-koo and Choi Jae-hyuk. Their debut album '' Différance'' won the award for Best Crossover Album at the ...

. The label won the Independent Record Company Of The Year award at the ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' Awards, as voted by the UK independent retailers, in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. In 2012, for the 15th anniversary the label took over the curation of one day at End of the Road Festival. In 2014, signee John Grant was nominated for a Brit Award. In 2015, Raymonde signed the Yorkshire-born singer Holly Macve, releasing the single "Corner of my Mind". In 2016, artist

was also nominated for a BRIT Award. In 2016, following his sold out show at

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, artist John Grant received a Silver disc for the album ''Pale Green Ghosts''. In 2020 Lanterns on the Lake were shortlisted for the

with their forth LP '' Spook the Herd''. The label's releases are distributed by the distributors PIAS worldwide.

Artists

* 2:54 * Aerial * Abe Vigoda * Al Brooker * Alessi's Ark * Andrew Bird * Arc Iris * Art of Fighting * The Autumns * Ballet School * Baloji * B.C. Camplight *

* Bernard+Edith *

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...

* Bonnevill * Cashier No.9 * Celebration * Chimes and Bells * Clarence Clarity * Conchúr White * Concrete Knives * The Czars * The Dears * Decoder Ring * Department of Eagles * Departure Lounge * Devics *

* Dog In The Snow * Doomsquad * Drab City *

Dustin O'Halloran Dustin O'Halloran (born September 8, 1971) is an American composer and pianist. Aside from releasing music as a recording artist, O'Halloran is a film and TV composer, as well as one half of ambient act A Winged Victory for the Sullen. Early li ...

* Emmy the Great * exmagician * Explosions in the Sky * Ezra Furman * Faraway Places *

* Fiona Brice *

* Françoiz Breut *

Garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

* Gwei-Lo * Hannah Cohen * Helen Ganya * Holly Macve *

Horse Thief Horse theft is the crime of stealing horses. A person engaged in stealing horses is known as a horse thief. Historically, punishments were often severe for horse theft, with several cultures pronouncing the sentence of death upon actual or pre ...

* Howling Bells * I Break Horses * Icebeing *

* The Kissaway Trail * Jack Dangers *

* Jetscreamer * John Grant *

* Jonathan Wilson * Josh Martinez * Josh T. Pearson * J. Tillman *

* Kefaya * Kid Loco * Landshapes * Lanterns on the Lake * Laura Groves *

* Lawrence Arabia *Liela Moss * Lift to Experience * Lisa Dewey * Lone Wolf * Lost Horizons * The Low Anthem *Lost Horizons * Lowly * Mammút *

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

* Marissa Nadler * Mazarin * Mercury Rev * Midlake *

Mountain Man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

* M. Ward *Mr Ben & the Bens * Mt.Royal * My Latest Novel * My Sad Captains * Nanaco *Nell Smith * Ohbijou * Our Broken Garden * Pavo Pavo * Penelope Isles * Peter Broderick * Peter von Poehl * Phil Selway * PINS * Piroshka * Pom Poko *

Poor Moon Poor Moon is an American indie folk band, formed in Seattle in 2012, composed of Christian Wargo, Casey Wescott, and Ian and Peter Murray. Poor Moon is a side project of Wargo and Wescott, who are members of Fleet Foxes, Poor Moon is signed ...

* Promise & The Monster * Robert Gomez * Rothko * Roy Harper * Russell Mills/Undark * Silver Moth *

* Sing-Sing * Sleeping States * Sneakster * Snowbird * Sonikku * Sophie Jameson * Stephanie Dosen * Sumie * Susanne Sundfør * The Soft Cavalry * The Trouble With Templeton *

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, record producer, singer, and former Warner Bros. Records executive whose work encompasses orchestral pop, elaborate recording experiments, Ame ...

*The Venue * Tim Burgess * Tiny Ruins * Treefight for Sunlight *

Veronica Falls Veronica Falls were a British indie pop band that formed in London in 2009. The band consisted of Roxanne Clifford and James Hoare, both on vocals and guitar, Marion Herbain on bass guitar and Patrick Doyle on drums and backing vocals. The memb ...

* Vetiver * The Walkmen * Wild Nothing * Thousands * Xiu Xiu * Xylouris White * Zun Zun Egui

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control British independent record labels Record labels established in 1997 Alternative rock record labels 1997 establishments in England

History

Artists

See also

References

External links