Beyond Records was an English
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 produ ...
founded in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
in 1992, best known for its
ambient dub compilations, which were to define the genre.
The label was set up by Mike Barnett, who had previous experience within the music industry in management and as a music agent, and who established the label in order to release music that satisfied his interest in contemporary
electronic dance music and 1970s
ambient music
Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...
by artists such as
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...
. The label worked closely with
Higher Intelligence Agency and
Rockers Hi-Fi
Rockers Hi-Fi were an electronic dub/dance outfit formed in Birmingham, England in 1991 as Original Rockers. In 1994, they changed their name to Rockers Hi-Fi. Their music was quite popular across Europe as an extension and continuation of the ...
, and was closely involved in the
Oscillate
Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...
club, which was to host many of the early performances by ambient dub's pioneers.
References
British independent record labels
Ambient music record labels
Electronic music record labels
Record labels based in Birmingham, West Midlands
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