Anticon (often styled as anticon.) was 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

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It was collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and manager Shaun Koplow. The original musicians signed to Anticon were once referred to as the Anticon collective. Following the death of one of its founding members in 2018, the label dissolved.

History

The label's roster of artists has been described as "the

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

equivalent of

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

" and "

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

hip-hop". Releases feature material created by its members, affiliates, and extended musical family. Although Anticon cohered originally within

alternative hip hop Alternative hip-hop (also known as alternative rap and experimental hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip-hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip-hop group ...

circles, Anticon's founders have become only tangentially related to hip hop, and the label has begun releasing music in the

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

genres. Artists signed to Anticon are based in the United States,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The artists within the collective have been known to perform and release music in solo and group form. Artists on the label are known for frequent

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

, both within and outside of their own collective. However, the Anticon collective has over time evolved into a group of separate artists who, despite sharing a similar progressive and often challenging indie quality, explore different styles of music including electronica and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

. Many of the artists on Anticon are signed to multiple labels, and some have their own small, independent labels through which they have self-released material. Anticon has also organized art exhibitions featuring visual art by several of the artists on the label. On February 9, 2010, co-founder Sole (Tim Holland) left Anticon exclaiming that it is time to try to push forward and find new opportunities. He leaves citing business and ideological differences while maintaining his love for the artists on Anticon. He said, "There are no ill feelings between myself and members of anticon. I will continue to work with many of the artists and will always love them as brothers and consider them allies." He officially renounced his 1/8 of ownership and formal affiliations. On March 30, 2018, founding member Alias died of a heart attack at age 41. In November 2018, the label released a posthumous album from Alias that had been completed with label-mate Doseone prior to his death. The label had been quiet since then, and former co-founder Sole confirmed in July 2021 that the label had "dissolved" sometime after Alias's death.

Owners

* Alias (Brendon Whitney) *

Doseone Adam Kidd Drucker (born April 21, 1977), better known by his stage name Doseone, is an American rapper, producer, poet and artist. He is a co-founder of the indie hip hop record label Anticon. He has also been a member of numerous groups in ...

(Adam Drucker) * Jel (Jeffrey Logan) *

Odd Nosdam David P. Madson (born 1976), better known by his stage name Odd Nosdam, is an American underground hip hop producer, DJ and visual artist. He is co-founder of the record label Anticon. He has remixed tracks by a variety of bands and artists in ...

(David Madson) *

Pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...

(James Brandon Best) *

Yoni Wolf Jonathan Avram "Yoni" Wolf (born April 30, 1979) is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock musician and co-founder of the record label Anticon. From 1997 until 2004, Wolf released music under the stage name Why?. In 2004 he transferred ...

* Baillie Parker

Roster

13 & God 13 & God is a collaboration between American indie hip hop duo Themselves and German indie rock band The Notwist. The group is signed both to Anticon and Alien Transistor. History 13 & God are joined live by Jordan Dalrymple, who now plays Da ...

* A7pha * Alias *

Alias & Ehren ''Lillian'' is the only collaborative studio album by Alias (Brendon Whitney) & Ehren (Ehren Whitney). It was released on Anticon in 2005. The album is named after their grandmother. Critical reception Marisa Brown of AllMusic gave the album 4 ...

Alias & Tarsier ''Brookland/Oaklyn'' is the only collaborative studio album by Alias & Tarsier. It was released on Anticon in 2006. Critical reception Brian Howe of ''Pitchfork'' gave the album a 7.0 out of 10, saying, "for the bulk of it, Alias stays behind t ...

Anathallo Anathallo was a band originally from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan and then based in Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With ...

Angel Deradoorian Angel Deradoorian (born July 18, 1986), also known mononymously as Deradoorian, is a musician based in Los Angeles, California. She is best known for her work with Dirty Projectors as full-time member from 2007 to 2012. She left to pursue a solo ...

Antonionian Antonionian (born Jordan Dalrymple) is a multi-instrumentalist based in California. History Jordan Dalrymple has been a member of Subtle and 13 & God. He released the debut album, '' Antonionian'', under the alias Antonionian on Anticon in 2011. ...

Antwon Antonio Paul Williams (born October 25, 1986), better known by his stage name Antwon, is an American rapper based in San Jose, California. In 2013, he was included on ''Complex''s "15 Unsigned Rappers Who Should Get a Deal After SXSW" list. He wa ...

* Baths *

Beans A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...

Bike for Three! Bike for Three! is a "cross-continental collaboration" between Canadian alternative hip hop artist Buck 65 (born Rich Terfry) and Belgian producer Greetings from Tuskan (born Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê).Clarke, Mia (April 28, 2009).Bike For Three: ...

* Bomarr *

Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small ...

Buck 65 Richard Terfry (born March 4, 1972), better known by his stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian alternative hip hop rapper. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country ...

Danielson Danielson is an American rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey, that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates. Smith has also released solo work as Brot ...

Darc Mind Darc Mind is an underground hip hop duo from Queens, New York. It consists of rapper Kev Roc and producer X-Ray. History Darc Mind recorded their debut album '' Symptomatic of a Greater Ill'' for Loud Records between 1995 and 1997. The duo rel ...

Deep Puddle Dynamics Deep Puddle Dynamics was a collaborative group featuring underground hip hop artists Sole, Doseone, Alias and Slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, terrestrial gastropod mollusc. T ...

DJ Mayonnaise Chris Greer, better known by his stage name DJ Mayonnaise, is an alternative hip hop producer and DJ from Portland, Maine. He has released two albums on Anticon. History DJ Mayonnaise released his debut album '' 55 Stories'' on Anticon in 1999 ...

* D33j *

* Dosh * Tha Grimm Teachaz * Jel *

Josiah Wolf Josiah Wolf is a drummer and vocalist from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known as the drummer, percussionist, and backing vocalist of the indie rock band Why? (American band), Why?, of which his brother Yoni Wolf, Yoni is the lead vocalist. Histo ...

* Passage *

Pictureplane Travis James Egedy (born May 1, 1985), better known by his stage name Pictureplane, is an American electronic musician, visual artist and fashion designer based in Brooklyn, New York. He first appeared in the music scene of Denver, Colorado, m ...

Raleigh Moncrief Raleigh Moncrief is an American electronic musician, record producer and recording engineer who has worked with Zach Hill, Dirty Projectors and !!!. History The debut album, '' Watered Lawn'', was released on Anticon in 2011. Discography Albums ...

* Restiform Bodies *

Sage Francis Paul William "Sage" Francis (born November 18, 1976) is an American independent underground rapper from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of Strange Famous Records. Early life and education Francis was born in Miami, Florid ...

Saroos Saroos is a post-rock trio from Berlin, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen State ...

Serengeti The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning the Mara and Arusha Regions of Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game r ...

* Serengeti & Polyphonic *

Sisyphus In Greek mythology, Sisyphus or Sisyphos (; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος ''Sísyphos'') was the founder and king of Ancient Corinth, Ephyra (now known as Corinth). He reveals Zeus's abduction of Aegina (mythology), Aegina to the river god As ...

Sixtoo Sixtoo was the main project of Canadian underground hip hop DJ, record producer, producer and rapping, rapper Vaughn Robert Squire between 1996 and 2007. He has since retired the Sixtoo name, and is pursuing other directions in electronic music, w ...

SJ Esau SJ Esau is the music project of Sam Wisternoff, an experimental pop musician from Bristol, England. Although ostensibly a solo project, Wisternoff is often joined by the drummer Sean Talbot and has incorporated a variety of other musicians into re ...

* Sole * Sole and the Skyrider Band *

Son Lux Son Lux is an American experimental band. Originally the solo project and moniker of founding member Ryan Lott, the band's first three albums, '' At War with Walls & Mazes'', '' We Are Rising'' and '' Lanterns'', shaped the band's unique soun ...

Telephone Jim Jesus George Chadwick, better known by his stage name Telephone Jim Jesus, is an alternative hip hop producer based in Oakland, California. He is a member of Restiform Bodies along with Passage and Bomarr. History Telephone Jim Jesus released his d ...

Thee More Shallows Thee More Shallows is a three-piece experimental indie rock band based in San Francisco, California. It was formed in 2001. The band consists of Dee (ne David) Kesler, Chavo Fraser and Jason Gonzales. History The three musicians who would come ...

Themselves Themselves, previously known as Them, is an American hip hop duo based in Oakland, California. It consists of Doseone and Jel. They are also part of Subtle and 13 & God. The duo's first studio album, '' Them'', was included on ''Fact''s "100 ...

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

* Why? *

Young Fathers Young Fathers are a Scottish Progressive rap, progressive hip hop group formed in Edinburgh in 2008. Their second EP, ''Tape Two'' (2013), won the Scottish Album of the Year Award. In 2014, they won the Barclaycard Mercury Prize, Mercury Prize ...

License

Genghis Tron Genghis Tron is an American cybergrind band formed in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States, and latterly based in Brooklyn, New York and San Francisco, California. The band signed to Relapse Records after releasing two recordings on Crucial B ...

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

Zach Hill Zachary Charles Hill (born December 28, 1979) is an American multi-instrumentalist and visual artist. He is best known as the drummer and co-producer of the groups Death Grips, and the I.L.Y's, and as the drummer of math rock band Hella. Ear ...

Collaborators

Moodswing9,

Slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced ...

Ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

Eyedea Micheal David Larsen (November 9, 1981 – October 16, 2010), better known by his stage name Eyedea, was an American rapper. He was a battle rap, freestyle battle champion and songwriter from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Larsen had appeared as a ...

DJ Abilities Gregory Joseph Keltgen, better known by his stage name DJ Abilities, is an American underground hip hop producer and DJ signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment who is based in Minneapolis. He is a founding member of Eyedea & Abilities alongside Eyed ...

Mr. Dibbs Mr. Dibbs (born Bradley Duane Forste) is an American disc jockey, DJ and hip hop production, hip hop producer. He is the Founder of 1200 HOBOS j/graff collective He was also one of the founders of Scribble Jam. Early life Born in Cincinnati ...

DJ Signify DJ Signify is an American underground hip hop producer. History DJ Signify's first album '' Sleep No More'', featuring collaborations with Sage Francis and Buck 65, was described as "hip-hop at its darkest and most chilling" and earned him accol ...

DJ Krush , better known by his stage name DJ Krush, is a Japanese record producer and DJ. He is known for his atmospheric instrumental production which incorporates sound elements from nature, and extensive use of jazz and soul samples. Early life Ishi ...

Controller 7 Controller 7 (born Tommy McMahon) is an underground hip hop producer from San Jose, California. History Controller 7 released the debut album '' Left Handed Straw'' in 2000. It was reissued on 6months in 2001. He has produced and remixed tracks ...

J. Rawls Jason Daniel Rawls (born February 27, 1974), known professionally as J. Rawls, is an American hip hop musician, producer, DJ, educator, and speaker based in Columbus, Ohio. He emerged in the late 1990s underground hip hop scene, contributing t ...

Dax Pierson Dax Wentworth Pierson (August 2, 1970 – December 30, 2024) was an American musician from Oakland, California. He had been a member of Subtle (band), Subtle and 13 & God. Life and career Pierson was born on August 2, 1970. He worked at Amoeba M ...

Daddy Kev Kevin Marques Moo (born 1974), better known by his stage name Daddy Kev, is an American record producer, DJ, Grammy Award-winning audio engineer, songwriter and executive from Los Angeles, California. He is the owner of Alpha Pup Records and the ...

The Notwist The Notwist are a German indie rock band. Formed in 1989, the band moved through several musical incarnations, despite maintaining a relatively stable line-up. While their early records moved through heavy metal into dark indie rock, their re ...

Tunde Adebimpe Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe (; born February 25, 1975) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known as a founding member and co-lead vocalist of the Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio, with whom he has recorded five st ...

TV on the Radio TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock music, rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), Dave Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock bands Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. He has also fronted and/or played with Tomahawk, The ...

Jessica Bailiff Jessica Bailiff is an American singer-songwriter from Toledo, Ohio. Her music is largely classified as slowcore, although it contains elements of post-rock and shoegaze. Bailiff was discovered by Low's Alan Sparhawk, who recommended her earlier ...

Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing musi ...

, Andrew Broder of

Fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason (born 1977) is a founding member of Icelandic experimental band múm, and has been a part-time member of other Icelandic bands such as Benni Hemm Hemm, Singapore Sling, Slowblow, Andhéri, Skakkamanage, FM ...

Múm Múm (stylized in lowercase) () is an Icelandic indietronica band whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments. History The band was formed in ...

Dark Dark Dark Dark Dark Dark is an American folk band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Formed in 2006, the band has toured extensively in the United States and Eastern Asia and are known for their blend of New Orleans jazz, Americana, Eastern European folk and ...

John Herndon John Herndon (born April 9, 1966) is an American musician and artist. Based in Chicago, he was a founding member of the post-rock band Tortoise, where he plays drums and percussion. Herndon also works as a producer for instrumental hip hop unde ...

Tortoise Tortoises ( ) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like o ...

Wise Intelligent Timothy Grimes, better known by his stage name Wise Intelligent, is an American hip hop musician from Trenton, New Jersey. He is a member of Poor Righteous Teachers. He released '' The Talented Timothy Taylor'' in 2007. His third solo studio album ...

Poor Righteous Teachers Poor Righteous Teachers was a hip hop group from Trenton, New Jersey, founded in 1989. Often referred to as PRT by its fans, Poor Righteous Teachers was known as a socially and politically conscious hip hop group, with musical content inspire ...

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...

, Stefanie Böhm of

Ms. John Soda Ms. John Soda is an indietronica band from Weilheim in Oberbayern, Germany. It consists of Stefanie Böhm and Micha Acher. History Ms. John Soda released the first album '' No P. or D.'' on Morr Music in 2002. It is listed by ''Pitchfork Media ...

Anders Holm Anders Holm (born May 29, 1981) is an American comedian and actor. He is one of the stars and creators of the Comedy Central show ''Workaholics'' and starred in the short-lived NBC series ''Champions''. He, along with fellow ''Workaholics'' crea ...

, Chris Adams of

Hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

, Circus of Shape Shifters, Scott Matelic, Matth, Megabusive,

D-Styles Dave Cuasito better known by his stage name D-Styles, is a hip hop producer and DJ. He has been a member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Beat Junkies, and Third Sight. He has also been a resident DJ of Low End Theory. D-styles is an instructor at th ...

, others.

Projects

The Anticon collective is known for its many musical projects. Not all of these projects are released on the Anticon label. Artists within the Anticon collective have released collaborative albums on different labels or on their own independent labels. Some notable projects of the Anticon collective include the following: *

cLOUDDEAD Clouddead (styled as cLOUDDEAD) was an American experimental hip hop group, consisting of Doseone (Adam Drucker), Why? (Yoni Wolf) and Odd Nosdam (David Madson). The group's name came from a nonsensical knock-knock joke Drucker's sister told h ...

(Doseone, Why?, Odd Nosdam) on

Mush Records Mush Records is an American independent record label. It was founded by Robert Curcio and Cindy Roché in 1997. History Originally known as Dirty Loop Music, Mush Records started out as a recording studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the label form ...

and

Big Dada Big Dada is a British Record label#Imprint, independent record label imprint distributed by Ninja Tune. It was started by reputed hip hop journalist Will Ashon in 1997. It is best known for marketing of prominent British hip hop artist Roots Man ...

Reaching Quiet Reaching Quiet was an American alternative hip hop duo. It consisted of Yoni Wolf, Why? and Odd Nosdam. The duo released one album, ''In the Shadow of the Living Room'', on Mush Records in 2002. In 2001, ''Split EP!'' was released on Anticon. I ...

(Why?, Odd Nosdam) on Mush Records *

So-Called Artists James Timothy "Tim" Holland Jr. (born September 25, 1977), better known by his stage name Sole, is an American underground hip hop artist from Portland, Maine. He is one of eight co-founders of the record label Anticon. He has been a member of ...

(Sole, Alias, DJ Mayonnaise) on Mush Records *

Hymie's Basement Hymie's Basement is an American indie rock duo. It consists of Yoni Wolf and Andrew Broder of Fog (band), Fog. They released one album, ''Hymie's Basement (album), Hymie's Basement'', on Lex Records in 2003. The name ''Hymies Basement'' came from ...

(Why?, Andrew Broder) on

Lex Records Lex Records is a British independent record label. Most releases on the label are alternative hip hop, alternative rock or electronic music.Nicola Slade, "Life Blood: Lex Records," (Record Of The Day, 11 June 2009) Dazed described Lex as a lab ...

* Subtle (Doseone, Jel, Dax Pierson, Jordan Dalrymple, Alexander Kort, Marty Dowers) on Lex Records *

Greenthink Anticon (often styled as anticon.) was an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It was collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and manag ...

(Doseone, Why?) on A Purple 100 * Presage (Jel, Mr. Dibbs) on Future Primitive Sound * Object Beings (Doseone, Pedestrian & Why?)

Discography

References

External links

*
Anticon
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{Authority control American independent record labels Record labels established in 1997 Hip-hop record labels Defunct record labels of the United States Record labels disestablished in 2018 1998 establishments in California