Flightless is an Australian

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 ...

, founded in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

in 2012 by former

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are an Australian rock band formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band's current lineup consists of Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood and Michael Cavanagh. They ar ...

member Eric Moore. Originally founded to release both King Gizzard's music and that of associated acts such as

The Murlocs The Murlocs are an Australian rock band from Melbourne. They are composed of Ambrose Kenny-Smith on vocals and harmonica, Cal Shortal on guitar, Cook Craig on bass guitar, Tim Karmouche on keyboards, and Matt Blach on drums. They were formed in 2 ...

, Flightless has since signed other Melbourne-based bands, including

Tropical Fuck Storm Tropical Fuck Storm are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed by Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin from The Drones. Lauren Hammel, from the band High Tension, plays drums, and Erica Dunn, from the bands Mod Con, Harmony ...

, Stonefield and

Amyl and the Sniffers Amyl and the Sniffers are an Australian pub rock and punk rock band based in Melbourne, consisting of vocalist Amy Taylor, drummer Bryce Wilson, guitarist Dec Martens, and bassist Gus Romer. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019, their self-titled ...

History

Flightless was started in 2012 in

by drummer Eric Moore as a label for his band

, after he was unsuccessful trying to get the band signed to existing labels. The label's earliest releases were shipped in pizza boxes,"Flightless & ATO Records Form Exclusive Label and Distribution Partnership"
''Broadway World'' (27 September 2018). Retrieved 22 September 2019. and the vinyl runs were small and limited. In 2015, Flightless hosted the first annual Gizzfest, a music festival featuring bands on the Flightless label as well as others in the

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science ...

and

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

scene. The inaugural festival was held at the

Corner Hotel The Corner Hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, Australia, is a remodelled 19th-century pub which has been a live music venue since the 1940s and, since 1995, a popular rock music venue and rooftop bar.Johnston, Chris. "Corner� ...

in Melbourne, on 2 and 3 May 2015. The festival returned for the subsequent three years, expanding into a touring festival visiting cities around Australia, including

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Sydney,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

and Melbourne. The festival began welcoming international bands such as

Mild High Club Mild High Club is an American psychedelic pop group, led by the musician Alexander Brettin. History Brettin grew up in the Midwest, playing flute in his school band. He majored in jazz studies at Columbia College in Chicago, and started Mild Hi ...

Kikagaku Moyo were a Japanese psychedelic band founded in Tokyo. The band's name translates to "geometric patterns." Name Kikagaku Moyo (in Japanese Kanji 幾何学模様, transliterated ''Kikagaku Moyō'') translates to “geometric patterns”, which the ...

, Altın Gün, and The Mystery Lights to the lineup. The festival took a hiatus in 2019 due to King Gizzard's touring schedule. In 2019 Moore stated that a 2020 iteration of the festival was planned, but due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the festival did not occur. In 2018, Flightless formed a distribution partnership with ATO Records. The following year, the label opened Flightless 168, a public record store located on

Lygon Street Lygon Street is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, running through the inner northern suburbs of Carlton, Carlton North, Princes Hill and Brunswick East. Lygon Street is synonymous with the Italian community of Melbourne, formin ...

in the Melbourne suburb of

Brunswick East Brunswick East is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Merri-bek local government area. Brunswick East recorded a population of 13,279 at the 2021 c ...

. The Flightless website experienced a major crash on 14 September 2018, following the reissue of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's albums ''Willoughby's Beach'', ''

12 Bar Bruise ''12 Bar Bruise'' is the debut studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 7 September 2012 on Flightless. It peaked at No. 14 on the ARIA Albums Chart after being released on vinyl ...

Eyes Like The Sky ''Eyes Like the Sky'' is the second studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 22 February 2013 on the label Flightless. Described as a "cult western audio book", the album is narrated ...

, Float Along - Fill Your Lungs'' and ''

Oddments ''Oddments'' is the fourth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 7 March 2014 on Flightless. It peaked at No. 13 on the ARIA Albums Chart after being re-released on vinyl in Nove ...

'', as well as some promotional merchandise. The crash was colloquially dubbed 'The Great Flightless Crash' by fans, and resulted in Flightless printing a series of stickers to commemorate it. In August 2020, founder Eric Moore left King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard to focus full time on Flightless. In October 2020, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard launched their own web store, selling their own independently produced merchandise and vinyl. It is unclear if the band remains officially signed to the label. March 2021 saw the first annual Flightless Family Folk Festival, a one day festival in Melbourne featuring a mix of Flightless and Non-Flightless folk musicians. The Flightless 168 store closed its doors in June 2021, preceding the label's move to a new warehouse in

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

, Australia. The new store, Flightless Factory, opened online in August 2021, with a retail store coming in the future. Flightless maintains an ethos of environmental friendliness. Since 2019 their vinyl releases have come in cardboard sleeves as an alternative to shrink wrap, with some records produced in an eco-friendly factory throug
Deepgrooves Vinyl Pressing Plant.
Their vinyl shipping mailers feature environmentally friendly messaging, and the label also sells apparel with similar messaging and designs.

Current roster

* Beans (Formerly Baked Beans) * Bullant * Eggy * Leah Senior * ORB * Pipe-Eye * Stonefield * The Slingers * Traffik Island

Alumni

Babe Rainbow ''Babe Rainbow'' is the third album by British alternative rock band The House of Love: it was critically acclaimed by both '' Select'' and '' Spin''. Background ''Babe Rainbow'' is the only House of Love studio album to feature Simon Walker ...

* Civic * Grace Cummings *

* Love Migrate *

* Sleep Decade * Sagamore

References

External links

*
Flightless 168
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flightless (record label) Australian independent record labels Psychedelic rock record labels Record labels established in 2012 Record labels based in Melbourne 2012 establishments in Australia