Knitting Factory Records is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

American music label that is notable for promoting a variety of artists, including the music of deceased Nigerian political activist

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pi ...

. The label promotes a variety of music artists including

Ages and Ages Ages and Ages is an American rock band from Portland, Oregon. Every member of the band sings accompanied by handclaps, shakers and noise-makers. The group was voted as a top Portland band by ''Willamette Week''. In 2011, they signed a record de ...

Ash Black Bufflo Ash Black Bufflo, sometimes spelled ''Buffalo'', is the professional name of Portland-based music composer and experimental musician Jay Clarke. He composes music for feature-length films, short films, documentaries, and dance and theater project ...

Cuong Vu Cuong Vu (born 19 September 1969) is a Vietnamese-American jazz trumpeter. In addition to his own work as a bandleader, Vu was a member of the Pat Metheny Group. Biography Born in Saigon on September 19, 1969, Vu immigrated to Seattle with his ...

, Graham Haynes,

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, Women's ri ...

Gary Lucas Gary Lucas (born June 20, 1952) is an American guitarist/songwriter/composer who was a member of Captain Beefheart's band. He formed the band Gods and Monsters in 1989. Lucas has released more than 50 albums to date as a solo artist or band l ...

Lumerians Lumerians is a San Francisco Bay Area-based quartet which has a psychedelic "mindbender" space rock sound. The group is notable for performances characterized by "transcendent live video projections" and having "incredible visuals", according to ...

Thomas Chapin Thomas Chapin (March 9, 1957 – February 13, 1998) was an American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist. Though primarily an alto saxophonist, he also played sopranino, as well as soprano, tenor, baritone saxes and flute. Man ...

Patrolled By Radar Patrolled By Radar (PBR) is a roots rock trio based in Los Angeles. The band blends alt-country, blues and soul with "equal parts British invasion, cow-punk and Americana ... songwriting respected as craft". After dismantling his group 50 Cent ...

, Joe Morris, Rachid Taha,

Seun Kuti Oluseun Anikulapo Kuti (born 11 January 1983), who is called by the name Seun Kuti, is a Nigerian musician, singer and the youngest son of the famous Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti. Seun leads his father's former band Egypt 80. Biography The y ...

, and

Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers Shilpa Ray is an American singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, New York with a DIY punk experimental sound. Her music has been compared to Blondie, The Cramps, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins and her singing has been compared to the style of Patti Smith ...

. The label was begun in 1998 as a spinoff of the music venues called

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

and signed artist

as the first artist, according to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Since then, it has promoted a variety of independent artists and groups such as Hasidic New Wave, which featured Jewish musicians combining with

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

ese Muslim musicians in 2002. In 2008, while working as the Night Manager for The Knitting Factory venue at their Leonard St. location in Manhattan, Tim Putnam was approached by Knitting Factory Entertainment CEO Morgan Margolis to form a strategic partnership with Partisan Records. Together they've reissued the Fela Kuti catalogue and revived the Knitting Factory Records label. With the Partisan Records team behind it,Music Business Worldwide: Zena White Named MD of Partisan Records and Knitting Factory Records
/ref> KFR has released six albums from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

n musician and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...

in January 2011. The label released the entire catalogue of Kuti's Universal-controlled music in North America from 2009 to 2011. The late

has fascinated millions, according to the ''Boston Globe''. A decade after his death in 1997, Kuti's music is becoming mainstream, and a Broadway musical titled '' Fela!'' was created, which chronicled his life as a political agitator with more than two dozen wives through use of his music. Kuti was jailed over 200 times, and his

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ge ...

was murdered after being thrown out of a window. His sons

and

have become prominent musicians as well and are promoted by Knitting Factory Records. In addition to releasing music by Fela Kuti and his sons, the label also released the original Broadway cast recording of the musical adaptation ''Fela!'' Knitting Factory reached a licensing deal with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

to reissue Fela Kuti's music in the United States during 2010.

Artists

A list of past and current artists include the following: *

* Oren Bloedow *

* Graham Haynes *

* Joe Morris *

Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers Shilpa Ray is an American singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, New York with a DIY punk experimental sound. Her music has been compared to Blondie, The Cramps, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins and her singing has been compared to the style of Patti Smith ...

* Rachid Taha *

* Bill Ware

References

External links

Knitting Factory Records Web site
{{Authority control American independent record labels

Artists

See also

References

External links