Lex Records 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 ...

. Most releases on the label are

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 ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

or electronic music.Nicola Slade, "Life Blood: Lex Records," (Record Of The Day, 11 June 2009)

Dazed ''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a quarterly British lifestyle magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. ''Dazed'' is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for produ ...

described Lex as a label "...whose wildly creative output spans over a decade of landmark releases that have changed the music industry no end."

History

2000s

Founded in 2001, Lex was originally an imprint of Warp. By the end of 2003, Lex had released several albums including debuts by Boom Bip, Non-Prophets and Danger Mouse and the success of these albums allowed Lex to expand. Young, Rob, ''Labels Unlimited: Warp'', ( Black Dog Publishing, 2005) (), pp. 134–135 In 2004, Lex managed '' The Grey Album'' campaign, establishing Danger Mouse as a critically successful artist.

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

got a copy of ''The Grey Album'' and this led to Danger Mouse being approached to produce

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

's second album ''

Demon Days ''Demon Days'' is the second studio album by the British virtual band Gorillaz. It was released on 11 May 2005 in Japan, 23 May 2005 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone, and 24 May 2005 in the United States by Virgin Records. The album continu ...

''. ''Demon Days'' was released by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

in May 2005 and sold millions of copies establishing Danger Mouse as a commercially successful producer by the summer of 2005. In September 2005, Brown bought Warp's share of the label. The next release was Danger Doom ''

The Mouse and the Mask ''The Mouse and the Mask'' (stylized as ''THE MOUSE & THE MASK'') is the only studio album by Danger Doom, a collaboration between the hip hop artists Danger Mouse and MF Doom. It was released in Europe on October 10, 2005, and on October 11, ...

''. It was Lex's best selling release to date.

Gnarls Barkley Gnarls Barkley is an American soul music, soul duo composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse (musician), Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, ''St. Elsewhere (album), St. Elsewhere'', in 2006. It contai ...

's multi platinum debut ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

'' followed in 2006, released on Warner with Lex branding. In March 2008, Gnarls Barkley's second album 2006 '' The Odd Couple'' was released on Warner with Lex branding. In the same month, Lex released Neon Neon '' Stainless Style'' which 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 ...

in 2008. In 2009, Lex released MF Doom's '' Born Like This''.

2010s

In July 2010, Lex released an audiobook of

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

& Mitch Jenkins' '' Unearthing'', narrated by Moore and scored by Crook & Flail. They performed it live at the Old Vic Tunnels. Also in July, Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse &

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

's '' Dark Night of the Soul'' was released on Parlophone with Lex branding. In May 2011, Danger Mouse &

Daniele Luppi Daniele Luppi (born January 1, 1972, in Padua, Italy) is an Italian film and television composer and music producer. He has received two Emmy nominations and has collaborated with artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gnarls Barkley, Depe ...

's album ''

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

'' featuring

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

and

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

was released on Parlophone with Lex branding. On 5 November 2011, Lex marked its tenth anniversary with a show at

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, a circ ...

in Camden featuring performances by

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

, MF Doom and Jneiro Jarel, and released ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'', a compilation album. In August 2012 Lex released JJ Doom's '' Key to the Kuffs''. Later in 2012 Lex launched Charlie White and Boom Bip's art project ''Music For Sleeping Children'' which includes photography, video, electronic music and spoken word recordings. Lex's first two short films, written by Alan Moore and directed by Mitch Jenkins were previewed online in November 2012. In 2013, Lex released Neon Neon's second album '' Praxis Makes Perfect''. The album was presented live as an immersive theatre performance with National Theatre Wales. In November 2013, Lex and ATP co-promoted a show with MF Doom,

BadBadNotGood BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and Hip hop production, production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinsk ...

and

Bishop Nehru Markel Ni'Jee Scott (born August 26, 1996), better known by his stage name Bishop Nehru, is an American rapper and record producer from Nanuet, New York. He also directs and edits music videos. Career 2009–13: Early career At age 13, Nehru ...

at the Kentish Town Forum. MF Doom went on to collaborate with BadBadNotGood and Bishop Nehru on Lex. BadBadNotGood remixed the JJ Doom track "Guv'nor"; MF Doom produced the Bishop Nehru mini-album

NehruvianDoom ''NehruvianDoom'' (subtitled ''Sound of the Son'') is the collaborative studio album by United States, American hip hop music, hip hop duo NehruvianDoom which consisted of MF DOOM and Bishop Nehru. The album was released on October 7, 2014, by L ...

; and MF Doom appeared on BadBadNotGood & Ghostface Killah's album '' Sour Soul''. Eyedress released his first single on Lex in 2016. His debut studio album, ''Manila Ice'', was released on Lex in May 2017, followed by ''Sensitive G'' in November 2018. The single " Cocaine Sunday" from ''Sensitive G'' received gold

RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) operates an awards program based on the certified number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. In late 2019, Lex released the first singles from Eyedress’ third album '' Let's Skip to the Wedding'', including " Jealous" on 19 December 2019. “Jealous” became viral hit the following year. “Jealous” was

certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

gold in Australia, Canada, Poland and the US in 2021, and 3× platinum in the US in March 2024.

2020s

Lex released “ Romantic Lover” by Eyedress on 12 January 2020 which also became a viral hit."Romantic Lover" was certified platinum in the US in March 2023. Lex's first feature film, '' The Show'', written by Alan Moore and directed by Mitch Jenkins was an official selection for

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

2020. Following SXSW's cancellation due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

film had a world premiere at

Sitges Film Festival SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia () is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. It specializes in fantasy film, fantasy, Horror film, horror and Cult film, cult films. Established in 1968, the festiva ...

2020, and was licensed to

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

. Eyedress' album '' Let's Skip to the Wedding'', which includes the singles "Jealous" and "Romantic Lover", was released on 7 August 2020. The album was certified gold in the US and Canada in 2024. On 31 December 2020, MF Doom's death was announced on social media. In August 2021 Lex released Eyedress’ fourth studio album '' Mulholland Drive''. The first single from the album, “ Something About You” became a viral hit in the US with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' citing the track as the fastest-rising song on American streaming services for the week ending 23 September 2021. "Something About You" was certified gold in the US in May 2022, and platinum in October 2023. During 2021, Lex marked its twentieth anniversary by releasing a series of remixes of recordings in its catalogue under the project title '' Lex-XX''.

Artists past and present

Awards

Grammy Awards (USA) *2011, Danger Mouse '' Dark Night of the Soul'' - Producer of the Year, Non-Classical *2007, Gnarls Barkley ''St. Elsewhere'' - Best Alternative Music Album *2007, Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" - Best Urban/Alternative Performance Plug Independent Music Awards (USA) *2006, Danger Doom ''The Mouse And The Mask'' - Hip-Hop Album of the Year British Animation Awards (UK) *2006, Director SSSR, Subtle "Swan Meat" video - Best Music Video

Certifications

RIAA certification (USA) *Eyedress " Something About You" - 2× Platinum digital single * Eyedress " Cocaine Sunday" - Gold digital single * Eyedress '' Let's Skip to the Wedding'' - Gold album * Eyedress " Jealous" - 3× Platinum digital single *Eyedress " Romantic Lover" - Platinum digital single *

'' - Platinum album *Gnarls Barkley " Crazy" - 4× Platinum digital single *Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" - Platinum mastertone Music Canada certification (Canada) * Kaleida "Let's Skip to the Wedding" - Gold single * Eyedress ''Let's Skip to the Wedding'' - Gold album *Eyedress "Romantic Lover" - Platinum single *Eyedress "Something About You" - Platinum single *Eyedress "Jealous" - 2× Platinum single *Gnarls Barkley ''St. Elsewhere'' - Platinum album *Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" - Double Platinum ringtone Brit Certified (UK) *Eyedress "Romantic Lover" - Silver single *Eyedress "Something About You" - Silver single *Eyedress "Jealous" - Gold single * Neon Neon '' Stainless Style'' - Bronze / Breakthrough album *Gnarls Barkley ''St. Elsewhere'' - 3× Platinum album *Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" - 4× Platinum single

References

External links

Official website

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{{Authority control Electronic music record labels British independent record labels Record labels established in 2001 Hip-hop record labels Alternative rock record labels