NON Records is an independent

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Founded in 2010 by musician and graphic designer Bear Damen, the label is known for electronic music with an emphasis on analog recording techniques. The current roster of artists included Bear Damen himself, as well as Palmbomen, THE BENELUX, Renkas, Marius, and HyperHyper.

History

NON Records began as a collaborative effort headed by Bear Damen in

. The label emerged from a shared interest in creating electronic music for an international audience with a focus on analog recording techniques. Damen's home in

served as both the headquarters and recording studio when the label launched in 2010. In addition to being a recording artist, Bear also works for the graphic design bureau Unknown User, responsible for the label's album and promotional artwork. Dutch artist and Damen's longtime friend Kai Hugo contributed the first release with his then girlfriend as ' Ganz Nackish'. This project was later abandoned when Hugo shifted his music to a slightly different direction as Palmbomen, which served as the label's fourth official release. Other Amsterdam-based artists including

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

-born Renkas, four member electro-rock group THE BENELUX, and Damen himself also released EPs under NON Records.

Current status

NON Records began to gain popularity within Amsterdam, securing a monthly showcase party at celebrated music venue the Melkweg under the name 'NON Night'. Soon artists began touring regularly outside of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, hosting showcases at

South by Southwest 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 ...

in Austin and the Winter Music Conference in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Artists of the label have been covered by media outlets Vice Magazine, 3VOOR12, Hipster Runoff, and others. The label has since moved to an office in Amsterdam and now includes in addition to the founding members Dutch artists Marius, HyperHyper, and

Los Angeles 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, ...

-based artist Kristine.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Amsterdam Record labels established in 2010 Dutch independent record labels