Owsla (stylized in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

) is an American

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, ...

and creative collective. It was founded by

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...

, Tim Smith, Kathryn Frazier, and Clayton Blaha in 2011. Skrillex announced the label on August 17, 2011. The label's first release was

Porter Robinson Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Robinson began producing electronic music during his adolescence. He sign ...

's ''

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

''. The name "Owsla" is a reference to

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (10 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist. He is best known for his debut novel ''Watership Down'' which achieved international acclaim. His other works included ''Maia'', '' Shardik'' and '' The Plague Do ...

' fantasy novel ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Hampshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natur ...

'', in which it refers to the governing caste in a society of anthropomorphic rabbits.

History

In 2012, Owsla launched a monthly subscription, ''The Nest'', with benefits including early access to Owsla releases. In 2013, Bromance Records partnered up with Owsla to create an American branch titled Bromance US with releases from

Gesaffelstein Mike Lévy (; born 24 June 1985), known professionally as Gesaffelstein (), is a French music programmer, DJ, songwriter and producer from Lyon. He has worked alongside artists such as Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Daft Punk, Kanye West, ASAP Rocky, A$ ...

Illangelo Carlo Montagnese (born July 29, 1987), known professionally as Illangelo, is a Canadian record producer, songwriter and mixing engineer who came to attention as long-time collaborator of The Weeknd. Having executive produced his 2011 mixtapes c ...

Brodinski Louis Rogé, known professionally as Brodinski, is a French composer, producer and DJ from Reims.Stéphanie Binet« Qui a dit que la "french touch" battait de l'aile ? » ''Le Monde'', 22 décembre 2011. Biography 2007–2011 He started t ...

and LOUISAHHH!!!. A year later, Owsla launched the Nestivus Charity Campaign, a series of holiday initiatives with all proceeds going to the international music nonprofit, Bridges for Music. On September 18, 2016, Owsla celebrated five years of establishment with a party in

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, ...

. In a video published by Owsla, Skrillex spoke about the establishment. He said "I make music 'cause I love music and it all starts from there. And I surround myself with good people that I believe in as well. I think it’s important to create your family." The General Manager of Owsla, Blaise DeAngelo asserted that Skrillex previously, like many other artists, had issues with record labels, implying that it caused him to create his own. Owsla was described as a label started for electronic music artists who "couldn’t get good label deals or resources and support they needed."

's ''

'' was the label's debut release. Releases that followed, such as

Zedd Anton Zaslavski (; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a German record producer and DJ. His stage name, Zedd, was derived from ''zed'', the Z#Name and pronunciation, English pronunciation, barring American English, for ...

’s ''Shave It'',

’s ''

Aleph Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''ʾālep'' 𐤀, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''ʾālef'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''ʾālap'' � ...

'' and

What So Not What So Not is an electronic music project by Australian record producer Emoh Instead (stage name of Christopher John Emerson). What So Not has toured the world, playing in various festivals, including Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, ...

’s ''Jaguar'', were described as prominent. Owsla Head of A&R Chris Morris explained that "In order for an artist to be signed, there has to be that passion from the top down," asserting that it is an "artist-driven" company. On May 5, 2017, Owsla released an annual compilation album, ''Howsla''. It was described by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' as "a focused take that’s largely modeled on bassline house, a style from the northern UK that’s distinguished by greasy low-end melodies, hard-thwacked drums, and a slippery, skippy sense of swing." Subsidiaries of Owsla include ''Nest HQ'', a website dedicated to giving exposure to electronic music artists and Owsla Goods, a 'fashion wing'. Owsla went dormant in 2020, following the release of

Salvatore Ganacci Emir Kobilić (), known professionally as Salvatore Ganacci (), is a Bosnian-Swedish DJ and record producer. His performances at Tomorrowland in 2018 and 2019 became viral. Early life Emir Kobilić was born in Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia, and m ...

's ''Boycycle'' EP. No official announcement has been made regarding the label's fate, however, the Nest HQ library was quietly deleted in 2024.

Key people

* Sonny Moore (Skrillex) – founder, chief executive officer * Tim Smith – co-founder, artist manager * Kathryn Frazier – co-founder, publicist * Clayton Blaha – co-founder, director of artists and repertoire (A&R) * Chris Morris – head of A&R * Blaise DeAngelo – former general manager

Artists

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owsla (Record Label) Dubstep record labels Electronic music record labels Record labels established in 2011 Vanity record labels