Partisan Records is an

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 ...

with offices in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, 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, ...

, as well as in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where the company was co-founded in 2007 by Tim Putnam and Ian Wheeler. The label, initially run out of Putnam's South Brooklyn apartment, relocated in 2009 to

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

History

Holy Sons (''Decline of the West'') was the first release on the label, and early success followed shortly thereafter with the signing of the band Deer Tick (''

War Elephant A war elephant is an elephant that is Animal training, trained and guided by humans for combat purposes. Historically, the war elephant's main use was to charge (warfare), charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elep ...

''). In 2008, while working as the night manager for the Knitting Factory venue at their Leonard Street location in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, Putnam was approached by Knitting Factory Entertainment CEO Morgan Margolis to form a strategic partnership with Partisan. Together, they reissued the

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...

catalogue and revived their label, Knitting Factory Records, which also includes

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-nominated members of the Kuti family,

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 r ...

, and Seun Kuti. Partisan has since cultivated a wide variety of genres, prioritizing an artist-friendly philosophy, and achieving international acclaim. In 2019, they earned their first-ever Grammy nomination for '' Deran'' by Bombino followed by three more nominations between 2020 and 2023, for ''

A Hero's Death ''A Hero's Death'' is the second studio album by Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. The album was released on 31 July 2020 through Partisan Records, less than 18 months after the release of their debut album '' Dogrel''. The album received cri ...

'' by Fontaines D.C., '' Song for Our Daughter'' by

Laura Marling Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is an English Folk music, folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist, Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for th ...

, and '' I Inside the Old Year Dying'' by

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

. In 2020, they achieved a #1 UK album for ''

Ultra Mono ''Ultra Mono'' is the third studio album by British rock band Idles, released on 25 September 2020 by Partisan Records. Following on from their previous album '' Joy as an Act of Resistance'', the album further explores themes established in th ...

'' by

Idles Idles are an English post-punk band formed in Bristol in 2009. The band consists of Adam Devonshire (bass), Joe Talbot (singer), Joe Talbot (vocals), Mark Bowen (guitar), Lee Kiernan (guitar), and Jon Beavis (drums). After spending eight yea ...

, followed up by further #1 UK albums for Fontaines D.C.'s '' Skinty Fia'' and Idles's ''

Tangk ''Tangk'' is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Idles, released on 16 February 2024 through Partisan Records. It was produced by Nigel Godrich, Kenny Beats and the Idles member Mark Bowen. It was promoted with the singles "Dancer", ...

''. They also won their first

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 2023 for

Ezra Collective Ezra Collective are a British jazz quintet composed of drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison, who met at the jazz youth programme Tomorr ...

's '' Where I'm Meant to Be''.

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

's International Woman of the Year award went to Partisan's managing director, Zena White, in 2019. Putnam now serves as President of Partisan, and Wheeler manages

Talkhouse ''Talkhouse'' is a digital media outlet and online magazine created in 2013 by Ian Wheeler and Tim Putnam. Musicians, actors, and filmmakers share their experiences in their respective fields in personal essays, discuss their peers' work in edi ...

, a digital media outlet and online magazine which he founded in 2015 and shares an office with Partisan. Today, Partisan also releases music on behalf of sister labels Knitting Factory Records, Section1, and Desert Daze Sound, all of which operate under strategic partnerships with Partisan.

Roster

Current

* Angelica Garcia * Aoife Nessa Frances *

Beth Orton Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall ...

* Blondshell * Body Meat * Bombino *

Cameron Winter Cameron Winter is an American musician who fronts the rock band Geese. He released his debut solo album, '' Heavy Metal'', in 2024. Early life Winter grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn, attending the Brooklyn Friends School. His mother is a writer ...

* Cigarettes After Sex * Cymande * DJ Rashad *

Geese A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ...

* Grian Chatten *

Honesty Honesty or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtue, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness (including straightforwardness of conduct: Good faith, earnestness), along with the ...

* Just Mustard *

* Léa Sen * Lip Critic * Maple Glider * NoSo *

* Skinny Pelembe * Sun's Signature * TTSSFU * Ultraísta * Westerman *

WITCH Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

Alumni

* Aaron Freeman * Aerial East * Ages and Ages *

The Amazing The Amazing are a Swedish indie rock band, whose members include Reine Fiske, who plays with Dungen, and Christoffer Gunrup, who played in Granada and with Anna Järvinen. Fredrik Swahn, Alexis Benson, and drummer Moussa Fadera are also in The Ama ...

* Baby in Vain * The Black Angels * Bobby * Body Type * Cajun Germs * Callers * Christopher Denny * Chubby and the Gang *

Craig Finn Craig A. Finn (born August 22, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the frontman of the American indie rock band the Hold Steady, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums. Prior to forming the Hold Steady, ...

* Deer Tick * Diamond Rugs * Dilly Dally *

The Dismemberment Plan The Dismemberment Plan is an American indie rock band formed in Washington, D.C. on January 1, 1993. Also known as D-Plan or the Plan, the name was derived from an industry phrase used by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the 1993 comedy film ...

DMA's DMA's are an Australian rock band formed in 2012 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band is composed of lead vocalist Tommy O'Dell, lead guitarist Matt Mason, and rhythm guitarist Johnny Took. They originally gained popularity for their debut sin ...

Dolorean Dolorean is an American rock band based in Portland, Oregon. Their current line-up is Al James, guitar/vocals, Jay Clarke, organ/piano, Ben Nugent, drums/percussion/vocals, James Adair, bass, and Jon Neufeld, guitar. They have released four stu ...

* Eagulls * Emel Mathlouthi * Emily Wells * Erika Wennerstrom (of

Heartless Bastards Heartless Bastards are an American rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2003. The band has released six albums. History Heartless Bastards originally started as a recording project of Erika Wennerstrom. She played most of the instruments an ...

) *

* Field Report * Flock of Dimes * Fontaines D.C. * Freeman * Goon * Guards *

* Holy Sons *

JBM Jesse Brian Marchant, better known by his stage name JBM, is a Canadian singer-songwriter. In 2011, he signed a recording contract with American label Partisan Records. Early life and education Marchant was born in Montreal, Quebec. He was cl ...

* John Grant * Lontalius * Lumerians * Lump * Mádé Kuti * Made of Oak * Mercury Rev * Middle Brother * Molly Sarlé *

Mountain Man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

* Nico Yaryan * Paleo * Phox *

Pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

* Pure Bathing Culture * Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside * Sam Burton * Spike Fcuk * The Standard * Sylvan Esso * Tender * Torres * Treetop Flyers * Violents * Virgin Forest * Warm Ghost * The Wytches

Discography

References

External links

* {{Authority control American independent record labels Companies based in New York City Record labels established in 2007 2007 establishments in New York (state)