Phantom Limb is an independent record label based in

Brighton, UK Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, founded in 2017 by James Vella. The label is run by Vella and publicist Ken Li, and focuses on

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

ambient Ambient or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...

, and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

music, but branching as widely as

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

experimental metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, art metal and experimetal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventi ...

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

. Their release formats include vinyl, CDs, cassettes, and digital downloads. In 2022, celebrating their fifth anniversary, the label was extensively documented by online platforms such as

Bleep Bleep may refer to: * Bleep sound, a noise, generally of a single tone, often generated by a machine ** Bleep censor, the replacement of offensive language (swear words) or personal details with a beep sound ** Bleep techno, a Yorkshire-born subgen ...

, Carhartt Work in Progress, HHV, The Ransom Note, Threads Radio and others. Many of the label's releases have received accolades such as records of the day, month, or year by publications such as

Bandcamp Daily Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epi ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, and Loud & Quiet. The organisation also offers

music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectua ...

(in partnership with the

Wise Music Group Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group. In 2014 Wise Music Group (as The Music Sales Group) acquired French cla ...

) and label services, and has a live agency wing that programmes tours and events for label-affiliated and other artists.

History

Background and founding

James Vella founded Phantom Limb in June 2017 following a long working history in independent music, having set up O Rosa Records in 2006 and Injazero Records (as a consultant) in 2016, and additionally working in A&R and international distribution for

FatCat Records FatCat Records is an English independent record label based in Brighton. The label's output reaches into many styles including experimental rock, electronica, psychedelic folk, contemporary classical, noise and post-punk. Notable artists that ...

from 2008 to 2016. He is also an experienced musician, co-founding the band yndi halda and releasing solo records as

A Lily Yndi Halda (pronounced YIN-dee hal-DAR and stylised "yndi halda" in lower case) are an English post-rock band from Kent. "Yndi Halda" is Old Norse for "Enjoy Eternal Bliss", also the name of their debut release. The band's music is characteris ...

. Vella invited fellow music industry professionals Ken Li (formerly of

Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

) and George Clift (director of the Hot Salvation record store, record label, and distributor) to join Phantom Limb. On its inauguration, Phantom Limb Touring - the organisation's live agency - was headed by Andrew Halliday, who left the company in 2023 and was replaced by Tommy de Nys. Former

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure (duo), Erasure, Einstürze ...

Director of A&R Dean Wengrow joined in 2022 to run the company's label services division Five Worlds.

Notable releases

Phantom Limb have released music by artists such as Kevin Richard Martin,

Loraine James Loraine James (born 18 December 1995), also known as Whatever the Weather, is a British electronic music producer and musician. Early life Loraine James was raised in an Alma Estate tower block in Enfield, North London. Her interest in music be ...

Richard Skelton Richard Skelton is an English musician, living on the west coast of Ireland. Music career Following the death of his wife Louise in 2004, he began to make music as a way of coming to terms with the tragedy. His music, which uses a number of i ...

, WaqWaq Kingdom, Dylan Henner,

, Suso Saíz,

Norman McLaren William Norman McLaren, LL. D. (11 April 1914 – 27 January 1987) was a Scottish-Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).Rosenthal, Alan. ''The new documentary in action: a caseb ...

KMRU Joseph Kamaru, better known as KMRU, is an ambient musician. He was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and later relocated to Berlin, Germany. Musical career As a child, Kamaru played the guitar and sang in a choir. He first discovered electronic music ...

Iggor Cavalera Igor Graziano Cavalera (born 4 September 1970) is a Brazilian musician, best known as the former drummer for the heavy metal band Sepultura, which he co-founded with his brother Max in 1984. Max left the band in 1997, and Igor himself would d ...

Machinefabriek Machinefabriek is the musical of Dutch musician/sound artist and graphic designer Rutger Zuydervelt. Biography Rutger Zuydervelt was born on 28 July 1978 in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. He started working as Machinefabriek in 2004. Except for a fe ...

Senyawa ''Senyawa'' (; ) is a twentieth and last studio album by Indonesian singer, Chrisye, released in 2004 by Musica Studios. The album features a collaboration with numerous Indonesian singers and bands, including Project Pop, Peterpan, Ahmad Dhani ...

, MC Yallah, 食品まつり a.k.a foodman and others. The Loraine James album ''

Building Something Beautiful For Me ''Building Something Beautiful for Me'' is the fourth album by London-based electronic musician Loraine James, released on 7 October 2022 through Phantom Limb. It was conceived as an homage to the works of composer Julius Eastman and received accl ...

'' was an "artistic response" to the works of NYC composer

Julius Eastman Julius Eastman (October 27, 1940 – May 28, 1990) was an American composer. He was among the first composers to combine the processes of some minimalist music with other methods of extending and modifying his music as in some experimental music. ...

, a project conceived by Vella and performed at London's

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

with the

London Contemporary Orchestra The London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO), founded in 2008 by Hugh Brunt and Robert Ames, is an ensemble of young musicians whose stated aim is "to explore and promote new music to an increasingly wide audience". LCO staged its inaugural season ...

. Kevin Richard Martin's two releases with Phantom Limb have been a rescore to the Soviet cinema piece ''

Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...

'' by

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...

and a collaboration with Kenyan musician KMRU. In late 2024, Phantom Limb released the compositions of Canadian animator Norman McLaren, making them publicly available for the first time.

Series

Phantom Limb's series include Spirituals, a digital-only imprint focussing on ambient and experimental music from around the world, with contributors as far flung as Georgia, South Korea, Nigeria, Taiwan, Iran, and Colombia. Their Sun Language imprint exclusively releases reissues of works originally released in earlier periods, such as the Venezuelan electronic solo artist Miguel Noya and his works from the 1980's, Japanese musician K. Yoshimatsu and his home-recorded cassette albums originally released from 1981 to 1985, experimental poet Ellen Zweig and her spoken word recordings, and

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

duo Xochimoki, whose records were self-released in the early 1980's. Geist im Kino is a soundtrack imprint, generally releasing film scores such as the soundtrack to 2022 Maltese movie ''

Luzzu A ''luzzu'' (; ) is a traditional fishing boat from the Maltese islands. This type of boat developed in the early 20th century, although it is very similar to much older traditional Maltese boats such as the '' ferilla''. They are usually painte ...

'' by

The War on Drugs The war on drugs is a global campaign led by the United States government against the illegal drug trade. War on Drugs may also refer to: * Bangladesh drug war, 2018–2019 campaign against the illegal drug trade by the Bangladeshi government * C ...

' Jon Natchez, but also including soundtracks to television productions, dance, theatre, ballet. With its Imaginal Soundtracking sub-series, Geist im Kino also releases rescores to older film works such as those by Kihachiro Kawamoto and Nazim Tulyakhodzayev.

Events

In 2023, to celebrate its fifth anniversary (which actually occurred the previous year), Phantom Limb curated a series of concerts in London and Amsterdam, including the Dutch premiere of Loraine James' tribute to Julius Eastman.

Artists

Record Label

*Hekla *OHYUNG *Infinity Knives *Brian Ennals *

* Kevin Richard Martin *

*Tape Loop Orchestra *Cameron Graham *Maroulita de Kol *Milo Korbenski *Xochimoki *

Paul Schütze Paul Schütze (born 1 May 1958) is an Australian artist resident in London. Over thirty years his work has spanned composition, performance, installation, video, printmaking and photography. Biography Schütze was born in Melbourne, Australia ...

*Ellen Zweig *Miguel Noya *Dylan Henner *SABIWA *Ibukun Sunday *Jan Esbra * WaqWaq Kingdom *Sachi Kobayashi *Eamon Ivri *Dau *99LETTERS *myst milano. *Ami Dang *Pram of Dogs *Aria Rostami *Beqa Ungiadze *Brady Cohan *Chloe Kim 김예지 *Imryll *

Jon Natchez The War on Drugs is an American rock band from Philadelphia which was formed in 2005. The band consists of Adam Granduciel (vocals, guitar), David Hartley (bass guitar), Robbie Bennett (keyboards), Charlie Hall (drums), Jon Natchez (saxophone, k ...

*Swordman Kitala *Suso Saíz *

* 食品まつり a.k.a foodman *

*Ueda Takayasu *Humbros *MC Yallah *Miguel Noya *Bryan Senti

Touring

* Colleen *OHYUNG *William Tyler *Elaine Howley *Lisa Kohl * Six Organs of Admittance *

Roy Montgomery Roy Montgomery (born 1959) is a composer, guitarist and lecturer from Christchurch, New Zealand. Montgomery's mostly instrumental solo works have elements of post-rock, lo-fi, folk and avant-garde experimentation. His signature sound might be d ...

*Matchess *Winged Wheel *Joy Guidry *Bryan Senti *

Steve Shelley Steven Jay Shelley (born June 23, 1962) is an American drummer. He is best known as the longtime drummer of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, for whom he played from 1985 until their 2011 disbandment. Biography Shelley was born in Midland, ...

Bill Orcutt Bill Orcutt (born February 2, 1962) is an American guitarist and composer whose work combines elements of blues, punk, and free improvisation. Biography Inspired by seeing Muddy Waters in ''The Last Waltz'', Orcutt began playing the guitar as a ...

, Ethan Miller *Penelope Trappes *Damian Dalle Torre *Calcutá *Pierre Bastien *Dylan Henner *Hekla *myst milano. *Steve Gunn *

Mary Lattimore Mary Lattimore (born September 11, 1980) is an American classically trained harpist based in Los Angeles, California. In addition to her solo work and collaborations with fellow Philadelphia musician Jeff Zeigler, she has performed with indie mu ...

*Josephine Foster *Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer * Deb Googe (my bloody valentine) *

Carl Stone Carl Stone (born Carl Joseph Stone, February 10, 1953) is an American composer, primarily working in the field of live electronic music. His works have been performed in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the ...

*Ka Baird *Laila Sakini / Princess Diana of Wales *Natural Wonder Beauty Concept *

Ana Roxanne Ana Roxanne Recto (born April 1, 1987) is an American experimental and ambient musician and singer. She is known for her blend of jazz, choral, electronic, and Hindustani sounds, and thematic exploration of self-concept and gender identity. She ...

* Gyda Valtysdottir *Merope *Setting *

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running ...

*Brigid Mae Power *Tristan Allen *Andrew Pekler *Ghostmass *Milo Korbenski

Music Publishing

* Nailah Hunter *

Roger Robinson Roger Robinson may refer to: * Roger Robinson (American football coach) (died 2004), American football player and coach * Roger Robinson (actor) (1940–2018), American actor * Roger Robinson (poet), writer and performer * Roger Robinson (academic) ...

*myst milano *Meitei *Aaron Martin *Aisha Orazbayeva *Kin Leonn *Taz Modi *Wilson Trouvé *Dylan Henner * yndi halda

References

External links

* {{Authority control British independent record labels Record labels established in 2017