Projekt is a

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

-based

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- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

started by

Sam Rosenthal Sam Rosenthal is an American musician, composer, artist, and novelist. He is the founder and leader of the band Black Tape for a Blue Girl and the Projekt Records record label. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his son and cat. Rosenthal was inter ...

in 1983. Projekt releases music in the styles of

darkwave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

, gothic rock,

ethereal Ethereal may refer to: *Ethereal (horse), a horse that won Australia's Caulfield Cup as well as Melbourne Cup in 2001 *Ethereal wave, or simply ethereal, a subgenre of dark wave music *Wireshark, formerly named Ethereal, a free and open-source pack ...

, dream-pop, and dark cabaret. Projekt artists include Sam Rosenthal's own

Black Tape for a Blue Girl Black Tape for a Blue Girl (often stylized as black tape for a blue girl) is an American dark wave band formed in 1986 by keyboardist/songwriter Sam Rosenthal, the founder of Projekt Records. Their music takes on elements of dark wave, ether ...

, Steve Roach,

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

Erik Wøllo Erik Wøllo (born 1961) is a Norwegian composer and musician, guitarist and synthesist. He has a background in various genres in music. As a solo recording artist, he is most known for his electronic and ambient musical soundscapes. Music that ca ...

Unto Ashes Unto Ashes is an American musical ensemble based in New York City that incorporates madrigal, folk, and elements of neo-medieval and darkwave. Founded by Michael Laird and Susanna Melendez in 1997, the band has released eleven full-length CDs o ...

Weep A weep, a weep hole, or a weep-brick is a small opening that allows water to drain from within an assembly. Weeps are located at the bottom of the object to allow for drainage; the weep hole must be sized adequately to overcome surface tension ...

(Doc Hammer, co-writer of the Adult Swim show The Venture Bros.), Mira (band), Mira, and Android Lust.

History

Based over the years in South Florida, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Brooklyn, Projekt is now located in

. Projekt had released 305 titles as of summer 2014, with an additional 25 physical CDs on the Projekt: Archive (formerly Relic) sub-label. Archive also is the home to an additional 85 digital titles. Popmatters wrote of the label, "Founded in 1983 by Sam Rosenthal, Projekt concentrated on releasing dream-pop, neoclassical, ambient, gothic rock and shoegaze bands, and Rosenthal’s own group, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, was an early exponent of darkwave’s hallmark mournful cabaret.”

Label support of digital sales

Sam Rosenthal is a strong supporter of MP3 and digital downloads. While Rosenthal has ensured that digital files of his artists are available for legitimate download, in the early days of MP3s he also praised downloads even when not accessed via official channels. Editorials on the Projekt Web site (dating back to January 2001) countered the assumption that all labels oppose all unofficial MP3 downloads. While Rosenthal did not condone downloading entire albums without paying, his view is that those exposed to music, by whatever route, will ultimately purchase albums and support the artists they enjoy. In the ensuing years, his views have changed and now he speaks out against unauthorized downloading. After the January 20, 2012, takedown of Megaupload, Rosenthal went on to speak out about how artists can get their files taken down, and in support of the DoJ shut-down of sites hosting illegal music.

Projektfest

Projekt Records also presents Projektfest, a semi-annual festival of gothic and ethereal music, featuring primarily (but not exclusively) Projekt artists. In 1996, Projektfest ran for two days in Chicago. In 1997, Chicago was again host to two days of Projektfest and a few weeks later another day of performances were hosted in Mexico City. In 1998, Projektfest was a series of four one-day events in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City. The 2002 Projektfest was held over three days in Philadelphia, at the Trocadero Theatre, Trocadero and other sites. Projekt hosted Projektfest '07 as part of the Blacksun Festival in New Haven, Connecticut, in August. Projektfest'10 was held July 30 & 31, 2010. Projektfest '11 was held November 12, 2011, at The Middle East (nightclub) in Cambridge, MA, featuring the artists Voltaire, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, and Weep.
Projektfest '11 Web site

Notable artist

Current roster

* Alio Die * All My Faith Lost... * As Lonely As Dave Bowman *

* deepspace * Forrest Fang * Katzenjammer Kabarett * Lovesliescrushing * Mercury's Antennae * Mark A. Michaels & Patricia Johnson * Mirabilis (band), Mirabilis * Revue Noir *

* Steve Roach * Soriah * Soul Whirling Somewhere *

* Vidna Obmana *

* theAdelaidean

Past roster

* Amber Route * Android Lust * Arcanta * Arcana (Swedish band), Arcana * Area * Attrition (band), Attrition * Audra (band), Audra * The Arms of Someone New * Autumn's Grey Solace * Controlled Bleeding * Dark Sanctuary * Eden (Australian band), Eden * Every silver lining has a cloud * Faith & Disease * Fear Falls Burning * Jeff Greinke * Lisa Hammer * Human Drama * Judgment of Paris * Khvarena * Love Spirals Downwards * Lovespirals * lowsunday * Lux Interna * Lycia (band), Lycia * Makaras Pen * Mira (band), Mira * Mors Syphilitica * Mortiis * O Yuki Conjugate * Ordo Equitum Solis * Radiana * Shinjuku Thief * Slap * Tearwave * Thanatos (band), Thanatos * The Sleep of Reason * The Twilight Garden * This Ascension * Peter Ulrich * Tara VanFlower *

References

External links

* {{Authority control Ambient music record labels Goth record labels American independent record labels Record labels established in 1983