Projekt 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 ...

established 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, the label focuses on

darkwave Dark wave, or 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 being dark, ro ...

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 ...

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

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

ethereal Ethereal may refer to: * Ethereal (horse), a horse that won Australia's Caulfield Cup as well as Melbourne Cup in 2001 * Ethereal (musician), American rapper and record producer * Ethereal wave, or simply ethereal, a subgenre of dark wave music * W ...

, dream-pop, and

dark cabaret Dark cabaret is a music genre that draws on the aesthetics of burlesque, vaudeville and Weimar-era cabaret, generally played by groups with origins in rock music. The genre traces its roots to 1930s Weimar Republic experimental cabaret of Bert ...

releases.

History

Projekt was founded in 1983 by Sam Rosenthal, as a record label concentrated on releasing dream-pop, neoclassical, ambient, gothic rock and shoegaze bands, including Rosenthal's own group,

Black Tape for a Blue Girl Black Tape for a Blue Girl (often stylized as black tape for a blue girl) is an American neoclassical dark wave band formed in 1986 by keyboardist/songwriter Sam Rosenthal, the founder of Projekt Records. The band's fans include director David ...

Projektfest

Projekt Records also presents Projektfest, a semi-annual festival of gothic and ethereal music, primarily featuring Projekt artists. In 1996, Projektfest ran for two days in Chicago. In 1997, Chicago hosted the festival again, followed a few weeks later by another day of performances in Mexico City. In 1998, Projektfest ran 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 The Trocadero Theatre (opened as the Arch Street Opera House) is a historic theater located in Chinatown in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It offered musical comedies, vaudeville, opera, and burlesque. The Trocadero Theatre was refurbished for us ...

and other sites. Projekt hosted Projektfest'07 as part of the Blacksun Festival in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, in August. Projektfest'10 was held on July 30 & 31, 2010. Projektfest'11 was held on November 12, 2011, at

The Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

nightclub in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, featuring Voltaire, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, and Weep.

Notable artists

Current

* Aglaia * Alio Die *

* Deepspace *

Katzenjammer Kabarett Katzenjammer Kabarett is a French four-piece dark cabaret band from Paris, France. Aesthetically inspired by Germany, German Weimar Republic, Weimar-era cabarets and burlesque shows, the band's name is of German origin and literally translates t ...

Lovesliescrushing Lovesliescrushing (stylized lovesliescrushing) is an American ambient and shoegaze band from East Lansing, Michigan, United States, formed in 1991. The two primary members of the band are Melissa Arpin-Duimstra (vocals) and Scott Cortez (guitars, ...

* Mark A. Michaels & Patricia Johnson * Mirabilis *

* Steve Roach *

Soriah Soriah (born Enrique Ugalde; April 1, 1971) is an American overtone singer, performance artist, multi-instrumentalist, and shamanic ritualist headquartered in Portland, Oregon and the Tuvan Republic. His music is a synthesis of traditional form ...

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 twelve full-length CDs ...

Vidna Obmana Vidna Obmana (stylized vidnaObmana on many album covers) is a pseudonym used by Belgian composer and ambient musician Dirk Serries. The name ''Vidna Obmana'', a phrase in Serbian, literally translates to "optical illusion" and was chosen by Ser ...

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

Erik Wøllo Erik Wøllo (born 6 January 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. Mu ...

Past

* Android Lust * Arcana * Attrition * Audra * Autumn's Grey Solace * Controlled Bleeding *

Dark Sanctuary Dark Sanctuary is a French neoclassical darkwave band that was formed in Paris in 1996. History The band's first official release was a 20-minute single-track music CD, ''Funeral Cry'', released in 1997. At that time, the band consisted of onl ...

* Eden * Faith & Disease *

Fear Falls Burning Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat, com ...

* Jeff Greinke *

Lisa Hammer Lisa Hammer (née Houle; born April 4, 1967, in Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American filmmaker, actress, composer and singer.Azra Medea (World Of Fandom), 1997, Dark GothicAn Intricate Portrait of Lisa and Eric Hammer Accessed July 8, 2014, ...

* Human Drama * Love Spirals Downwards *

Lovespirals Lovespirals is an American dream pop and electronic music band from Southern California, featuring husband and wife, multi-instrumentalist/producer Ryan Lum and lyricist/vocalist Anji Bee. History The origins of Lovespirals began with a 1998 s ...

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–300 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...

* Mors Syphilitica *

Mortiis Mortiis is an Electronic music, electronic band from Notodden, Norway fronted by Håvard Ellefsen, who is also known as the namesake of the band. The name is a misspelling of the word "mortis", which is the pronunciation used by the band. Morti ...

O Yuki Conjugate O Yuki Conjugate (OYC) are an English post-industrial/ambient musical group founded in 1982 in Nottingham by Roger Horberry and Andrew Hulme and still - intermittently - active today. Their music has been variously described as 'ambient', 'fourth ...

* Ordo Equitum Solis * Shinjuku Thief *

Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; , ''Thánatos'', pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the Personifications of death, personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referre ...

This Ascension This Ascension is a gothic rock, gothic/ethereal wave, ethereal band from Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara, Southern California that formed in 1988. They released four albums and two 7" vinyl singles on their label Tess Records, between ...

Peter Ulrich Peter Lawrence Ulrich (born 29 August 1958 in Perivale, England) is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, recording artist and author. Biography He was educated at Vaughan School in West Harrow, Cannon Lane School in Pinner, the John Lyon Sch ...

* Tara VanFlower * Weep

References

External links

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