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,

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, dream-pop, and dark cabaret. Projekt artists include Sam Rosenthal's own Black Tape for a Blue Girl, 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,

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 Eric Hammer (born February 2, 1967), known professionally as Doc Hammer, is an American voice actor, musician, writer and artist. He performed in the gothic rock bands Requiem in White from 1985 to 1995 and Mors Syphilitica from 1995 to 2002, bo ...

, co-writer of the Adult Swim show The Venture Bros.),

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–400 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a va ...

, and Android Lust.

History

Based over the years in

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...

, 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 ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...

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 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Orig ...

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 Megaupload Ltd was a Hong Kong-based online company established in 2005 that operated from 2005 to 2012 providing online services related to file storage and viewing. On 19 January 2012, the United States Department of Justice seized the do ...

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

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

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

The Middle East (nightclub) The Middle East is an entertainment complex consisting of five adjacent dining and live music venues in the Central Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its three dedicated concert spaces, Upstairs, Downstairs, and Sonia, sit alongsi ...

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 * Black Tape for a Blue Girl * deepspace * Forrest Fang *

Katzenjammer Kabarett Katzenjammer Kabarett is a French four-piece dark cabaret band from Paris, France. Aesthetically inspired by German Weimar-era cabarets and burlesque shows, the band also chose a name of German origin that literally translates to "cat's wail c ...

Lovesliescrushing Lovesliescrushing (stylized lovesliescrushing) is an American Ambient music, ambient and Shoegazing, shoegaze band from East Lansing, Michigan, United States, formed in 1991. The two primary members of the band are Scott Cortez (guitars, loops, tr ...

* Mercury's Antennae * Mark A. Michaels & Patricia Johnson * Mirabilis * Revue Noir *

* Steve Roach * Soriah * Soul Whirling Somewhere * Unto Ashes *

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 Serr ...

* theAdelaidean

Past roster

* Amber Route * Android Lust * Arcanta *

Arcana Arcana may refer to: Music * Arcana (American band), an American jazz band * Arcana (Swedish band), a Swedish dark wave band * Arcana (record label), a French classical record label * Arcana (album), ''Arcana'' (album), a 2001 album by Edenbridge ...

* Area * Attrition * Audra * The Arms of Someone New * Autumn's Grey Solace * Controlled Bleeding * Dark Sanctuary *

Eden Eden may refer to: * Garden of Eden, the "garden of God" described in the Book of Genesis Places and jurisdictions Canada * Eden, Ontario * Eden High School Middle East * Eden, Lebanon, a city and former bishopric * Camp Eden, Iraq O ...

* Every silver lining has a cloud * Faith & Disease *

Fear Falls Burning Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

* 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 and is the sister of director James Merendino (''SLC Punk!'').By Mike White, Cashiers Du Cinemart, (archived version ...

* Human Drama * Judgment of Paris * Khvarena * Love Spirals Downwards * Lovespirals * lowsunday * Lux Interna *

Lycia Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is t ...

* Makaras Pen *

* Mors Syphilitica *

Mortiis Mortiis is an 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. Mortiis started as the ...

* O Yuki Conjugate * Ordo Equitum Solis * Radiana *

Shinjuku Thief is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administratio ...

* Slap * Tearwave *

Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appea ...

* The Sleep of Reason * The Twilight Garden *

This Ascension This Ascension is a gothic/ ethereal band from Santa Barbara, Southern California that formed in 1988. They released four albums and two 7" vinyl singles on their label Tess Records, between 1989 and 1999. They also released a best of compilat ...

* 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