RRRecords is a record label and used- and new-record shop based in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, it is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in ...

. RRRecords was the first American

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

to publish underground "

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound. Noise music include ...

" in the early 1980s as well as publishing the first American vinyl by

Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by Masami Akita, best known for a style of harsh noise music. Since 1980, Akita has released over 500 recordings and collaborated with numerous artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada a ...

Masonna , better known by his stage name Masonna, is a Japanese noise musician. He was born on November 16, 1966, in Miyazu, Kyoto, Japan. was started in 1987 in Osaka as Maso Yamazaki's noise project. The name is a combination of the Japanese words ...

Hanatarash Hanatarashi (), meaning "sniveler" or "snot-nosed" in Japanese, was a noise band created by later Boredoms frontman Yamantaka Eye in Osaka, Japan in 1983. The other core member during the early years was later Zeni Geva drummer and Boredoms co-fo ...

Violent Onsen Geisha , also known by his stage names Violent Onsen Geisha and Hair Stylistics, is a Japanese musician, writer and actor. He was described by Allmusic as "one of those musical entities that defy categorization." He co-starred in Shinji Aoyama's 2005 fil ...

, and various other artists. In its first twenty years, the label issued hundreds of releases. RRR's owner, Ron Lessard, is a supporter of new artists who has created several sub-labels and series to specifically highlight unknown and underground musicians.

RRR Sub-labels and series

One of the most popular of the RRR sub-labels is the Recycled Music series, which consists of used

cassette tapes Cassette, also known as cassette tape, refers to a small plastic unit containing a length of magnetic tape on two reels. The design was created to replicate the way a reel-to-reel machine works with tape moving from one reel to another while bein ...

of pop and rock music that have been taped over with new music by a noise band.Howe, Bria
"BoyZone, Clang Quartet, Jeff Rehnlund and Relay for Death: Green noise through recycled cassette tapes"
Independent Weekly, July 8, 2008 RRRecycled tapes are labeled with a simple strip of

adhesive tape Adhesive tape is one of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive. Several types of adhesives can be used. Types Pressure-sensitive tape Pressure-sensitive tape, PSA tape, self-stick tape or sticky tape consists of a pre ...

along the spine of the insert with the artist's name hand-written upon it. Each recycled release tape is unique, and in some cases, the original audio is still partly audible. They have historically sold for $4 each, in order to encourage curious listeners to take a chance on a band they may not have heard of. Other sub-labels have included Lowell records, which only published local rock, punk, and metal bands from Lowell, Massachusetts; Statutory Tapes, which reissued music originally published by Kinky Music Institute, G.R.O.S.S, ZSF Tapes, and Beast 666 Tapes; Pure, a series of low-cost CDs by new and established harsh noise bands, again to encourage listeners to take a chance on what might be a new name; RRReport, a magazine and CD set that existed for two issues; Stomach Ache, a collaborative label by Lessard and other unknown participants that published cheap vinyl singles of dubious provenance. Stomach Ache Records listed only a Mexican mailing address, and credited to the singles to a fictional person named Charlie Ward, so that any responsibility could be deflected. RRR has also collaborated with other labels to produce multi-LP box sets of noise based on specific regions of America. To date these have included New England, California, Texas, Michigan, and Portland.

Package design

In the 1980s and early 1990s, RRRecords was known for elaborate packaging of its records. "Steel Plate" is a double 10" vinyl set by Chop Shop, which came sealed in between two 10" x 10" steel plates. A collaborative LP by SBOTHI, Merzbow, and P16.D4 came packaged in between two silk-screened sheets of plexi-glass. "God Bless America" was a 3xLP box set compilation of American experimental music which came wrapped in a purpose-made American flag.

Concerts at RRR

For a period of a few years in the late 1990s, RRRecords would host free Saturday afternoon concerts at the store, which were called the "2 O'Clock Matinee" series. Concerts were never advertised or promoted, but every one was recorded by Ron Lessard and every band always got paid $20.

Mail-order

Lessard's

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

ed copies of a mail order list added to underground 'zines circulating in the mid-to-late 1980s had a profound effect on the international noise communities, building interest in the music through minimal, very simple black and white advertisements. Catalogs never included descriptions of bands or records, so a new reader was expected to either already know what they were getting, or else buy things at random. Many of today's noise artists learned about the genre in part by being exposed to RRRecords catalogs. The print catalog is no longer available, but a website has taken its place.

Partial RRR Discography (''in no particular order'')

As a label, RRR has a very expansive discography. Some of the music was co-released with Troniks, Freak Animal, Ground Fault Recordings, SSS, Satutory Tape, Nurse With Wound's label (

United Dairies United Dairies was a United Kingdom-based creamery, milk bottling and distribution company. The company was formed in 1915 and merged to form Unigate in 1959. During World War I, there were dire shortages of men, horses and vehicles commande ...

), and more. Notable releases include: * Recycled Music cassettes from most established noise artists. *

Emil Beaulieau Emil Beaulieau, or more fully, “Emil Beaulieau: America’s Greatest Living Noise Artist” (born July 5, 1957) is the stage name of Ron Lessard, a prominent noise musician who primarily records for his own label: RRRecords. He has collaborat ...

/Zipper Spy/ K.K. Null - ''Japan 2000'' *

- ''Pornoise 1 kg'' (5 cassette box-set) * Can't - ''New Secret'' * Jason Lescalleet - ''Electronic Music'' * Boy Dirt Car - ''Winter'' *

- ''Hanatarash 3'' *

Burning Star Core Burning Star Core is the experimental music project of violinist C. Spencer Yeh. Originally conceived 1993 in Cincinnati, the project is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Composing music that's driven by his violin, Yeh's Burning Star Core ...

- ''Let's Play Wild Like Wildcats Do'' *

Skullflower Skullflower is a British noise rock band, formed in 1987 in London, England. Led by guitarist Matthew Bower, the band attained a cult following using a sound based on "sludgy, Black Sabbath-style riffs overlaid with feedback, fuzzed-out guitar ...

- ''Obsidian Shaking Codex''
Human Is Filth

Destroys Emil Beaulieau CD
* Sickness - ''Fuck Your Punk Rock'' * Ichorous - ''Lifender'' *

- ''Batztoutai With Memorial Gadgets'' * Karlheinz - ''Fucking'' *

Chop Shop A chop shop is a business, often mimicking a body shop, that illicitly disassembles stolen motor vehicles and sells their parts. Chop shops are often linked to car-theft rings as part of a broader organized crime enterprise. In the United Stat ...

- "Steel Plate" *

blackhouse A blackhouse ( ; ) is a traditional type of house which used to be common in Ireland, the Hebrides, and the Scottish Highlands. Origin of the name The origin of the name blackhouse is of some debate. On the Isle of Lewis, in particular, it ...

- "Holy War" * P16.D4 - "Three Projects" * K2 & Macronympha - "Biometrics" *

Anenzephalia Anenzephalia is the pen name of noise musician B. Moloch, who is occasionally joined by Wilhelm Herich of Genocide Organ. Anenzephalia was one of the first projects to record for the Tesco Organisation label. Partial discography *''Lyse'' 7" (Tes ...

- "Fragments of Demise" *

- "The Midnight Gambler" *

- "That Velvet Touch" *

Ramleh Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs. The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph Sul ...

- "We Created It, Let's Take it Over 1-3" * Sudden Infant - "Solothurn" * Small Cruel Party &

- "Split" * various artists - ''New England'' (5 LP box-set with hand-made cover art) * Master Slave Relationship - ''This Lubricious Love''

Notes

External links

RRRecords website

RRRecords entry @ Discogs.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rrrecords Cassette culture 1970s–1990s American record labels Noise music record labels