Skin Graft Records (officially capitalized SKiN GRAFT 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 ...
specializing in
no wave and
noise rock
Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...
, originally based in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Illinois. The label is largely responsible for spawning "now wave" genre, an updated version of the late 1970s/early 1980s no wave movement.
History
In 1986, SKiN GRAFT was begun by Mark Fischer and Rob Syers as a small-scale publisher of bizarre
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
s and
fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...
s. Some of its comics included ''The Kidz'' and ''Cynicalmanson''.
The label's first record was released at the end of 1991. Founder Mark Fischer said of the label in 2000, "Skin Graft is a comic book company that puts out records. " The label's
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
is Hot Satan, a simply drawn cartoon devil, usually shown issuing the "
heavy metal horns" hand sign.
Bands who have recorded for the label include
Dazzling Killmen,
Koenjihyakkei,
Brise-Glace (featuring
Jim O'Rourke,),
Cheer-Accident,
The Strangulated Beatoffs,
Zeek Sheck, The Chinese Stars,
The Flying Luttenbachers,
Lake Of Dracula,
Gorge Trio,
Colossamite,
Shorty,
U.S. Maple,
ZZZZZ,
Made In Mexico,
Melt-Banana,
Quintron,
Flossie And The Unicorns,
Yona-Kit,
You Fantastic!,
Ruins,
Space Streakings,
Zeni Geva,
AIDS Wolf, Mount Shasta,
Arab On Radar,
Yowie, Athletic Automaton, and
PRE.
In keeping with the label's origins, many SKiN GRAFT musical releases (particularly 7" records and LPs) have included mini comic books as inserts. The label has also used non-traditional packaging with some of their releases. The early vinyl copies of U.S. Maple's first album were packaged in metal sheets, and Colossamite's 1998 untitled EP came packaged with 5-inch
frisbees of varying colors.
From 1994 to 1998, and in 2002, SKiN GRAFT curated the OOPS(!) Fests, featuring many of its bands, along with sideshows and various styles of impromptu performance art.
In the late 1990s, the label purported (as a thinly veiled
hoax
A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible.
S ...
) that a European record label named SiN RAFT was illegally issuing
bootleg copies of SKiN GRAFT releases.
Roster
*
AIDS Wolf
*
Arab On Radar
* Athletic Automaton
* AIDS Wolf versus Athletic Automaton
* Big'n
*
Brise-Glace
*
Cellular Chaos
*
Cheer-Accident
* Child Abuse
* The Chinese Stars
* Chrome Jackson
*
Colossamite
*
Dazzling Killmen
*
The Denison/Kimball Trio
* Doomsday Student
* Flossie and the Unicorns
*
The Flying Luttenbachers
* Fruitcake
* Gay Beast
*
Gorge Trio
* Holy Smokes
*
Koenjihyakkei
* Korekyojinn
* Lake Of Dracula
* Lovely Little Girls
* Made In Mexico
* Mama Tick
*
Melt-Banana
* Mount Shasta
* My Name Is Rar-Rar
*
PRE
* Point Line Plane
*
Quintron
* Q Electronics
*
Ruins
* Ruins Alone
* Sax Ruins
* Satanized
* Shakuhachi Surprise
*
Shorty
* Skryptor
*
Space Streakings
* Strangulated Beatoffs
* UFO Or Die
* Upright Forms
*
U.S. Maple
*
Yona-Kit
* You Fantastic!
* Xaddax
*
Yowie
* Zeek Sheck
*
Zeni Geva
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Record labels established in 1991
American independent record labels
Alternative rock record labels
Noise music record labels
1991 establishments in Illinois
Record labels based in Illinois