Slumberland Records is an American
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 ...
, formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C. and based in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
. The label has released recordings by
Velocity Girl
Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, and active in the Washington, D.C., area. The band released three albums before splitting up in 1996.
History
The band started as the duo of Kelly Rile ...
,
Honeybunch,
Lilys
Lilys are an American indie rock band formed in Washington, D.C in 1988. The only constant member is Kurt Heasley, with the line-up changing regularly. Several of the band's tracks have been used in television advertisements, including the ba ...
,
Stereolab
Stereolab are an Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a re ...
,
Evans The Death,
St. Christopher,
Boyracer,
Beatnik Filmstars
Beatnik Filmstars were a British Lo-fi pop group formed in Bristol in 1990. After splitting up in 1998, going on to side projects Kyoko and Bluebear, they re-formed in 2004, releasing several more albums before splitting again in 2008.
Histo ...
,
14 Iced Bears, and
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
History
Inspired by independent punk labels such as
K Records
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mus ...
, Slumberland was created as a collective effort consisting of members of D.C. area bands
Velocity Girl
Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, and active in the Washington, D.C., area. The band released three albums before splitting up in 1996.
History
The band started as the duo of Kelly Rile ...
and
Big Jesus Trash Can
Big or BIG may refer to:
* Big, of great size or degree
Film and television
* ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks
* ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show
* ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...
as a mecca for
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...
bands, seldom heard outside of the
K Records
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mus ...
label.
/ref>
The debut Slumberland Records release was "What Kind of Heaven Do You Want?", a shared 7" featuring early line-ups of Velocity Girl, Black Tambourine, and Powderburns. The record was sold in December 1989, limited to 1000 copies with some sort of hand coloring.
By 1992, Slumberland Records was exclusively managed by Michael Schulman and operations were moved from Silver Spring, Maryland to Berkeley, California.
In 1993, Slumberland Records started a in-company record promotion label called "I Wish I Was a Slumberland Record", using colored vinyl instead of black vinyl for up-and-coming bands. The debut release for the WISH label was Sleepyhead's "Sick of Heaven" 7".
In 2001, Slumberland Records went on a temporary hiatus after The Saturday People self-titled full-length but returned in 2003 to release the vinyl version of The Aislers Set third full-length '' How I Learned to Write Backwards''.
The label once again returned to active status in 2006, releasing albums by The Lodger, Sarandon, Crystal Stilts, Cause Co-Motion!, as well as numerous 7" singles.
Catalog
DRYL catalog discography (1989-1992)
SLR catalog discography (1992-present)
WISH catalog discography (1993-present)
References
External links
Slumberland Records website
{{Authority control
American independent record labels
Indie pop record labels