Undertow began in 1996 in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, Missouri, as a

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an e ...

of independent artists, musicians,

filmmakers Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwritin ...

, designers and creative managers sharing resources, ideas, and a love of music. Undertow Music is currently located in

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metr ...

, Illinois.

Record label

Undertow Records was started in 1996 by Mark Ray when he released albums by his band, Waterloo, and a band they shared a studio space with, Nadine. Undertow serves as a conduit for artists to release their albums to a wider audience through digital, retail, and direct sales outlets. The artists retain ownership and control of their music at all times. No formal contracts are drawn up between artists and Undertow. Undertow has released records for artists such as

Jay Bennett Jay Walter Bennett (November 15, 1963 – May 24, 2009) was an American multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the band Wilco from 1994 to 2001. Biography Early life and work with Wilco Jay ...

(of

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

fame), Will Johnson (of

Centro-Matic Centro-matic was an American band based in Denton, Texas. History Centro-matic started in 1995 as a side-project for Will Johnson. It released a few singles that year and grew into a full-fledged group in 1997. The initial 60 songs recorded ...

), The Amazing Pilots, Artificial Hearts,

The Redwalls The Redwalls are an American Rock band#Rock and pop bands, rock band from Deerfield, Illinois, in Chicago metropolitan area, suburban Chicago. The band is currently composed of vocalist and guitarist Logan Baren bassist Justin Baren and drumm ...

, The Cush, Nadine, Magnolia Summer, Glossary, Dreadful Yawns, Waterloo, Anna Fermin, Steve Dawson, Dolly Varden, J. Tillman, South San Gabriel,

Centro-matic Centro-matic was an American band based in Denton, Texas. History Centro-matic started in 1995 as a side-project for Will Johnson. It released a few singles that year and grew into a full-fledged group in 1997. The initial 60 songs recorded ...

, Via Audio.

Artist management

Undertow Artist Management was started by Bob Andrews in 1996 after he joined forces with Mark Ray's record label for the release of Nadine's debut album. The original roster was Nadine, Centro-matic, and Dolly Varden. Andrews split his time between the label and management until 2002 when he started focusing solely on artist management while expanding the roster to include Pedro the Lion, Grammy Award winner

Jesse Harris Jesse Harris (born October 24, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and guitarist. He has worked with Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Madeleine Peyroux, and Lizz Wright. Early life and education Harris and his twin sister were born i ...

and

American Music Club American Music Club was an American, San Francisco-based indie rock band, led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. Formed in 1982, the band released seven albums before splitting up in 1995. They reformed in 2003 and released two further albums. ...

. The management roster expanded and new managers joined the collective in 2004, 2006 and 2008. Undertow's current management roster includes: *

The Bottle Rockets The Bottle Rockets were an American rock band formed in Festus, Missouri in 1992, and based in St. Louis. Its founding members were Brian Henneman (guitar, vocals), Mark Ortmann (drums), Tom Parr (1992–2002, guitar, vocals) and Tom Ray (19 ...

* Danielle Durack *

David Bazan David Shannon Bazan (; born January 22, 1976) is an American indie rock singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona who now resides in Edmonds, Washington. Bazan is the lead singer and creative force behind the band Pedro the Lion and was the lead ...

Headphones Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an ...

* Overseas * Pedro the Lion * Will Johnson

Undertow store

Undertow was one of the first independent labels to have an e-commerce store selling CDs and shirts with all profits going back to the artists. The Undertow Store started as a single webpage store front in 1998 selling a small selection of CDs and shirts. Over the years, the store has grown into a fully featured and robust online store with items from a tightly curated roster of artists.

Undertow tickets

Undertow expanded again in 2009 to offer direct-to-fan ticketing when David Bazan ventured out on a nationwide tour playing in fans' living rooms. They have since handled ticketing for similar tours by

Rocky Votolato Rocky Votolato (born March 8, 1977, in Dallas, Texas, United States) is an American indie and folk singer-songwriter. He was also a member of the rock group Waxwing. in 2025, he started a new band called Suzzallo with bandmate Rudy Gajadhar on d ...

, Will Johnson, Rosie Thomas, Joan of Arc,

Eric Bachmann Eric Emil Bachmann is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer. He rose to prominence as the frontman of Archers of Loaf and Crooked Fingers. Originally a saxophone major at Appalachian State University, Bachmann's music is di ...

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is an indie rock band active since the early 2000s in and out of Philadelphia. The band was founded as a collaboration between singer-songwriter Alec Ounsworth, Sean Greenhalgh, Robbie Guertin, Lee Sargent, and Ty ...

, Mike Doughty, Vandaveer,

Julia Nunes Julia Nunes (born January 3, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter from Fairport, New York. Her career has progressed online through her videos of pop songs on YouTube, in which she sings harmony with herself and plays acoustic instruments, pr ...

, Lady Lamb,

Mirah Mirah (born Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn) is an American musician and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. After getting her start in the music scene of Olympia, Washington, in the late 1990s, she released a number of well-received solo albums on ...

Eef Barzelay Ifar "Eef" Barzelay (; born May 12, 1970) is an Israeli-American musician. He is the principal songwriter and singer of alternative country band Clem Snide, but has also toured as a solo act, both as a headliner and in support of various artis ...

Chris Staples Chris Staples is an American indie rock musician originally from Pensacola, Florida, long based in Seattle, Washington. He released ''Panama, Burned and Blistered'', '' Blackest Hair, Bluest Eyes'', ''Badlands'', and ''American Soft'' independe ...

Damien Jurado Damien Troy Jurado (; born November 12, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington, United States. Over the years, he has released albums on Sub Pop, Secretly Canadian, Loose, and is currently on his own label, Maraqopa Recor ...

, Owen,

Sarah Jaffe Sarah Jaffe is an American singer-songwriter from Denton, Texas. Known for her distinctively clear vocals, she has worked as a singer-songwriter across many musical genres, including acoustic-folk, indie pop and hip hop. Early life Jaffe was b ...

, and The Bottle Rockets.

The Undertow Orchestra

In 2006, a group of Undertow artists toured the US and Europe, billed as

The Undertow Orchestra The Undertow Orchestra was an indie rock "supergroup" organized by Bob Andrews of Undertow Music Collective. The band existed only as a touring ensemble and consisted of "four of today’s most under the radar, yet prolific singer-songwriters," ...

. Members of the touring group included

(of Pedro the Lion and

Mark Eitzel Mark Eitzel (born January 30, 1959) is an American musician, best known as a songwriter and lead singer of the San Francisco band American Music Club. Biography Eitzel spent his formative years in a military family living in Okinawa, Taiwan, Oh ...

(of

), Will Johnson and Scott Danbom (of

), and

Vic Chesnutt James Victor Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little (album), ''Little'', was released in 1990. His commercial breakthrough came in 1996 with the rele ...

.Chicagoist: Getting Pulled By The Undertow Orchestra

References

External links

Undertow Music Official Site
{{Authority control Record labels based in Illinois Musical collectives Champaign, Illinois Record labels established in 1996