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
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 ...
(of
Pedro the Lion and
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 ...
),
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
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.
...
),
Will Johnson and Scott Danbom (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 ...
), 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