Last Gang Records
Encyclopedia
Last Gang Records is a record label
that was formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal
Music Festival.
As their music lawyer, Taylor had been working for the group Metric
since the early days of 1998 and had literally "shopped" the band to over 100 record labels around the world but to no avail. He was prepared to release the album himself with his own money when he met with Tarlton. After viewing the Metric video for "Grow Up and Blow Away" (a single on a Metric album that would not be released until 2007) Donald offered to help Taylor realize his vision of introducing Metric's music to the world. They formed a joint venture company under the DKD label group Last Gang Records. Metric released their critically acclaimed Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
in the autumn of 2003, and Last Gang Records was born. The label’s second signing, Death From Above 1979
, was critically acclaimed and toured around the world three times in 2004/2005 before disbanding in the fall of 2005.
Last Gang was nominated as Independent Record Label of the Year at the Canadian Music Awards in 2006. Metric was nominated for a Juno Award
in 2005 and albums by Tiga
and MSTRKRFT
won Juno Awards in 2007. A recent signing, Crystal Castles
, were featured on the cover of the NME
(June, 2008) and playing major festivals around the globe. The Toronto-based company also has its hands in publishing, licensing, multi-format releases, management and legal, pushing forward-thinking, progressive dance and alternative acts.
"Through eight years, our DIY experiment borne of necessity has developed into a multinational entity with offices and staff around the world. Momentum with the label helped drive our evolution. We formed independent Management and Publishing divisions and Last Gang Records evolved into Last Gang Entertainment. All of this was driven by the idea of creating an independent music company that could fully support artists beyond the typical limitations of a record label – allowing us to provide expertise and infrastructure in each of these areas that meaningful contribute to sustained artistic development."
Current clients include Kay (Interscope), Alysha Brillinger (Lava/Universal Republic), San Sebastian (Universal), Burning Love (Deranged) and Last Gang Records recording artists Lindi Ortega, Huoratron, Modern Superstitions, and Terry Lynn.
Last Gang Publishing has secured synch placement in leading television shows (Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl, CSI Miami/NY), international commercial ad campaigns (Motorola, HP, Mitsubishi), blockbuster video games (Madden, FIFA 2009) and major motion picture films. LGP also acts as an independent music supervision consultancy, most providing supervision services on feature films Year Of The Carnivore and Daydream Nation.
LGP clients include Jasper G (Nelly Furtado), By Divine Right, Burning Hell and Murray Yates. LGP also represents several Last Gang Records recording artists, including, Mother Mother, Silver Starling, Magneta Lane and O’Luge.
Last Gang Management artists include:
Last Gang Publishing artists include:
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
that was formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal
Pop Montreal
Pop Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 acts are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, mostly located in the Mile End area...
Music Festival.
As their music lawyer, Taylor had been working for the group Metric
Metric (band)
Metric is a Canadian indie rock and New Wave band founded in 1998 in Toronto. The band has also at various times been based in Montreal, London, New York City and Los Angeles...
since the early days of 1998 and had literally "shopped" the band to over 100 record labels around the world but to no avail. He was prepared to release the album himself with his own money when he met with Tarlton. After viewing the Metric video for "Grow Up and Blow Away" (a single on a Metric album that would not be released until 2007) Donald offered to help Taylor realize his vision of introducing Metric's music to the world. They formed a joint venture company under the DKD label group Last Gang Records. Metric released their critically acclaimed Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? is a 2003 album by Canadian indie rock band Metric. This album has gone gold in Canada.-Track listing:All songs written by Metric.#"IOU" – 4:22#"Hustle Rose" – 5:33#"Succexy" – 3:05#"Combat Baby" – 3:29...
in the autumn of 2003, and Last Gang Records was born. The label’s second signing, Death From Above 1979
Death from Above 1979
Death from Above 1979 are a Toronto-based Canadian dance-punk/noise rock duo. Their album, You're a Woman, I'm a Machine, was released in late 2004. The band broke up in 2006, but announced a reunion in 2011.-History:...
, was critically acclaimed and toured around the world three times in 2004/2005 before disbanding in the fall of 2005.
Last Gang was nominated as Independent Record Label of the Year at the Canadian Music Awards in 2006. Metric was nominated for a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
in 2005 and albums by Tiga
Tiga (musician)
Tiga is the stage name of Montreal-born DJ/producer Tiga James Sontag . His album Sexor won the 2007 Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year.-Career:He graduated from Selwyn House School, a prestigious school in Westmount...
and MSTRKRFT
MSTRKRFT
MSTRKRFT is a Canadian electronic music duo from Toronto, Ontario. The group was started in 2005 by Jesse F. Keeler of Death from Above 1979 and Al-P formerly of the Mississauga, Ontario electropop group Girlsareshort...
won Juno Awards in 2007. A recent signing, Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles (band)
Crystal Castles are an experimental electronic band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of producer Ethan Kath and lyricist and vocalist Alice Glass. Crystal Castles are known for their chaotic live shows and their lo-fi home productions. The duo released many limited EPs between 2006 and...
, were featured on the cover of the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
(June, 2008) and playing major festivals around the globe. The Toronto-based company also has its hands in publishing, licensing, multi-format releases, management and legal, pushing forward-thinking, progressive dance and alternative acts.
"Through eight years, our DIY experiment borne of necessity has developed into a multinational entity with offices and staff around the world. Momentum with the label helped drive our evolution. We formed independent Management and Publishing divisions and Last Gang Records evolved into Last Gang Entertainment. All of this was driven by the idea of creating an independent music company that could fully support artists beyond the typical limitations of a record label – allowing us to provide expertise and infrastructure in each of these areas that meaningful contribute to sustained artistic development."
Last Gang Management
Last Gang Management is a music management company founded in 2004. Primary operations are based in Toronto and Los Angeles. Last Gang Management works in partnership with artist clients to oversee all aspects of career development, including navigating relations with record labels, music publishers, booking agents, sponsors, and other varied parties.Current clients include Kay (Interscope), Alysha Brillinger (Lava/Universal Republic), San Sebastian (Universal), Burning Love (Deranged) and Last Gang Records recording artists Lindi Ortega, Huoratron, Modern Superstitions, and Terry Lynn.
Last Gang Publishing
Last Gang Publishing is a music publishing company founded in 2004. Primary operations are based in Toronto and Los Angeles. Last Gang Publishing represents a wide variety of songwriters, both as a co-publisher and through client services including synch representation and royalty collection and administration. LGP is strategically partnered with leading independent music publisher Ole to provide global synch and admin representation.Last Gang Publishing has secured synch placement in leading television shows (Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl, CSI Miami/NY), international commercial ad campaigns (Motorola, HP, Mitsubishi), blockbuster video games (Madden, FIFA 2009) and major motion picture films. LGP also acts as an independent music supervision consultancy, most providing supervision services on feature films Year Of The Carnivore and Daydream Nation.
LGP clients include Jasper G (Nelly Furtado), By Divine Right, Burning Hell and Murray Yates. LGP also represents several Last Gang Records recording artists, including, Mother Mother, Silver Starling, Magneta Lane and O’Luge.
Artists
Last Gang Records has released recordings by:- Bang LimeBang LimeBang Lime is an indie rock group created by Joules Scott-Key and Josh Winstead of the New Wave/Indie group Metric. The duo’s history, which spans several bands, encompasses several acquired musical styles that are reflected in Bang Lime’s music....
- Boys NoizeBoys NoizeBoys Noize is the stage name of Alexander Ridha, a German electronic music producer and DJ. It is similar to the name of Ridha's label, Boysnoize Records, which he established in 2005...
- ChromeoChromeoChromeo is an electrofunk duo formed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 2004.-History:Chromeo is composed of P-Thugg on keyboards, synthesizers, and talk box, and Dave 1 on guitar and lead vocals...
- Crystal CastlesCrystal Castles (band)Crystal Castles are an experimental electronic band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of producer Ethan Kath and lyricist and vocalist Alice Glass. Crystal Castles are known for their chaotic live shows and their lo-fi home productions. The duo released many limited EPs between 2006 and...
- Death From Above 1979Death from Above 1979Death from Above 1979 are a Toronto-based Canadian dance-punk/noise rock duo. Their album, You're a Woman, I'm a Machine, was released in late 2004. The band broke up in 2006, but announced a reunion in 2011.-History:...
- Emily Haines & the Soft SkeletonEmily HainesEmily Haines is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter. She is the lead singer and keyboardist of the band Metric and a member of Broken Social Scene. As a solo artist, she performed with her own name and under the alias Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton...
- Fan DeathFan DeathFan Death is a Italo disco band which started in Brooklyn, New York in 2007 and is now based in Vancouver, British Columbia.In 2008, Erol Alkan remixed and released their debut single Veronica's Veil on his Phantasy Sounds label. Following this Big Love Records from Tokyo released the single...
- Femme Fatale
- From Fiction
- Guy Garcon
- Let's Go To WarLet's Go To WarLet's Go to War is a Canadian electro-rap trio formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2008. The music group is made up of members Henry Walter, Adrien Gough, and Peter-John Kerr. The band is signed to Last Gang Records....
- Lights
- Lindi OrtegaLindi OrtegaLindi Ortega is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician, known for her voice that has been described as a blend of Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and Emmylou Harris. She spent nearly a decade as an independent artist in the Toronto music scene, self-releasing two albums and an EP in that time...
- MSTRKRFTMSTRKRFTMSTRKRFT is a Canadian electronic music duo from Toronto, Ontario. The group was started in 2005 by Jesse F. Keeler of Death from Above 1979 and Al-P formerly of the Mississauga, Ontario electropop group Girlsareshort...
- Magneta LaneMagneta LaneMagneta Lane are a Canadian indie band hailing from Toronto, Ontario. The all-female line-up consists of family members Lexi Valentine and Nadia King and French . The band has received critical acclaim for their debut EP The Constant Lover...
- Mark SultanMark SultanMark Sultan is a Canadian musician and entrepreneur from Montreal, Quebec. He was a member of a number of Canadian garage bands including the Spaceshits, Les Sexareenos, and Mind Controls...
- MetricMetric (band)Metric is a Canadian indie rock and New Wave band founded in 1998 in Toronto. The band has also at various times been based in Montreal, London, New York City and Los Angeles...
- Mother MotherMother MotherMother Mother is a five-piece Canadian indie rock band originally from Quadra Island, now based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mother Mother consists of Ryan Guldemond on guitar and vocals, Molly Guldemond on vocals and keyboard, Jasmin Parkin on keyboard and vocals, Ali Siadat on drums, and...
- PanurgePanurgePanurge is one of the principal characters in the Pantagruel of Rabelais, an exceedingly crafty knave, a libertine, and a coward....
- Slan
- The Meligrove BandThe Meligrove BandThe Meligrove Band is a Canadian indie rock band, based in Toronto, and consisting of Jason Nunes on vocals, guitar and piano, Darcy Rego on vocals and drums, Brian O'Reilly on guitar and synthesizer, and Michael Small on bass guitar.-History:...
- The New PornographersThe New PornographersThe New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
- TigaTiga (musician)Tiga is the stage name of Montreal-born DJ/producer Tiga James Sontag . His album Sexor won the 2007 Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year.-Career:He graduated from Selwyn House School, a prestigious school in Westmount...
- Tricky Woo
- We Are Enfant Terrible
Last Gang Management artists include:
- Andy's Ill
- Burning LoveBurning Love"Burning Love" is a song written by Dennis Linde, first recorded by Arthur Alexander, who included it on his self-titled 1971 album, and made famous by Elvis Presley, who took it to #2 in the United States in 1972...
- HuoratronHuoratronHuoratron is the brainchild of electronic music producer Aku Raski. He originally began producing music simply by creating remixes witnessed by his 2003 remix of Zarkus Poussa's track "One More Shake", which appeared on Poussa's self-released EP "Vol. 1". "Vol...
- KAYKayThe name Kay \kay\ is found both as a surname and as a given name. In English-speaking countries it is usually a girl's name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own right, and as a boy's name. As an English name it is pronounced kay...
- Lindi OrtegaLindi OrtegaLindi Ortega is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician, known for her voice that has been described as a blend of Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and Emmylou Harris. She spent nearly a decade as an independent artist in the Toronto music scene, self-releasing two albums and an EP in that time...
- Modern Superstitions
- San SebastianSan Sebastian (band)San Sebastian is an indie pop rock band from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Formerly known as Pumps, they broke out on to the scene after appearing on the MuchMusic original series, disBAND.-Biography:...
- Alysha BrillingerAlysha BrillingerAlysha Sarah Brillinger is a Canadian musician. Born in Mississauga, Ontario and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, Brillinger started singing in her early teens in local bands and at various festivals, including the Coalflats and Kitchener Blues Festival, where she was the 2008 winner of the Grande...
Last Gang Publishing artists include:
- Dubmatix
- By Divine RightBy Divine RightBy Divine Right is a Canadian indie rock band, led by guitarist and vocalist José Miguel Contreras.-History:The band was formed in 1989 by high school friends Contreras, drummer Mark Goldstein, bassist Liz Teear and guitarist Steve Berman. They put out a number of independent releases before...
- The Burning HellThe Burning HellThe Burning Hell is a 1974 film created by the evangelist Estus Pirkle. This film is Pirkle's interpretation of what the Bible has to say about hell. It is available in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. The screenplay is by Ron Ormond....
- The King Khan & BBQ ShowThe King Khan & BBQ ShowThe King Khan & BBQ Show was a Canadian Garage rock duo from Montreal, Quebec who mixed doo-wop and punk. The band was composed of former Spaceshits bandmates Mark Sultan and Blacksnake, alias King Khan. Mark Sultan, under the pseudonym BBQ, contributed vocals, guitar, tambourine, bass drum, and...
- Kinnie Star
- Let's Go To WarLet's Go To WarLet's Go to War is a Canadian electro-rap trio formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2008. The music group is made up of members Henry Walter, Adrien Gough, and Peter-John Kerr. The band is signed to Last Gang Records....
- Magneta LaneMagneta LaneMagneta Lane are a Canadian indie band hailing from Toronto, Ontario. The all-female line-up consists of family members Lexi Valentine and Nadia King and French . The band has received critical acclaim for their debut EP The Constant Lover...
- Mark SultanMark SultanMark Sultan is a Canadian musician and entrepreneur from Montreal, Quebec. He was a member of a number of Canadian garage bands including the Spaceshits, Les Sexareenos, and Mind Controls...
- Mother MotherMother MotherMother Mother is a five-piece Canadian indie rock band originally from Quadra Island, now based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mother Mother consists of Ryan Guldemond on guitar and vocals, Molly Guldemond on vocals and keyboard, Jasmin Parkin on keyboard and vocals, Ali Siadat on drums, and...
- O'Luge
- Lindi OrtegaLindi OrtegaLindi Ortega is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician, known for her voice that has been described as a blend of Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and Emmylou Harris. She spent nearly a decade as an independent artist in the Toronto music scene, self-releasing two albums and an EP in that time...
- San SebastianSan SebastiánDonostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
- Silver StarlingSilver StarlingSilver Starling is an indie pop band based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Biography:Silver Starling began as a project of Montreal-born singer-songwriter Marcus Paquin...
- Terry Lynn