Seed Records
Encyclopedia
Seed Records 1972-1981
Seed Records was a record labelRecord 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,...
started by Paul Clark in 1972
1972 in music
-Events:*January 17 – Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Boulevard"*January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties,...
. The label ran until circa 1981
1981 in music
See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –...
, when he started Minstrel's Voyage Music. Seed Records was distributed by Word Records
Word Records
Word Records is a Christian record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a division of Word Entertainment , which, itself is co-owned by Warner Music Group and Curb Records...
and ABC Records
ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
.
Seed Records 1999-present
A LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
based record label also named Seed Records was set up in 1999 by Rich Bevan and Joshu Doherty of electronica duo Posthuman
Posthuman (band)
Posthuman is primarily a duo of Richard Bevan and Joshu Doherty. Known mainly for multi-layered electronic music, with heavy emphasis on intricate drum programming...
, who also promoted of a series of events called 'Seed Showcases', including UnderLondonGround, held in the disused underground Aldwych tube station
Aldwych tube station
Aldwych is a closed London Underground station in the City of Westminster, originally opened as Strand in 1907. It was the terminus and only station on the short Piccadilly line branch from Holborn that was a relic of the merger of two railway schemes. The disused station building is close to the...
. Artists that played these events included the label's roster of artists, alongside guests such as Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
, Alison Goldfrapp
Alison Goldfrapp
Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp is an English singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead singer of the electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Goldfrapp has a soprano vocal range.-Early life:...
, Richard X
Richard X
Richard Philips, best known by his stage name Richard X, is a British songwriter and music producer. Gaining attention as a pioneer of the bootleg craze, Richard X has earned success as a producer and remixer. He has helmed hit singles for artists including Annie, Kelis, Liberty X, Rachel Stevens...
, Plaid
Plaid (band)
Plaid is a London-based British electronic music duo comprising Andy Turner and Ed Handley. They are former members of The Black Dog and used many other names, such as Atypic and Balil , before settling on Plaid...
, Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert is a British recording artist and producer known for his work in many subgenres of electronic music. Vibert began his musical career as a member of the Hate Brothers, only later branching out into his own compositions...
, T.Rauschmeire, Funkstörung
Funkstörung
Funkstörung is Christian de Luca and Michael Fakesch , a duo of IDM musicians hailing from Rosenheim, Germany...
, Mark Moore and many more.
Joshu Doherty left Seed in late 2006, turning over control to Bruce McClure, who had been involved with the label and live events for several years. He is faithfully continuing the label's modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
"To Seed, to Grow" of promoting unknown and up & coming acts by releasing their music alongside that of established artists.
The original roster of artists who released music on Seed includes Cursor Miner
Cursor Miner
Cursor Miner is an underground electronica producer from Selsey, England. Signed to Lo Recordings and in the UK, he has released four albums, Cursor Miner Requires Attention , Danceflaw , Cursor Miner Plays God and Explosive Piece Of Mind...
, Ardisson, Kansas City Prophets, The Doubtful Guest, Digitonal
Digitonal
Digitonal is a British electronica duo composed of clarinettist and composer Andy Dobson and violinist Samy Bishai, who formed the band in London in the late 1990s....
, and Posthuman
Posthuman (band)
Posthuman is primarily a duo of Richard Bevan and Joshu Doherty. Known mainly for multi-layered electronic music, with heavy emphasis on intricate drum programming...
. A number of these acts have now gone on to sign deals with larger labels.
Seed's current roster includes Zombi
Zombi (band)
Zombi is a space rock duo from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, consisting of Steve Moore on bass and synthesizers and Anthony Paterra on drums. The group makes use of looping to create multi-layered compositions...
, Legowelt, Tobias Schmidt, Antoni Maiovvi, EYES, Skitanja and others such as Italo Disco
Italo disco
Italo disco encompasses much of the dance music output in Europe during the 1980s. It is one of the world's first forms of mostly electronic dance music and evolved during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe...
producer Alexander Robotnick
Alexander Robotnick
Alexander Robotnick is an Italian electronic musician. He made his debut on the Italian music scene as the founding member of Avida, a dance-cabaret band featuring Daniele Trambusti and Stefano Fuochi....
and world renowned techno artists such as Mark Verbos and Neil Landstrumm. As of 2010, the quirky folktronica duo Sleeps In Oysters, Antoni Maiovvi, The Dagger Brothers and 8Bitch (aka Nightwave) are the latest signings to the label. Bastard pop bootleggers, Frenchbloke & Son, have also put out a cassette and USB release with them.
Sleeps in Oysters second album, Lo!, was made available in April 2011. The first 50 editions came with animal masks and sewing kits. Antoni Maiovvi's double album of lost TV OSTs entitled 'Battlestar Transreplica / Trial By Bullet' will be available worldwide on the 5th September 2011. The first fifty editions of this record will come with a Maurizio Merli
Maurizio Merli
Maurizio Merli was an Italian film actor.Merli got his first lead role in 1974 in the film White Fang to the Rescue due to his resemblance to the highly popular cult actor Franco Nero, who played the lead role in the first two films...
/ Maiovvi t-shirt.
Many of the Seed Records releases are highly limited in number, and sought after by collectors and completists. The main genres covered by the label are electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
, and IDM
Intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...
. That said, you never really know what you are going to get on a release by release basis.
Discography
Following is a list of physical releases from Seed Records. A number of download only releases were also made available from the label, some via password on the official site, others on their Bleep.comBleep.com
Bleep is an online music store focusing on the independent music sector. Created by Warp Records and launched in January 2004, Bleep was one of the UK's first legal music download businesses and the only one to originate from within the music industry...
page.
| Artist | Title | Format | Catalog number | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Posthuman | Posthuman (grey album) | CD | n/a | 2000 | hand made sleeve, limited edition |
| Posthuman | The Uncertainty of the Monkey | Double 12" vinyl, CD | SEEDCD/LP01 | 2001 | |
| Posthuman | Posthuman EP | 12" vinyl, CD | SEEDEP02 | 2002 | A ltd. edition CD, cat. SEEDCD02B was released featuring a different tracklisting |
| Ardisson | Ardisson EP | 12" vinyl | SEEDEP03 | 2002 | |
| On / Off | Distant Personal | CD | SEEDCD04 | 2002 | Limited to 100 copies |
| Ardisson | Hardware Handshake EP | 12" vinyl | SEEDEP05 | 2003 | |
| Various Artists | Seed Records Volume 1 | CD | SEEDCD06 | 2003 | |
| [snyzch] | Seed 707 | 7" vinyl | SEED707 | 2003 | Limited to 300 copies |
| Posthuman | Lagrange Point | CD | SEEDCD09 | 2003 | |
| Digitonal | The Centre Cannot Hold EP | 12" vinyl, CD | SEEDCD/EP10 | 2004 | |
| Vlad & Ardisson / Kansas City Prophets | Split | 12" vinyl | SEED1208 | 2005 | |
| The House Husbands | The House Husbands Say... | 7" vinyl | HH01 | 2005 | Limited to 300 copies |
| Various Artists | Seed 5x5/1 | CD | SEED5X5/1 | 2006 | Limited to 100 copies. Released in sealed bag with branded aluminium bottle opener. |
| Various Artists | Seed 5x5/2 | CD | SEED5X5/2 | 2006 | Limited to 100 copies. Released in sealed bag with branded DJ clip-torch. |
| Various Artists | Seed 5x5/3 | CD | SEED5X5/3 | 2006 | Limited to 100 copies. Released in sealed bag with extra Digitonal CD "SEED5X5/LIVE". |
| Various Artists | Seed 5x5/4 | CD | SEED5X5/1 | 2006 | Limited to 100 copies. Released in sealed bag with signed photo by Mike Golding of B12 B12 (band) B12 are a British electronic music duo consisting of Mike Golding and Steve Rutter. First appearing in the early 1990s under a variety of monikers, including Musicology, Redcell and Cmetric, the duo were often mistaken as hailing from Detroit, their sound being comparable to the so-called second... . |
| Various Artists | Seed 5x5/5 | CD | SEED5X5/5 | 2006 | Limited to 100 copies. Released in sealed bag with branded metal lighter. |
| Posthuman | The People's Republic | CD | SEEDCD12 | 2006 | |
| Sancho | Mystery Year | CD | SEEDCD11 | 2007 | Enhanced CD, contains music video for "As Light Shone, they Fled" |
| Cursor Miner | Suicide Bomber | 7" vinyl | SEED737 | 2007 | Limited to 300 copies |
| Various Artists | Seed Records Volume 2 | CD | SEEDCD15 | 2008 | |
| Sleeps In Oysters | We kept the memories locked away like the beetles of our childhood, Or how to appreciate someone who is always around | CD | SEEDCD16 | 2008 | Limited to 250 copies each with individually hand made embroidered sleeves, sealed with wax and hand numbered |
| Antoni Maiovvi | Electro Muscle Cult | CD | SEEDCD17 | 2008 | Limited to 100 hand numbered copies |
| Eyes | Night Eyes | CD | SEEDCD18 | 2009 | Limited to 500 hand numbered copies |
| Antoni Maiovvi | Shadow of the Bloodstained Kiss | CD | SEEDCD20 | 2009 | Limited to 300 hand numbered copies |
| Various | Seed X Part I | CD | SEEDCD21 | 2010 | Limited to 100 hand numbered copies |
| Various | Seed X Part II | CD | SEEDCD22 | 2010 | Limited to 100 hand numbered copies |
| Various | Seed X Part III | CD | SEEDCD23 | 2010 | Limited to 100 hand numbered copies |
| Skitanja | Zombie Tonic | CD | SEEDCD19 | 2010 | Limited to 200 hand numbered copies |
| The Dagger Brothers | Space Trumpet | CD | SEEDCD24 | 2010 | Limited to 200 copies |
| 8Bitch | Equinox | 12" vinyl | SEEDEP25 | 2010 | Limited to 250 hand numbered copies |
| Frenchbloke & Son | Societe de Radiodiffusion de l'homme et du fils Francais - Bruit dans l'interet de Musique | Cassette tape / USB | SEED26 | 2010 | Limited to 49 hand numbered cassettes (10 encased in books) and 15 USB sets |
| Sleeps in Oysters | The Brambles In Starlight | 3" CD | SEEDEP27 | 2010 | Limited to 150 hand numbered copies in hand spun wool |
| Sleeps in Oysters | Lo! | CD | SEEDCD28 | 2011 | Limited to 300 hand numbered copies worldwide. 1-50 deluxe editions of these come with animal masks and sewing kits. |
| Antoni Maiovvi | Battlestar Transreplica / Trial By Bullet | 2 x CD | SEEDCD29 / SEEDCD30 | 2011 | Limited to 200 hand numbered copies. Editions 1-50/200 come with ltd edition t-shirt designed by African Apparel |