Soleilmoon
Encyclopedia
Soleilmoon Recordings is an American
record label
that began in 1987
as a cassette label, operating from the back of a record shop called the Ooze in Portland, Oregon
, USA. The first releases were by Smegma
, Muslimgauze
, Coil
, and Nocturnal Emissions
. Compact discs releases soon followed in increasing numbers, until eventually all of the cassettes were deleted. In recent years the label has issued vinyl records, video tapes, MiniDiscs
, and DATs
.
Much of the music is dark and electronic
, but there are also examples of ethnic influences, ambient
soundscape
s, and even harsh experimental
noise
pieces.
Two European labels have been loyal allies in the early days of Soleilmoon's existence. Touch Music
, based in London, has long been the home base for numerous vital musical and visual artists. Staalplaat
, in Amsterdam (now Germany), was a virtual sister label of Soleilmoon for many years. Staalplaat and Soleilmoon frequently worked together to issue co-releases, and several artists were signed to both labels simultaneously. With the passing of time the two labels found themselves diverging artistically and philosophically, and now act independently of each other.
Soleilmoon releases are distributed in the UK by Cargo, in Europe by Cold Meat Industry and Dark Vinyl, and in Japan by Digital Narcis.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record label
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 began in 1987
1987 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
as a cassette label, operating from the back of a record shop called the Ooze in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, USA. The first releases were by Smegma
Smegma (band)
Smegma is an American experimental noise group formed in Pasadena, California in 1973 and currently based in Portland, Oregon. Originally part of the Los Angeles Free Music Society movement of the 1970s, Smegma is one of the few music collectives of that era still active today. Author Richard...
, Muslimgauze
Muslimgauze
Muslimgauze was a music project of Bryn Jones , a prolific British ethnic electronica and experimental musician, influenced by conflicts in the Muslim world with an emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...
, Coil
Coil (band)
Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...
, and Nocturnal Emissions
Nocturnal Emissions
Nocturnal Emissions is a sound art project that has released numerous records and CDs in music styles ranging from electro-acoustic, musique concrète, hybridised beats, sound collage, post-industrial music, ambient and noise music....
. Compact discs releases soon followed in increasing numbers, until eventually all of the cassettes were deleted. In recent years the label has issued vinyl records, video tapes, MiniDiscs
MiniDisc
The disc is permanently housed in a cartridge with a sliding door, similar to the casing of a 3.5" floppy disk. This shutter is opened automatically by a mechanism upon insertion. The audio discs can either be recordable or premastered. Recordable MiniDiscs use a magneto-optical system to record...
, and DATs
Digital Audio Tape
Digital Audio Tape is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a compact audio cassette, using 4 mm magnetic tape enclosed in a protective shell, but is roughly half the size at 73 mm × 54 mm × 10.5 mm. As...
.
Much of the music is dark and electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, but there are also examples of ethnic influences, ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
soundscape
Soundscape
A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology...
s, and even harsh experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
pieces.
Two European labels have been loyal allies in the early days of Soleilmoon's existence. Touch Music
Touch Music
Touch is a British audio-visual organisation, operating the Touch label. It is the main arm of the London-based multimedia publishing company Touch, established in 1982...
, based in London, has long been the home base for numerous vital musical and visual artists. Staalplaat
Staalplaat
Staalplaat is an independent record label that is located in Amsterdam with a separate store in Berlin. Created in 1982, the company's mission was created as a sound forum for sound artists, who write and perform new and experimental music...
, in Amsterdam (now Germany), was a virtual sister label of Soleilmoon for many years. Staalplaat and Soleilmoon frequently worked together to issue co-releases, and several artists were signed to both labels simultaneously. With the passing of time the two labels found themselves diverging artistically and philosophically, and now act independently of each other.
Soleilmoon releases are distributed in the UK by Cargo, in Europe by Cold Meat Industry and Dark Vinyl, and in Japan by Digital Narcis.
Soleilmoon artists
- A Small Good ThingA Small Good ThingA Small Good ThingA Small Good Thing, Bocephus King's second album was released by New West Records in 1998. The album was marketed as country.Sure, argues Perry, there's a smattering of that within A Small Good Thing, but not enough to ghettoize him within that one genre. "It got great reviews,"...
- Arkkon
- Bass CommunionBass CommunionBass Communion is a side project of Steven Wilson, best known for his lead role in the rock band Porcupine Tree. Records released under the name "Bass Communion" are in an ambient or electronic vein - lengthy drone-heavy compositions...
- Black Faction
- Boyd RiceBoyd RiceBoyd Blake Rice is an American experimental sound/noise musician using the name of NON since the mid-1970s, archivist, actor, photographer, author, member of the Partridge Family Temple religious group, co-founder of the UNPOP art movement and current staff writer for Modern Drunkard...
- ContinuumContinuum (music project)Continuum is a collaborative ambient and drone music project between Bass Communion and Dirk Serries...
- Controlled BleedingControlled BleedingControlled Bleeding is a prolific experimental music group based in Massapequa, New York. The group was founded by Paul Lemos, the group's only consistent member...
- Edward Ka-spelEdward Ka-SpelEdward Ka-Spel is an expatriate English singer, songwriter and musician residing in the Netherlands.-Biography:...
- Daniel MencheDaniel MencheDaniel Menche is a musician from Portland, Oregon. He has released music on labels such as Soleilmoon, Trente Oiseaux, Or Records, Alien8, Antifrost, Tesco Organisation, Blossoming Noise, f e r n s recordings Beta-lactam Ring Records, and Editions Mego...
- Death in JuneDeath in JuneDeath in June are a neofolk group led by English folk musician Douglas Pearce, better known as Douglas P. The band was originally formed in Britain in 1981 as a trio, but after the other members left in 1984 and 1985 to work on other projects, the group became the work of Douglas P. and various...
- Eyeless in GazaEyeless in GazaEyeless in Gaza is a bestselling novel by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1936. The title originates from a phrase in John Milton's Samson Agonistes:The chapters of the book are not ordered chronologically...
- Fear Falls Burning
- Foreign Terrain
- Hafler TrioHafler TrioThe Hafler Trio is a conceptual and sound art collaborative between Andrew M. McKenzie, the only permanent member, and guest musicians. The project has seen the release of numerous albums and CDs in experimental musical styles ranging from electronica, cut-up, ambient, environmental soundscape,...
- Illusion of Safety
- Legendary Pink Dots
- Loren NerellLoren NerellLoren Nerell is a composer and performer of ambient American music and Balinese gamelan.As a composer, Loren has written music for film, theater, dance, and interactive multi-media...
- LustmordLustmordBrian Williams is a British electronic musician often credited for creating the dark ambient genre with albums recorded under the name Lustmord.- History :Williams started recording as Lustmord in 1980 before joining SPK in 1982...
- MuslimgauzeMuslimgauzeMuslimgauze was a music project of Bryn Jones , a prolific British ethnic electronica and experimental musician, influenced by conflicts in the Muslim world with an emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...
- Nick Parkin
- Nocturnal EmissionsNocturnal EmissionsNocturnal Emissions is a sound art project that has released numerous records and CDs in music styles ranging from electro-acoustic, musique concrète, hybridised beats, sound collage, post-industrial music, ambient and noise music....
- O Yuki ConjugateO Yuki ConjugateO Yuki Conjugate is an organic ambient musical group, formed in Nottingham in 1982, now sometimes based in London. Their music has variously been categorized as darkwave, industrial, ambient and tribal-ambient. Members of the group vary, but include C. Elliot, R. Horberry, T. Horberry, A. Hulme,...
- People Like UsPeople Like Us (musician)People Like Us is the stage name of London DJ multimedia artist Vicki Bennett. She has released a number of albums featuring collages of music and sound since 1992. In recent years, she has performed at a number of modern art galleries, festivals and universities.-Musical career:Since 1991 Vicki...
- Randy Greif
- RapoonRapoonRapoon is a musical project of Robin Storey, a former member of Zoviet France, who has released material on notable independent labels such as Staalplaat, Soleilmoon, Manifold, Beta-Lactam Ring, and Lens Records.- Selected discography :...
- Reformed FactionReformed FactionReformed Faction is a musical group formed in 2005 by three former members of Zoviet France: Andy Eardley, Mark Spybey and Robin Storey. The band's original name was The Reformed Faction of Soviet France. They played one concert, in Vienna on 10 November 2005, and released a self-titled album on...
- Steve Roach
- Vidna ObmanaVidna ObmanaVidna Obmana is a pseudonym used by Belgian composer and ambient musician Dirk Serries. The name Vidna Obmana, a phrase in Serbian, literally translates to "optical illusion" and was chosen by Serries because he felt it accurately described the music...
- Z'EVZ'EVZ'EV is an American poet, percussionist, and sound artist. After studying various world music traditions at CalArts, he began creating his own percussion sounds out of industrial materials for a variety of record labels...
- Zoviet FranceZoviet FranceZoviet France is a prolific music group from Newcastle upon Tyne in north east England. While often dissonant and made of industrial textures, their music also falls into the ambient music category...