Studio !K7 is an independent record label

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 based in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 that focuses mostly on electronic music

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...

. The name is an abbreviation

Abbreviation

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...

 of the company's original Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 address, Kaiserdamm 7 (they have since relocated to Heidestr. 52). !K7 has since opened branch offices in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, London

London

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...

, and Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

.
It has four independent imprints as part of the K7 label group. !K7, Gold Dust, Strut and Rapster.

K7 has a licensing deal with the New York based indie label Frenchkiss Records

Frenchkiss Records

Frenchkiss Records is an independent record label based in New York, New York. The label was started in 1999 by Syd Butler, bassist and founder of Les Savy Fav...

, distributes the labels BBE, District 6, Environ

Environ

Environ is a record label started in 1995 in Oberlin, Ohio by Morgan Geist.-Artists:Artists on the label include Metro Area, Daniel Wang, Morgan Geist, Kelley Polar Quartet, and Jersey Devil Social Club.-External links:*...

, Get Physical, Ghostly International

Ghostly International

Ghostly International is an American independent record label. Chief artists include Matthew Dear, Dabrye , Mobius Band, and Skeletons & The Girl-Faced Boys, all of which are innovative contributors to the world of music....

, Kindred Spirits

Kindred Spirits

Kindred Spirits is a painting by the Hudson River School painter Asher Durand. It depicts the previously deceased painter Thomas Cole and his friend poet William Cullen Bryant in the Catskill Mountains...

, Lo Recordings

Lo Recordings

Lo Recordings is a label founded in 1995 by Jon Tye. They are noted for their strong visual style thanks to Non-Format, with whom they work very closely and won a D&AD award for several of their releases sleeves.-Musical style:...

, R2

R2

R2, R02, R.II, R.2 or R-2 may refer to:-Entertainment:* R2: Reign of Revolution, an online game* R2 , a British music magazine* R2-D2, a character from Star Wars films and books...

, Rushhour

RushHour

RushHour is a chain of free daily newspapers published in the Canadian cities of Calgary and Edmonton by CanWest Global Communications.The Ottawa edition was launched on November 13, 2006 as an online news update and entertainment guide but was discontinued on April 25, 2008.RushHour publishes at...

, Skint, Salt Records

Salt Records

Salt Records is a UK based independent label/platform for eclectic music. Founded by Roberto Concina in 2000, it became the home for artists such as Robert Miles, Miles Gurtu and Blue Light Fever....

 and Muthas Of Invention and has a music publishing company.

History

Studio !K7 today is best known for producing electronic music artists and especially for the DJ-Kicks

DJ-Kicks

DJ-Kicks is a series of DJ mix albums, mixed by various artists for the independent record label !K7 Records.-History:...

 compilations.
Its history finds its beginnings back in 1985 with the idea of releasing digital video clips. 1991 saw the release of the first of the 3LUX series (three volumes), followed by the X-Mix series (from 1993 to 1998), the specially mixed DJ sets, also available on longform videos.

Ten years later, the DJ-Kicks

DJ-Kicks

DJ-Kicks is a series of DJ mix albums, mixed by various artists for the independent record label !K7 Records.-History:...

 series came to life. Its concept was innovative, since complete albums with DJ cuts to be played on your home stereo were unknown at that time. Artists such as Kruder & Dorfmeister

Kruder & Dorfmeister

Kruder & Dorfmeister, named after members Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, is an Austrian duo most known for their downtempo-dub remixes of pop, hip-hop and drum and bass songs.-Style:...

, Nightmares On Wax

Nightmares on Wax

George Evelyn, better known as Nightmares on Wax and also known as DJ EASE , is a DJ from Leeds, UK. His music is released on Warp Records and was one of the first releases on the label. Evelyn got his start in the music industry through an interest in hip hop and on joining a local breakdancing crew...

, Thievery Corporation

Thievery Corporation

Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C. based recording artist and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza, Eric Hilton, and their supporting artists, including current drummer Jeff Franca...

 and Stereo MC's Chromeo

Chromeo

Chromeo 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...

, Booka Shade

Booka Shade

Booka Shade is a German house duo. It is made up of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, described as veterans of the Frankfurt electronic music scene...

 and many more contributed releases.

In 1996, !K7 started launching artist albums. Currently the !K7-discography features albums from artists such as Kruder & Dorfmeister

Kruder & Dorfmeister

Kruder & Dorfmeister, named after members Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, is an Austrian duo most known for their downtempo-dub remixes of pop, hip-hop and drum and bass songs.-Style:...

, Matthew Herbert

Matthew Herbert

Matthew Herbert , also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, and Wishmountain, is a British electronic musician...

, Dani Siciliano, Ursula Rucker

Ursula Rucker

Ursula Rucker is an American spoken word recording artist. Rucker is known for a diverse repertoire, and for utilizing techniques that catch her listeners' attention.-Biography:...

, Swayzak

Swayzak

Swayzak is a tech house duo from the United Kingdom that consists of James S. Taylor and David Brown. They live and work in London and released their first 12" single "Bueno" / "Fukumachi" in February 1997 to much acclaim...

, and Boozoo Bajou

Boozoo Bajou

Boozoo Bajou is a musical duo from Germany. They are noted for their distinct blend of Cajun sounds with island rhythms. Their first album, Satta, was released in 2001. In 2005 they released Dust My Broom...

.

In 2001, Rapster Records, a new label under the !K7 umbrella, started focussing on Urban, Soul and HipHop. Since then, Rapster has been releasing records by DJ Jazzy Jeff

DJ Jazzy Jeff

Jeffrey Allen Townes , also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply Jazz, is an American hip hop, R&B record producer, turntablist and actor. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince...

, Pete Rock

Pete Rock

Peter Phillips , better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth...

 and Roy Ayers

Roy Ayers

Roy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers...

, amongst others. Rapster also forged an alliance with UK based soul aficionado Peter Adarkwah whose label BBE has been dealing in diverse, eclectic sounds covering many genres from old scratchy Brazilian grooves through 70's funk via jazz fusion and new hip hop for over a decade.

With its newly founded subsidiary Ever Records in 2006, !K7 has become a platform for Indie bands and singer/songwriters such as Cortney Tidwell

Cortney Tidwell

Cortney Tidwell is an American singer-songwriter. She was born 1972 in Nashville, Tennessee to country singer Connie Eaton and producer and A & R, Cliff Williamson. Her grandfather Slim Williamson ran Chart Records. Most of her family played/associated with the Grand Ole Opry. Her mother was...

, Cyann & Ben

Cyann & Ben

Cyann & Ben is a Parisian Post-rock and dream pop band. The band has released three albums, and was signed to Gooom Disques and is now signed to Ever Records.-Discography:*Spring...

, and Howie Beck

Howie Beck

Howie Beck is a Canadian singer-songwriter and producer based in Toronto. His debut album, 1997's Pop and Crash, was recorded at home while Beck recovered from mononucleosis.Beck began to attract attention outside of Canada with 1999's Hollow...

.

In 2008 Strut & Gold Dust Media joined the !K7 label group. Between 1999 and 2003 Strut released everything from Nigerian Afrobeat to Leftfield Disco to Rare Groove. The release of Grandmaster Flash

Grandmaster Flash

Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....

’s new album will also take place this year. Strut’s founder, Quinton Scott, is responsible for A&R.
Gold Dust Media is A & R’D from the US office of !K7 and will focus mainly on American artists.

Notable artists

• A Guy Called Gerald
  A Guy Called Gerald
  A Guy Called Gerald is the stage name for the musician, record producer and DJ Gerald Simpson ....
  
  
• John Acquaviva
  John Acquaviva
  John Acquaviva is an Italian-born Canadian second-wave techno artist and club DJ from London, Ontario. His friend Richie Hawtin co-founded the Plus 8 record label with him in 1990.In 2006, Acquaviva reached #22 on the ....
  
  
• Boozoo Bajou
  Boozoo Bajou
  Boozoo Bajou is a musical duo from Germany. They are noted for their distinct blend of Cajun sounds with island rhythms. Their first album, Satta, was released in 2001. In 2005 they released Dust My Broom...
  
  
• da damn phreak noize phunk
• Chris de Luca
  Funkstörung
  Funkstörung is Christian de Luca and Michael Fakesch , a duo of IDM musicians hailing from Rosenheim, Germany...
  
  
• Sean Deason
  Sean Deason
  Sean Deason is an American techno producer from Detroit. His aliases include Project X, Sounds Intangible Nature, Freq, and X-313....
  
  
• Benjamin Diamond
  Benjamin Diamond
  Benjamin Diamond is a French singer.He started life as a punk rocker in the band Chicken Pox, but taking inspiration from artists such as New Order, Michael Jackson, and Roxy Music, he veered towards electro and joined The Party...
  
  
• Vikter Duplaix
  Vikter Duplaix
  Vikter Duplaix, is an American singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and DJ. Duplaix has traditional soul singer’s beginnings – being raised in both Philadelphia and Augusta, Georgia singing in church choirs, and later took work programming drum tracks while working at a Philadelphia...
  
  
• Fehlfarben
  Fehlfarben
  Fehlfarben is a German post-punk band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The band name is from a German printing term referring to erroneous colors in prints: singer Peter Hein was in this line of work at Xerox while in the band...
  
  
• Five Deez
  Five Deez
  Five Deez is an American hip hop group from Cincinnati, Ohio and a part of the Wanna Battle collective, which also includes DJ Hi-Tek, Talib Kweli, Rubix, and Lone Catalysts. The group consists of members: Fat Jon the Ample Soul Physician , Pase Rock , Kyle David , and Sonic...
  
  
• Funkstörung
  Funkstörung
  Funkstörung is Christian de Luca and Michael Fakesch , a duo of IDM musicians hailing from Rosenheim, Germany...
  
  
• The Herbaliser
  The Herbaliser
  The Herbaliser is a jazz rap band formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently signed to !K7 Records, they were one of the best-known acts from the Ninja Tune independent record label...
  
  
• Herbert
  Matthew Herbert
  Matthew Herbert , also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, and Wishmountain, is a British electronic musician...
  
  
• Beth Hirsch
  Beth Hirsch
  Beth Hirsch is a singer-songwriter from Tampa, Florida, born in . Hirsch is best known for her collaboration with Air on their critically acclaimed album Moon Safari. Her first solo album, Early Days, was released in 1999, followed by Titles & Idols in 2001...
  
  
• Nick Holder
  Nick Holder
  Nick Holder is an underground hip-hop and house music deejay and producer from Toronto, Canada.Holder began DJing in the early 1980s, and soon became influenced by the Detroit techno scene and DJs such as Derrick May and Carl Craig....
  
  
• Interstellar
  Interstellar (band)
  -History:The band was formed in 1998 by Rob Boak and Denis Dufour . The debut album, Late Night Tea, was released in 2000 on Mother Superior Records. Cam Lindsay of Exclaim! described the record as sounding like it had been recorded "at four in the morning", comparing it with Spiritualized and...
  
  
• Khao
• Koop
  Koop (band)
  Koop is an electronic jazz duo from Sweden, consisting of Magnus Zingmark and Oscar Simonsson.Koop won a Swedish Grammy Award in 2003 for the album "Waltz for Koop", and received a Gold certification for sales of their most recent album, Koop Islands...
  
  
• Kruder & Dorfmeister
  Kruder & Dorfmeister
  Kruder & Dorfmeister, named after members Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, is an Austrian duo most known for their downtempo-dub remixes of pop, hip-hop and drum and bass songs.-Style:...
  
  
• Mike Ladd
  Mike Ladd
  Mike Ladd is a hip-hop MC and producer. As an MC, he practices spoken-word and is known for his poetic lyrics. As a producer, he is known as the owner of the Likemadd label.-Biography:...
  
  
• Milosh
  Milosh
  Michael Milosh, known professionally as Milosh, is a Canadian electronic musician. As well as being an electronic musician, he is a classically trained cellist starting from age three, as well as a jazz aficionado...
  
  
• Nicolette
  Nicolette
  Nicolette is a UK singer-songwriter of Nigerian parentage. Living in London , she was born 1964 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has lived in Nigeria, Switzerland, France, and Belgium. Her music, although falling broadly into the field of electronica, is characterised by many influences, including,...
  
  
• Out Hud
  Out Hud
  Out Hud was an electronic band formed in 1996 in the Bay Area of California and later based in New York City. The band consisted of guitarist Nic Offer, bassist Tyler Pope, cellist Molly Schnick, vocalist/drummer Phyllis Forbes and mixer Justin Van Der Volgen. Pope, Offer, and Van Der Volgen are...
  
  
• Erlend Øye
  Erlend Øye
  Erlend Øye is a Norwegian musician from Bergen, best known for being part of the indie folk duo Kings of Convenience together with Eirik Glambek Bøe. He has released one solo album, Unrest, in 2003 and a mix-CD in the DJ-Kicks series in 2004....
  
  
• Terrence Parker
  Terrence Parker
  Terrence Parker is a house deejay and music producer from Detroit, Michigan, United States.Parker has a long career in deejaying. In 2010 he celebrates his 30th music anniversary. He has been actively deejaying in hundreds of cities around the world. These events range from night clubs to music...
  
  
• Peace Orchestra
  Peace Orchestra
  Peace Orchestra is a musical solo project from Viennese trip-hop-dub producer Peter Kruder, best known as one half of Kruder & Dorfmeister.Peace Orchestra is also the title of an album recorded by Kruder under the Peace Orchestra banner...
  
  
• Playgroup
  Playgroup (band)
  Playgroup is a British dance act. Basically the project of musician and designer Trevor Jackson, they were associated with the electroclash movement.Jackson has also performed under the names Underdog and Skull.-Albums:...
  
  
• Princess Superstar
  Princess Superstar
  Princess Superstar is an American emcee and DJ.Her musical style, as she describes it, is flip-flop — a mixture of 'hip hop, electroclash and electronica'.-Background:...
  
  
• Stacey Pullen
  Stacey Pullen
  Stacey Pullen is an American techno musician based in Detroit.Pullen was raised in Detroit, where he became interested in electronic music early in his life. He began working on the Detroit techno scene in 1990, studying with Derrick May and working with him on business ventures. He used the...
  
  
• Quiet Village
  Quiet Village
  "Quiet Village" is an exotica instrumental that was originally written and performed by Les Baxter in 1952. In the liner notes to his album, Ritual of the Savage , Baxter described the themes he was conveying in the work: Seven years later, in 1959, Martin Denny added exotic sounds to the song,...
  
  
• Rae & Christian
  Rae & Christian
  Rae & Christian were Grand Central Records' founder Mark Rae and fellow producer and DJ Steve Christian. Their music is broadly classed as Hip-Hop / soulful dance music and features such vocalists as The Jungle Brothers, Jeru The Damaja and The Pharcyde as well as contributions from Bobby Womack...
  
  
• Ursula Rucker
  Ursula Rucker
  Ursula Rucker is an American spoken word recording artist. Rucker is known for a diverse repertoire, and for utilizing techniques that catch her listeners' attention.-Biography:...
  
  
• Ian Simmonds
  Ian Simmonds
  Ian Simmonds, Juryman , is a Welsh-born electronica and jazz musician whose music oscillates between more acoustic works of nu jazz or downtempo and heavily produced electronica, as Juryman the sound is interwoven with hip hop textures....
  
  
• James Sims
  James Sims
  James Sims, Jr. is an American football running back in the National Football League who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the University of Washington....
  
  
• Shantel
  Shantel
  Shantel, real name Stefan Hantel , is a German DJ and producer of Bukovina German Romanian descent, known for his work with gypsy brass orchestras, DJing and remixing traditional Balkan music with electronic beats...
  
  
• Dani Siciliano
  Dani Siciliano
  Dani Siciliano is an American singer. She has worked with Matthew Herbert on several of his projects including the albums Around the House, Bodily Functions and Scale...
  
  
• Smith & Mighty
  Smith & Mighty
  Smith & Mighty are a Drum and bass/Trip hop group from Bristol, consisting of Rob Smith and Ray Mighty. Their first releases, in the late 1980s, were breakbeat covers of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "Walk on By"...
  
  
• Spacek
  Spacek (band)
  Spacek is a British electronic music band. Its members are Steve Spacek, Ed Spacek, and Morgan Spacek. The group released its debut album, Curvatia in 2001 , followed by 2003's Vintage Hi-Tech...
  
  
• Stateless
  Stateless (band)
  Stateless are an English electronic alternative rock band, founded in 2002 and based in Leeds. The group comprises Chris James , kidkanevil , Justin Percival and David Levin .Stateless earned a recording contract with Sony Music and released their first single "Down Here" in 2004...
  
  
• Swayzak
  Swayzak
  Swayzak is a tech house duo from the United Kingdom that consists of James S. Taylor and David Brown. They live and work in London and released their first 12" single "Bueno" / "Fukumachi" in February 1997 to much acclaim...
  
  
• Terranova
• Tosca
  Tosca (Band)
  Tosca is an electronic music project of Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber. It is Dorfmeister's second such project, the first being Kruder & Dorfmeister, started in 1994...
  
  
• Trüby Trio
  Trüby Trio
  Trüby Trio are a German band specialising in nu jazz and broken beat. Founded in 1997 by Rainer Trüby, Roland Appel and Christian Prommer, their Latin-influenced sound, integrating bossa nova and flamenco styles, saw the band become pioneers of the nu jazz sound...
  
  
• Gez Varley
• Voom:Voom
  Voom:Voom
  Voom:Voom is an Austrian electronica group consisting of Christian Prommer, Roland Appel and Peter Kruder of Kruder & Dorfmeister....
  
  
• Wamdue Kids

External links

• Official site
• Free !K7 sampler
• Studio !K7 at Discogs
  Discogs
  Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
  
  
• Rapster records site
• Gold Dust website
• Ever records site
• Strut records site