ZYX Music
Encyclopedia
ZYX Music is a German
record label
which was founded in 1971 by Bernhard Mikulski. Until 1992, the label's name was Pop-Import Bernhard Mikulski. The label specialized in disco
and early house music
. Founder Bernhard Mikulski is credited with coining the term Italo disco
in the 1980s. Since the death of Bernhard, his wife Christa Mikulski took over in 1997.
ZYX Music is headquartered in Merenberg
, Germany
and has offices in the USA and several European countries. ZYX releases records in a number of different genres, including electronica
, hip hop
, funk
, rock
and pop
. Noteworthy is that ZYX nowadays holds many rights from some German Krautrock
labels like Ohr, Pilz, and Kosmische Kuriere, and is also responsible for reissuing many albums from the free jazz
/avant garde label ESP-Disk
. Formerly, it held the manufacturing license for Fantasy Records
in Europe, an arrangement which ceased at the end of 2005.
Under the imprint Zyx Classic, Zyx has also reissued on CD some important recordings of classical music, including a Beethoven edition.
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...
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,...
which was founded in 1971 by Bernhard Mikulski. Until 1992, the label's name was Pop-Import Bernhard Mikulski. The label specialized in disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
and early house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
. Founder Bernhard Mikulski is credited with coining the term 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...
in the 1980s. Since the death of Bernhard, his wife Christa Mikulski took over in 1997.
ZYX Music is headquartered in Merenberg
Merenberg
-Location:Merenberg lies on the southern edge of the Westerwald between the district seat of Limburg and Weilburg.-Neighbouring communities:Merenberg borders in the north on the community of Mengerskirchen, in the east on the community of Löhnberg, in the south on the town of Weilburg, in the...
, 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...
and has offices in the USA and several European countries. ZYX releases records in a number of different genres, including 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...
, hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Noteworthy is that ZYX nowadays holds many rights from some German Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
labels like Ohr, Pilz, and Kosmische Kuriere, and is also responsible for reissuing many albums from the free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
/avant garde label ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk is a New York-based record label, founded in 1964 by lawyer Bernard Stollman.From the beginning, the label's goal has been to provide its recording artists with complete artistic freedom, unimpeded by any record company interference or commercial expectations—a philosophy summed-up by the...
. Formerly, it held the manufacturing license for Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records is a United States-based record label that was founded by Max and Sol Weiss in 1949 in San Francisco, California. They had previously operated a record-pressing plant called Circle Record Company before forming the Fantasy label...
in Europe, an arrangement which ceased at the end of 2005.
Under the imprint Zyx Classic, Zyx has also reissued on CD some important recordings of classical music, including a Beethoven edition.