independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
, active from 1980 to 1984. The label was home to musicians in the no wave,
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
,
post-disco
Post-disco (also called boogie, synth-funk, or electro-funk) is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1985, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to c ...
, and
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
scenes in New York City.
History
British designer Gina Franklyn sold British fashions out of her shop 99, located at 99
MacDougal Street
MacDougal Street is a one-way street in the Greenwich Village and SoHo neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City. The street is bounded on the south by Prince Street and on the north by West 8th Street; its numbering begins in the south. Betw ...
in New York's
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
. She began dating
Ed Bahlman Ed Bahlman (born 1950) is the American founder of 99 Records, the postpunk label from New York, home to ESG and Liquid Liquid. He also ran an independent record shop of the same name at 99 MacDougal Street in New York City, an iconic import record ...
, who sold independent singles out of the store. During trips to England, he and Franklyn brought back suitcases of music, particularly from Rough Trade. They focused on independent and punk music, becoming a successful rival to Bleecker Bob's in the
West Village
The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City.
The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, 14th Street (Manhattan ...
. They also had a selection of
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
and
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
. The store's arty appeal stood in contrast to many of the local businesses, which
Bush Tetras
Bush Tetras are an American post-punk band from New York City, formed in 1979. They are best known for the 1980 song "Too Many Creeps", which exemplified the band's sound of "jagged rhythms, slicing guitars, and sniping vocals".
Vivien Goldman
Vivien Goldman (born 1952) is a British journalist, writer and musician.
Early life and education
Goldman was born in London in 1952, the child of two German-Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. She studied English and American literature at the ...
described the store as "a milieu...
ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
a very creative atmosphere." Ed recruited his brother Bill Bahlman to work at 99. Bill was a in-house DJ in many NYC clubs, including Hurrah, Danceteria, The Anvil.
Musician
Glenn Branca Glenn may refer to:
Name or surname
* Glenn (name)
* John Glenn, U.S. astronaut
Cultivars
* Glenn (mango)
* a 6-row barley variety
Places
In the United States:
* Glenn, California
* Glenn County, California
* Glenn, Georgia, a settlement ...
approached Bahlman to see if he would be interested in starting a label and releasing a record by Branca. Bahlman knew little about recording, pressing, and distributing records, but Branca had some experience with Theoretical Records. Bahlman agreed and made '' Lesson No. 1'' the first release by 99 Records. The label distributed primarily through its own store but also through Jem, Important, and Sky Disk. In 1980 and 1981 the label released several records for local bands, some of which had crossover success in dance clubs. Bush Tetras and
ESG ESG may refer to :
Groups
* Election Support Group, an internationally sponsored organization analyzing and supporting the electoral process in Pakistan
* ES Guelma, an Algerian football club based in Guelma
* Escuela Superior de Guerra (Argenti ...
appeared on the disco charts, and 99 had its most successful releases with ESG and
Liquid Liquid
Liquid Liquid is an American no wave and dance-punk group, originally active from 1980 to 1983. They are best known for their track "Cavern," which was covered—without proper permission or attribution—by the Sugar Hill Records house band as ...
.
In 1981 the relationship between Bahlman and Branca became strained, especially after Bahlman's refusal to sign a fledgling
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
. Branca went to start his own label
Neutral Records
Neutral Records is an independent record label. Glenn Branca ran the label during the No Wave and post-punk scene in the Lower East Side, New York City, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Among their releases were early records by Swans and the ...
, and 99's roster was reduced to ESG and Liquid Liquid. Bahlman stated that over a hundred acts had asked about releasing music through 99 but that growing too fast would damage the label's "sense of identity." 99 had only one release the following year.
In 1983
Grandmaster Melle Mel
Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furiou ...
released "
White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)
"White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Melle Mel, released as a 12" in 1983 on Sugar Hill Records. The song, which warns against the dangers of cocaine, addiction, and drug smuggling, is one of Mel's s ...
", which used elements of "Cavern" from Liquid Liquid's ''
Optimo
Optimo Espacio ('Optimum Space') was a weekly Sunday-night club based in Glasgow, Scotland at the Sub Club on Jamaica Street, as well as a collective moniker for the night's resident DJ duo. Having run every week since it was founded in 1997, on ...
'' EP. 99 sued
Sugar Hill Records
Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label.
It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hil ...
for the similarities between the two tracks. 99 employee Terry Tolkin and Liquid Liquid member
Richard McGuire
Richard McGuire (born 1957) is an American illustrator, graphic novelist, children's book author, and musician. His illustrations have been published in ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Le Monde''. His short story ''Here'' is a ...
have both accused Sugar Hill of retaliating through scare tactics, including hiring someone to scare 99's customers with a machete. Tolkin stated that Bahlman refused to visit the store for a year and a half and alleged that Bahlman had received threats regularly. Franklyn has dismissed these accounts as "complete exaggeration". Sugar Hill was ordered to pay $660,000 but instead declared bankruptcy shortly after. Bahlman shut down 99, in part because of the case's legal costs. In early 1986, Bahlman sold off 99's inventory and went into seclusion.
Aftermath and legacy
Since its demise, the reputation of the label and that of its groups has steadily grown. Branca rose to prominence as a composer during the 1980s, and with new popularity in
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
and
post-disco
Post-disco (also called boogie, synth-funk, or electro-funk) is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1985, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to c ...
, labelmates ESG and Liquid Liquid re-formed and have been featured guests at international music festivals. Bahlman has declined to give
master recording
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via met ...
s to 99's artists. As a result, some bands have gone through British labels to reissue their work.
During the 2000s, 99's arrangements guided the
dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...
community in New York, particularly
dance-punk
Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk, punk-funk or techno-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984 ...
label
DFA Records
DFA Records is an American independent record label founded in 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. They previously had a production team called The DFA, consisting of Goldsworthy and ...
. Musician James Murphy named 99 as one of his favorite labels, and it has been a major influence on his bass technique with
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals, various instruments), Nancy Whang (synthesizer, keyboards, vocals), Pat Mahoney (dr ...
. The label has been cited as a major influence of
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
F ...
and
Futureheads
The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, formed in 2000. The band consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David "Jaff" Craig (vocals and bass guitar) and brothers Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar) and Dave Hyde (drums). ...
.
Discography
*99-01 12" (1980)
Glenn Branca Glenn may refer to:
Name or surname
* Glenn (name)
* John Glenn, U.S. astronaut
Cultivars
* Glenn (mango)
* a 6-row barley variety
Places
In the United States:
* Glenn, California
* Glenn County, California
* Glenn, Georgia, a settlement ...
Bush Tetras
Bush Tetras are an American post-punk band from New York City, formed in 1979. They are best known for the 1980 song "Too Many Creeps", which exemplified the band's sound of "jagged rhythms, slicing guitars, and sniping vocals".Y Pants
Y Pants were an American all-female no wave band from New York City active from 1979 to 1982. The trio, made up of photographer/musician Barbara Ess, visual artist Virginia Piersol (aka Virge Piersol), and filmmaker Gail Vachon, developed a uni ...
– ''Off the Hook''
*99-04 12" (1981)
ESG ESG may refer to :
Groups
* Election Support Group, an internationally sponsored organization analyzing and supporting the electoral process in Pakistan
* ES Guelma, an Algerian football club based in Guelma
* Escuela Superior de Guerra (Argenti ...
– ''
ESG ESG may refer to :
Groups
* Election Support Group, an internationally sponsored organization analyzing and supporting the electoral process in Pakistan
* ES Guelma, an Algerian football club based in Guelma
* Escuela Superior de Guerra (Argenti ...
''
*99-05 12" (1981)
Vivien Goldman
Vivien Goldman (born 1952) is a British journalist, writer and musician.
Early life and education
Goldman was born in London in 1952, the child of two German-Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. She studied English and American literature at the ...
– ''Dirty Washing''
*99-06 12" (1981)
The Congos
The Congos are a reggae vocal group from Jamaica which formed as the duo "Ashanti" Roy Johnson (tenor) (b. Roydel Johnson, 1947, Hanover, Jamaica) and Cedric Myton (falsetto) (b. 1947, Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica), later becoming a trio ...
( "Ashanti" Roy) – ''At the Feast''
*99-07 12" (1981)
Liquid Liquid
Liquid Liquid is an American no wave and dance-punk group, originally active from 1980 to 1983. They are best known for their track "Cavern," which was covered—without proper permission or attribution—by the Sugar Hill Records house band as ...
– ''
Liquid Liquid
Liquid Liquid is an American no wave and dance-punk group, originally active from 1980 to 1983. They are best known for their track "Cavern," which was covered—without proper permission or attribution—by the Sugar Hill Records house band as ...
''
*99-08 12" (1981)
Maximum Joy
Maximum Joy are an English post-punk band from Bristol, England,Strong, Martin C.: ''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'', 1999, Canongate, formed in 1981 and reunited in 2015.
''Pitchfork'' compared their sound to "one of the Slits ba ...
– ''Stretch'' (licensed from UK label
Y Records
Y Records was a British independent record label set up in 1980 by Dick O'Dell in the United Kingdom, and distributed by Rough Trade.
History
Artists included the Slits, Shriekback and a number of groups that were associated with the Bristol ...
Singers & Players
Singers & Players were a reggae collective made up of vocalists and musicians associated with Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound Records. They recorded five albums between 1981 and 1988.
Including artists such as Bim Sherman, Prince Far I and Mikey Dr ...
– ''War of Words''
*99-11EP7 7" (1981) Liquid Liquid – "Bellhead"/"Push"
*99-10 12" (1982) ESG – ''ESG Says Dance to the Beat of Moody''
*99-11 12" (1983) Liquid Liquid – ''
Optimo
Optimo Espacio ('Optimum Space') was a weekly Sunday-night club based in Glasgow, Scotland at the Sub Club on Jamaica Street, as well as a collective moniker for the night's resident DJ duo. Having run every week since it was founded in 1997, on ...
''
*99-003LP LP (1983) ESG – ''
Come Away with ESG
''Come Away with ESG'' is the 1983 debut album by American post-punk band ESG (band), ESG. Released by 99 Records, the album incorporates songs from ESG's first EPs, ''ESG (EP), ESG'' and ''ESG Says Dance to the Beat of Moody''.
In conjunction wi ...
''
*99-13 12" (1985) Liquid Liquid – ''Dig We Must''