Rephlex Records was a
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
launched in 1991 in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
by
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
musician Richard D. James (aka
Aphex Twin
Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
) and Grant Wilson-Claridge.
The label coined the term ''braindance'' to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists.
History
In 1989, Grant Wilson-Claridge met Richard D. James (a.k.a.
Aphex Twin
Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
) DJing at The Bowgie, a club located just along the coast from Newquay, Cornwall. According to Wilson-Claridge, back in 1989, "the Bowgie was the best club ever...this was before Newquay turned into the Cornish Ibiza" and it was very difficult to hear new and interesting music. Wilson-Claridge and James used to DJ on alternate weeks. When he noticed that James was playing his own tapes rather than records, Wilson-Claridge suggested that they press up some records. In the beginning, committing Aphex Twin recordings to vinyl was a way of making music the duo's friends wanted to hear. Due to their geographical dis-location they did not have access to the music they wanted to hear and so they decided to create their own, and Rephlex as a label was born. Although the label was founded in 1991 in Cornwall, it moved the year after to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
On a post to an
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
newsgroup
A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are discussion groups and are not devoted to publishing news. Newsgroups are technically distinct ...
in 1992, the label stated that its intent was to "promote Innovation in the dynamics of Acid" - a much loved and misunderstood genre of house music" and to "demonstrate to the rest of the world that British dance music can be entirely original".
Rephlex has released the music of many notable and influential
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
artists, among them
Mike Paradinas
Michael Paradinas (born 26 September 1971), better known by his stage name μ-Ziq (pronounced "music" or mu-zik), is an English electronic musician from Wimbledon, London. He was associated with the electronic style intelligent dance music (IDM ...
,
DMX Krew
DMX Krew is the recording name of the musician Edward Upton. Upton's other aliases include 101 Force, Asylum Seekers, Bass Potato, Chester Louis III, Computor Rockers, David Michael Cross, Ed DMX, EDMX, House of Brakes, Michael Knight, and Viet ...
,
Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert (born 26 January 1973) is a British electronic musician and producer, also known for his work under several aliases such as Plug and Wagon Christ. Raised in Cornwall, Vibert began releasing projects in the 1990s across varied genre ...
, and
Squarepusher
Tom Jenkinson (born 17 January 1975), known professionally as Squarepusher, is an English electronic musician, record producer, bassist, multi-instrumentalist and DJ. His music spans several genres including drum and bass, IDM, acid house, ...
. The label has also remastered and re-released the early works of its acid heroes
808 State
808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, '' New ...
and
The Future Sound of London
The Future Sound of London (often abbreviated FSOL) is a British electronic music duo composed of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. They have been described as a "boundary-pushing" electronic act, covering techno, ambient, house music, trip ho ...
, and relaunched the career of electronic duo producers
Black Devil with a re-release of their first record.
In 2014, James announced the closing of Rephlex Records.
James stated that the closure was "something that needed to be done a long time ago. Me and my friend would have drifted apart, but actually the label did keep us together. It got to a point where I’d actually rather be his friend than be in business with him."
Roster
*
808 State
808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, '' New ...
*
Arpanet
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical fou ...
*
Baby Ford
Peter Ford, better known as Baby Ford, is a British electronic music record producer, known particularly for his contributions to the birth of acid house. He has also released material under aliases with Mark Broom (Casino Classix, El Mal, Solcy ...
*
Black Devil
*
Bochum Welt
Bochum Welt is the stage name of the Italian electronic musician Gianluigi Di Costanzo. The name Bochum Welt is a combination of the German word for "world" (''welt'') and the name of a high-powered astral telescope.
Di Costanzo has released nume ...
*
Bodenstandig 2000
*
Brian Dougans
Brian Dougans (born 1968) is a British musician, and a member of the British electronic duo, the Future Sound of London (FSOL).
He is the more technical member of FSOL, doing most of the programming, circuit bending et cetera and creating elec ...
*
The Bug
"The Bug" is a song written by Mark Knopfler and originally performed by Dire Straits on the final studio album by the band, '' On Every Street'' (1991). It was covered by Mary Chapin Carpenter in 1992, and also recorded on the albums ''Blues B ...
*
Ceephax Acid Crew
Andy Jenkinson (born 12 March 1979), known as Ceephax Acid Crew, is a British electronic musician and record producer who works primarily in the acid house and drum and bass subgenres. Jenkinson is also known simply by the pseudonym Ceephax ...
*
Chimera
Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to:
* Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals
* Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...
*
The Criminal Minds
The Criminal Minds are a British hip hop group first formed in Milton Keynes, UK in 1985, who would later have success with breakbeat hardcore music during the peak of the early-mid 1990s UK rave scene.
History
The Criminal Minds were first for ...
*
Cylob
Chris Jeffs (born in 1976), best known by the stage name Cylob, is a British electronic musician and producer closely associated with Aphex Twin. He has produced seven albums, three compilations and a number of remixes. Previously signed to Re ...
*
D'Arcangelo
*
Dabrye
Tadd Mullinix or Dabrye is an American musician from Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, also known by the aliases James T. Cotton and SK-1. During his adolescent years, he grew up in Troy, MI. His ''Winking Makes a Face'' was the first album r ...
*
DMX Krew
DMX Krew is the recording name of the musician Edward Upton. Upton's other aliases include 101 Force, Asylum Seekers, Bass Potato, Chester Louis III, Computor Rockers, David Michael Cross, Ed DMX, EDMX, House of Brakes, Michael Knight, and Viet ...
*
Dopplereffekt
Dopplereffekt is an electronic music act from Detroit which has been active since 1995, and whose main member is Gerald Donald. While the musical style and the act's image changed radically during a non-release period from 1999 to 2003, two stead ...
*
Drexciya
Drexciya was an American electronic music duo from Detroit, Michigan, consisting of James Stinson (1969–2002) and Gerald Donald.
Career
The majority of Drexciya's releases were in the style of dance-floor oriented electro, punctuated with e ...
*
Ensemble
Ensemble may refer to:
Art
* Architectural ensemble
* ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album
* Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary
* Ensemble cast (drama, comedy)
* Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus
* ''En ...
* EOD
*
The Gentle People
The Gentle People were a band formed in the United States in 1995. Their sound explored kitschy 1950s lounge and easy listening aesthetics in the context of 1990s club culture. They signed to the UK electronic label Rephlex Records in 1995 and re ...
*
Global Goon
Global Goon is a former British programmer from Lydiate, England who earned a recording contract with Rephlex Records.
Global Goon has also been rumored to have released five acid records under the alias Syntheme on both Planet Mu and WéMè b ...
*
hecker
*
Richard D. James (including releases as AFX,
Aphex Twin, Bradley Strider, Caustic Window, and The Tuss
)
* Jodey Kendrick
*
JP Buckle
*
Kosmik Kommando
*
Leila
*
The Lisa Carbon Trio
*Ovuca (including releases as Aleksi Perälä)
*P.P. Roy
*
Bogdan Raczynski
Bogdan Raczynski (born 1977) is a Polish-American electronic musician. Associated with the intelligent dance music (IDM) movement, Raczynski's work draws inspiration from the chaotic breakbeats of jungle and hardcore rave as well as traditio ...
*
Seefeel
Seefeel are a British electronic and post-rock band formed in the early 1990s by Mark Clifford (guitar, programming), Daren Seymour (bass), Justin Fletcher (drums, programming), and Sarah Peacock (vocals, guitar). Their work became known for fu ...
*
Squarepusher
Tom Jenkinson (born 17 January 1975), known professionally as Squarepusher, is an English electronic musician, record producer, bassist, multi-instrumentalist and DJ. His music spans several genres including drum and bass, IDM, acid house, ...
(including releases as Chaos A.D.)
*
Urban Tribe
A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...
*
Universal Indicator (collective)
*
μ-Ziq
*
Wisp
*
Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert (born 26 January 1973) is a British electronic musician and producer, also known for his work under several aliases such as Plug and Wagon Christ. Raised in Cornwall, Vibert began releasing projects in the 1990s across varied genre ...
(including releases as Amen Andrews)
*
Vulva
The vulva (plural: vulvas or vulvae; derived from Latin for wrapper or covering) consists of the external sex organ, female sex organs. The vulva includes the mons pubis (or mons veneris), labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, bulb of vestibu ...
*
Yee-King
See also
*
List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
*
List of electronic music record labels
This is a list of notable electronic music record labels:
0–9
* 3 Beat Records
* 12k
*430 West Records
*8bitpeoples
A
*A Different Drum
*Ad Noiseam
*Adjunct Audio
* Alex Tronic Records
* Alfa Matrix
* Alien8
* All Around The World
*All S ...
*
Rephlex Records discography
References
External links
Rephlex Recordsat
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
.com
{{Authority control
Aphex Twin
Electronic music record labels
British record labels
Record labels established in 1991
1991 establishments in the United Kingdom