Dependent Records (stylized as dependent) is a German

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 ...

that mainly focuses on

aggrotech Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound wi ...

electro-industrial Electro-industrial is a music genre that emerged from industrial music in the early 1980s. While EBM (electronic body music) has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial tends to have a grittier, complex and layered sound wi ...

, and

futurepop Futurepop is an electronic music genre that has been characterized as a blend of synthpop, EBM and dance beats, based on trance and techno.Peter Matzke, Tobias Seeliger: ''Das Gothic- und Dark-Wave-Lexikon.'' Schwarzkopf und Schwarzkopf, Berlin ...

music. The label was founded in January

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

after the demise of the Off Beat label by former Off Beat A&R manager Stefan Herwig along with

Eskil Simonsson Eskil is a town and district of Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, situated on the southern shore of Lake Tuz Lake Tuz ( tr, Tuz Gölü meaning 'Salt Lake'; anciently Tatta — grc, ἡ Τάττα, la, Tatta Lacus) was ...

(

Covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

Johan Van Roy Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial music act formed by Johan Van Roy in 1986. For live shows, it consists of Van Roy himself on vocals, Torben Schmidt on keyboards, and Mario Vaerewijck on drums. History Van Roy began experime ...

(

Suicide Commando Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial music act formed by Johan Van Roy in 1986. For live shows, it consists of Van Roy himself on vocals, Torben Schmidt on keyboards, and Mario Vaerewijck on drums. History Van Roy began experime ...

), Bryan Erickson (

Velvet Acid Christ Velvet Acid Christ (VAC) is an electro-industrial band based in Denver, Colorado. The band was formed in 1990 by lead vocalist, musician, and producer Bryan Erickson (aka Disease Factory), and later featured various ex-members of Toxic Coma. The ...

), and

Ronan Harris Ronan Harris (born 14 June 1967) is the founding member of the electronic music project VNV Nation. He is credited with the songwriting, production, lyrical and vocal aspects of the band's music. In the years preceding VNV Nation's debut album, h ...

(

VNV Nation VNV Nation is an Irish alternative electronic project led by Ronan Harris in the roles of singer, songwriter, and producer. VNV Nation's sound combines lyrics with sounds that ranges from melodic industrial dance anthems, to haunting ballads ...

). Artists that have released music through Dependent Records include

Klinik Klinik, (sometimes called The Klinik), is an industrial music band from Belgium, originally formed around 1982 by electro-synthpop practitioner Marc Verhaeghen, who is the only constant member. History Marc Verhaeghen originally formed Klinik ...

Seabound Seabound is an electronic music duo from Germany. Their lyrics are in English and for the most part explore the human psyche and the way that everyday events can affect a person psychologically, hence the band's slogan: "Seabound: Journey into Y ...

Apoptygma Berzerk Apoptygma Berzerk (; commonly abbreviated to APB or APOP) is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synth-pop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselve ...

Dismantled Dismantled (born Gary Zon) is an electronic music artist from the United States. History Dismantled is the product of an experiment that began in late 2000 by Gary Zon, who was attempting to create something similar to Front Line Assembly's s ...

, Ivory Frequency,

Pride & Fall Pride and Fall is a Norwegian futurepop act from Stavanger, Norway, formed in 2000 by Sigve Monsen, Per Waagen, and Svein Joar A. Johnsen. History The band came about when Sigve and Svein wanted to pursue a more electronic and club-oriented sou ...

, mind.in.a.box,

Rotersand Rotersand is a German electronic music act, formed in September 2002 by musician/producer Gun and singer Rascal with dance music producer/DJ Krischan J.E. Wesenberg joining them shortly after. Rotersand's music can generally be described as fut ...

Flesh Field Flesh Field was an American electronic / industrial band formed in 1996 by Ian Ross in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The name Flesh Field is an unofficial term Ian Ross came up with to describe the psychological defense mechanisms of rape victim ...

, Fractured, Auto Aggression,

Girls Under Glass Girls Under Glass (GUG) is a musical group from Hamburg, Germany, founded in 1986 by Thomas Lücke, Hauke Harms, and Volker "Zaphor" Zacharias. Described as "an indispensable part of the German wave and gothic scene", GUG began as a gothic rock ban ...

, and

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

History

Dependent announced at the start of 2007 that the label would close its doors to new artists and shut down once contractual obligations had been fulfilled, citing ongoing concerns with

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. This announcement took the form of an essay in both German and English in the booklet to ''Dependence: Next Level Electronics Volume 2'', a compilation featuring work by fourteen artists signed to the label, in which Stefan Herwig stated, "...we estimate that illegal downloads of Dependent albums outnumber legal purchases by a factor of three or even five to one". After the label closed down, a person claiming to be Stefan Herwig uploaded the whole back catalogue to

The Pirate Bay The Pirate Bay (sometimes abbreviated as TPB) is an online index of digital content of entertainment media and software. Founded in 2003 by Swedish think tank Piratbyrån, The Pirate Bay allows visitors to search, download, and contribute mag ...

, one of the major BitTorrent trackers. Herwig denied being responsible for this which makes it all seem to be a hoax spread by Torrentfreak.Record Label Quits, Uploads Albums onto The Pirate Bay
(Torrentfreak.com, visited 11-02-2008) On May 15, 2009, Herwig announced that Dependent Records would reopen in the summer or fall of that year, partnering with the US-based

Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1993 by the late Dave Heckman. The label's all-electronic format closely tracked with European contemporaries, such as Off Beat, and, since 1995, has been instrumenta ...

, citing fan support and the role of labels as "quality filters" for the vast number of new bands.

Artists

References

External links

Official site

Dependent Records at discogs.org
{{Authority control German independent record labels Record labels established in 1999 Electronic music record labels Industrial record labels 1999 establishments in Germany

History

Artists

See also

References

External links