Gringo Records is a British

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 ...

based in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England, which was founded in 1996. It is known for releasing

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

and its

DIY ethic "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

History

The label formed in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

in 1996 from involvements in the Damn You! and No Pictures fanzines, and inspired by the

International Pop Underground Convention The International Pop Underground Convention (or IPU) was a 1991 punk and alternative rock music festival in Olympia, Washington. The six-day convention centered on a series of performances at the Capitol Theater. Throughout August 20–25, ...

. Its first release was a Lando/Teebo split 7″ which was given to

Stuart Braithwaite Stuart Leslie Braithwaite (born 10 May 1976) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter. He is the guitarist of post-rock band Mogwai, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums. He is also a member of the British alternative rock supergroup ...

Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogw ...

(his former band Eska later released on Gringo Records). The label's second release, Hirameka Hi-Fi's ‘Munchin’, received radio air play from both BBC Radio 1's

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

and

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academy ...

which importantly saw the label gain distribution for releases. Following this San Lorenzo and Reynolds released singles on the label and the three acts regularly played live shows together as a Gringo package. With their second release on Gringo Records entitled the "Play Hard" EP Hirameka Hi-Fi received further national airplay and press coverage prompting professional interest from the music industry. Later Hirameka Hi-Fi recorded a "Session Unsigned" session for the Evening Session. The bands Wolves! (Of Greece), Reynolds and Hirameka Hi-Fi performed live for Radio 1 in 2002, and in 2003

Bilge Pump A bilge pump is a water pump used to remove bilge water. Since fuel can be present in the bilge, electric bilge pumps are designed to not cause sparks. Electric bilge pumps are often fitted with float switches which turn on the pump when the bilge ...

were invited to play a

Peel Session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

. Gringo Records artists have also received mainstream press attention, such as Hookworms' album Pearl Mystic, and the label continues to be important regionally. Gringo Record's lengthy regional importance and influence was recognised with its nomination in 2013 for Best Small Label at the national AIM Independent Music Awards. Both

Yannis Yannis, Yiannis, or Giannis (Γιάννης) is a common Greek given name, a variant of ''John'' (Hebrew) meaning "God is gracious." In formal Greek (e.g. all government documents and birth certificates) the name exists only as Ioannis (Ιωάνν� ...

Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

and

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...

have named themselves as fans of Gringo. Gringo's That Fucking Tank toured with the

in 2014.

Artists

Current

*Cold Pumas *Fists *Grey Hairs *Irma Vep *Order of the Toad *Reciprocate *Sweet Williams *The Unit Ama *

The Van Pelt The Van Pelt is an American indie rock band from New York City that were active from 1993 to 1997, and have reformed briefly several times since then. The band formed in 1993 at New York University, with Chris Leo (formerly of Native Nod and br ...

*Thick Syrup

Former

*Broken Arm *Electro Group *Empire-Builder *

Erase Errata Erase Errata was a band from San Francisco, California. The group favored improvisation as a compositional tool and each of their performances were a unique manifestation of established songs. History Erase Errata formed in Oakland, California ...

*Eska *

Hey Colossus Hey Colossus is an English rock band formed in London in 2003. Since its inception, the band has undergone several lineup changes, revolving around founding members Joe Thompson and Robert Davis. The band is characterised by its ‘heavy’ s ...

*Hirameka Hi-Fi *

Hookworms Hookworms are intestinal, blood-feeding, parasitic roundworms that cause types of infection known as helminthiases. Hookworm infection is found in many parts of the world, and is common in areas with poor access to adequate water, sanitation, an ...

*I'm Being Good *Kill Yourself *Kogumaza *Lando *Lords *Ox Scapula *

Part Chimp Part Chimp are an English rock band from Camberwell, London, England, that were formed by Tim Cedar, Jon Hamilton and Nick Prior in 2000. Their current line-up is Tim (vocals and guitar), Jon (drums), Joe McLaughlin (bass), Robin Freeman (bass) ...

*Polaris *Sailors *San Lorenzo *

Sauna Youth Sauna Youth is a London-based post-punk band formed by ex-members of punk bands The Steal and Captain Everything! in 2009. They have released three albums, ''Dreamlands'' (2012), ''Distractions'' (2015), and ''Deaths'' (2018), plus various sin ...

Seachange ''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, ...

*Soeza *Souvaris *Spin Spin the Dogs *Teebo * That Fucking Tank *The Wharves *Vision Fortune *Wolves! (of Greece)

Discography

* WAAT001 - Lando / Teebo - ''split single'' (split 7-inch, 1997) * WAAT002 - Hirameka Hi-Fi - ''Munchin'' (7-inch, 1998) * WAAT003 - San Lorenzo - ''Life Without Mountains'' (7-inch, 1998) * WAAT004 - Hirameka Hi-Fi - ''Play Hard EP'' (7-inch EP, 1998) * WAAT005 - Reynolds - ''To Unwind To Unwound'' (7-inch, 1998) * WAAT006 - Empire-Builder - ''Waters Of The Orient'' (7-inch EP, 1999) * WAAT008 - Eska - ''Invent The Fortune'' (CD, 2000) * WAAT009 - San Lorenzo - ''Nothing New Ever Works'' (CD/LP, 2000) * WAAT010 - Reynolds - ''Field Recordings'' (CD, 2000) * WAAT011 - Hirameka Hi-Fi - ''The Imperfect Approach'' (7-inch, 2000) * WAAT012 - I Am Spartacus - ''Forward'' (CD, 2002) * WAAT013 - Hirameka Hi-Fi - "Sprezzatura" (CD, 2002) * WAAT014 - Electro Group / Hirameka Hi-Fi - ''Gringo Records Single Club #1'' (split 7-inch, 2003) * WAAT015 -

- ''Let Me Breathe'' (CD, 2002) * WAAT016 - Clambake - ''Gator In The Pool'' (CD, 2002) * WAAT017 -

- ''A vs. Co10'' (7-inch, 2004) * WAAT018 - Kill Yourself - ''Soft Touch Of Man'' (CD, 2003) * WAAT019 - Red Monkey /

- ''Gringo Records Single Club #2'' (split 7-inch, 2003) * WAAT020 - Wolves! (Of Greece) - ''One Sided 10-inch'' (10-inch, 2004) * WAAT021 - New Radiant Storm King / Eska - ''Gringo Singles Club #3'' (split 7-inch, 2004) * WAAT022 - The Intima / Soeza - ''Gringo Singles Club #4'' (split 7-inch, 2004) * WAAT023 - Designer Babies - ''Baghdad Boogie'' (7-inch, 2003) * WAAT024 - Soeza - ''Why Do You Do?'' (CD, 2005) * WAAT025 -

, Lords,

, Todd - ''A 10 inch of Monstrous Proportions'' (split 10-inch, 2006) * WAAT026 - Empire-Builder / Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! - ''Gringo Singles Club #5'' (split 7-inch, 2005) * WAAT027 - The Unit Ama - ''The Unit Ama'' (CD/LP, 2005) * WAAT028 - Polaris - ''Polaris'' (CD/LP, 2004) * WAAT029 - Lords - ''This Ain't A Hate Thing, It's A Love Thing'' (CD/LP, 2006) * WAAT030 - Various Artists - ''Oh Yeah! A Gringo Records Compilation album'' (CD, 2006) * WAAT031 - Souvaris - ''A Hat'' (CD, 2007) * WAAT032 - Sailors - ''Sailors EP'' (7-inch EP, 2007) * WAAT033 -

- ''Rupert The Sky'' (CD/LP, 2008) * WAAT034 - Lords - ''Everyone Is People'' (CD/LP, 2008) * WAAT035 - Soeza - ''7 Obstacles'' (CD, 2008) * WAAT036 - That Fucking Tank - ''Tanknology'' (CD, 2009) * WAAT037 - Lords - "Good Dog Bad Dog" (Single, 2009) * WAAT038 - Spin Spin The Dogs - ''Leave Me In Leicester'' (LP, 2010) * WAAT039 -

- ''The Fucking Cunts Still Treat Us Like Pricks'' (10-inch, 2010) * WAAT040 - Souvaris / Sincabeza - ''Clown Jazz'' (split 12-inch, 2009) * WAAT041 - Ox Scapula - ''Hands Out'' (LP, 2010) * WAAT042 -

- ''You Decide'' (7-inch, 2010) * WAAT043 - Broken Arm - ''Negative EP'' (7-inch EP, 2011) * WAAT044 - I'm Being Good - ''Mountain Language'' (CD, 2011) * WAAT045 - Souvaris - ''Souvaris Souvaris'' (CD, 2011) * WAAT046 -

- ''Hookworms'' (12-inch EP, 2011) * WAAT047 - That Fucking Tank - ''TFT'' (CD, 2012) * WAAT048 -

/ Kogumaza - ''Form And Function / Ursids'' (7-inch, 2012) * WAAT049 -

- ''Dreamlands'' (CD/LP, 2012) * WAAT050 - Cold Pumas - ''Persistent Malaise'' (CD/LP, 2012) * WAAT051 -

- ''Pearl Mystic'' (CD/LP, 2013) * WAAT052 - Grey Hairs - ''F.S.D.T.'' (7-inch EP, 2013) * WAAT053 - Vision Fortune - ''Mas Fiestas Con El Grupo Vision Fortune'' (LP, 2013) * WAAT054 - Broken Arm - ''Life Is Short'' (LP, 2013) * WAAT055 - Fists - ''Phantasm'' (LP, 2013) * WAAT056 - That Fucking Tank - ''A Document Of The Last Set'' (LP, 2013) * WAAT057 - The Wharves - ''At Bay'' (CD/LP, 2014) * WAAT058 - Grey Hairs - ''Colossal Downer'' (LP, 2015) * WAAT059 -

- ''Hookworms'' (CD, 2016) * WAAT060 - That Fucking Tank - ''China Tour 7-inch'' (7-inch, 2015) * WAAT061 -

- ''Tramonto (Live In Ferrara 12.08.2014)'' (2×LP, 2016) * WAAT062 - Sweet Williams- ''Please Let Me Sleep On Your Tonight'' (LP, 2016) * WAAT063 - Cold Pumas - ''The Hanging Valley'' (CD/LP, 2016) * WAAT064 - Grey Hairs - ''Serious Business'' (CD/LP, 2017) * WAAT065 - The Wharves - ''Electa'' (CD/LP, 2016) * WAAT066 - Jutland Songs - ''Charm on the Chain'' (7-inch, 2017) * WAAT067 - Grey Hairs - ''On and Off EP'' (Single, 2017) * WAAT068 - Thick Syrup - ''Living In Leeds'' (LP, 2018) * WAAT069 -

- ''We Love You'' (CD/LP, 2019) * WAAT070 - Grey Hairs - ''Health & Social Care'' (CD/LP, 2019) * WAAT071 - Sweet Williams - ''Where Does The Time Come From'' (CD/LP, 2019)

References

{{Authority control British independent record labels Experimental music record labels Record labels established in 1997