Hippos in Tanks was a record label founded in 2010 by Barron Machat and Travis Woolsey. The label specialized in electronic music. It was named the best label of 2011 by ''

FACT A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...

''. Following the death of Machat in 2015, '' The Fader'' praised the label for "laying the groundwork to an alternative template for the avant-garde." The label is no longer active.

History

In 2009, Machat and Woolsey—who met while working at an online company in Los Angeles—were asked to host a radio show on KXLU called Hippos in Tanks. It was named after the novel by Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs ''

And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks ''And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks'' is a novel by Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs. It was written in 1945, a full decade before the two authors became famous as leading figures of the Beat Generation, and remained unpublished in co ...

''. After leaving the company to work on their label full-time, HIT released their first EP from Von Haze in June 2010. In 2011 Woolsey left the label with Machat staying on as CEO. According to

Dean Blunt Roy Nnawuchi, better known by his pseudonym Dean Blunt, is a British singer-songwriter, musician and contemporary artist. He is best known for his current solo work as well as his previous work as part of avant-garde duo Hype Williams (along wi ...

in 2014, Hippos in Tanks sued him for $10,000 over contract disputes. The dispute was resolved when his label at the time,

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

, paid Hippos in Tanks the $10,000. Hippos in Tanks closed following the death of Barron Machat on April 8, 2015. The label is now part of Machat Entertainment. The label would become associated with Internet age experimental pop that drew on disparate sources such as new wave, avant-garde noise, R&B, and techno. The label released projects by artists such as James Ferraro,

Autre Ne Veut Arthur Ashin (born 20 April 1982), better known by his stage name Autre Ne Veut, is an American singer-songwriter and musician from New York City. The name Autre Ne Veut is taken from an inscription in French on a 15th-century British dress orna ...

, Laurel Halo, Hype Williams, and Arca. It was confirmed Hippos In Tanks founder Barron Machat died in a car crash in Miami, Florida, on April 8, 2015. The label has been inactive since late 2015.

Artists / Alumni

* ADR * Arca *

* d'Eon *

Games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

* Gatekeeper * Goth Money *

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has in ...

* Hype Williams *

Inga Copeland Alina Astrova, better known by the recording aliases Lolina and Inga Copeland, is an Estonian experimental musician and singer living in London. In addition to her solo work, she collaborated with British musician Dean Blunt on various releases, ...

* James Ferraro aka BODYGUARD * Laurel Halo * Nguzunguzu * Outer Limitz * Physical Therapy *

Sleep ∞ Over Sleep ∞ Over is an American indie rock and experimental pop project founded by Stefanie Franciotti. The project began in 2010 when Franciotti released a self titled tape on Night People Records with collaborators Christa Palazzolo and Sarah Bro ...

* Triad God * Von Haze * White Car * Wilder * Yung Lean

References

Electronic music record labels {{US-independent-record-label-stub