Load Records was an American

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

-oriented

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 out of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. "Load Records might possibly be in possession of the world's most challenging record roster," writes Mark Hensch of Thrash Pit. "Rounded out by some of the most uncompromising noise/avant-garde/experimental artists in all of music's sordid underbelly, Load has always prided itself on remaining outside of common taste and maybe even common sense."

History

Load Records was started by Ben McOsker in order to put a 7-inch record out for the band Boss Fuel. The label quickly became the most prominent source for noise music coming out of Providence, Rhode Island - loosely functioning in the same way that

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

served

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

out of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

in the early 1990s. "Ben McOsker got into the business of running a label on a whim," said Stylus Magazine, "and now, after more than ten years of operation, Load Records has become one of the preeminent names in noise music. By signing acts like Lightning Bolt, Sightings and

Noxagt Noxagt is a Norwegian noise rock band. It started as a Kjetil Brandsdal solo project in 1999, but was expanded to a power trio in 2002, with Brandsdal on bass, Nils Erga on viola and Jan Christian L. Kyvik on drums. Erga was replaced by Anders Han ...

, McOsker has expanded the notions of noise and helped bring numerous Providence bands to the ears of discerning listeners." Some claim McOsker and Mullen have released some of the most exciting noise/experimental music of the early 2000s, including music from Lightning Bolt,

Neon Hunk Neon Hunk was a husband/wife noise music duo from Milwaukee, composed of Jennifurmium (Mothmaster) - vocals and analog synthesizer/ring modulator, and Pink Diamond (Mossmaster) - Drums, Vocals, and Modular Digital Synthesizer. Neon Hunk formed in ...

Metalux Metalux is an American noise band consisting of M.V. Carbon and J. Graf, both members of Bride of No No. They are occasionally joined by Nautical Almanac member Twig Harper. Early material was released on the Hanson Records label, while t ...

, and Friends Forever. Others have attributed a cookie-cutter aesthetic to the label, mostly in terms of the masks/costumes worn by a number of the bands. However, later records released by Load have run the gamut from strict noise-based squeal of

Prurient Ian Dominick Fernow is an American experimental musician, poet and multimedia artist. He is best known for extreme music released under the stage name Prurient, as well as numerous other aliases including Vatican Shadow and Rainforest Spiritual ...

and the Yellow Swans. Load also features a number of bands operating in a more metal vein such as

Khanate A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire. Mong ...

, OvO, Necronomitron, and Brainbombs. The music of Load Records is popularized and reviewed through national zines like Blastitude,

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

, and Dead Angel. On April 11, 2017, the label revealed they would be coming to an end: "After 24 years of Load Records its time to move on. Will be contacting bands to arrange next steps. Thanks for a great ride."Mr P (April 11, 2017)
"RIP: Load Records, experimental Providence label that put out seminal releases by Lightning Bolt, Prurient, White Suns, and more"
''

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, a ...

''. Retrieved April 11, 2017.

Roster

Air Conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

Arab On Radar Arab on Radar was a Providence, Rhode Island-based noise rock band founded in 1994. They went on hiatus in 2002. Members of the band went on to form or join the bands including The Chinese Stars, Athletic Automaton, Made in Mexico, and Doomsda ...

* Astoveboat * Brainbombs * Burmese * Coughs *

Excepter Excepter is an experimental music group from Brooklyn, founded in 2002 by No-Neck Blues Band member John Fell Ryan. They have released their work on labels such as Load Records and Animal Collective's Paw Tracks, and are known for their improv ...

Fat Day Fat Day was a Boston-based noisecore band. Formed in Cambridge, MA in 1992, they released a handful of LPs and several EPs on their own 100% Breakfast! label as well as many others. History The four members of Fat Day met in the early 1990s whe ...

* Fat Worm of Error * Forcefield * Friends Forever *

Gerty Farish *Gerty, Oklahoma *Gerty Cori *Gerty Schlesinger *GERTY, robot from film the 2009 film ''Moon'' *Christopher E. Gerty (born 1975), NASA aerospace engineer *Gerty (video game) *Gerty, Oklahoma *Gerty Cori *Gerty Schlesinger *GERTY, robot from film the ...

* Giant Jesus * Hawd Gankstuh Rappuh MC's *

the Hospitals The Hospitals were an American noise rock band from San Francisco, California, United States, active from 2002 to 2009. They were formed by Adam Stonehouse (Drums and vocals) and Rod Meyer (Guitar) in 2002 in Portland, Oregon, US. The Hospitals hav ...

* thee Hydrogen Terrors *

Kites A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

* Kites/Prurient * Landed * Lightning Bolt * Men's Recovery Project *

* Mindflayer * Monotract * Mr. California and the State Police * Mystery Brinkman *

Nautical Almanac A nautical almanac is a publication describing the positions of a selection of celestial bodies for the purpose of enabling navigators to use celestial navigation to determine the position of their ship while at sea. The Almanac specifies for ea ...

* Necronomitron *

* the Ohsees (aka OCS) * Olneyville Sound System * OvO *

Pink and Brown Pink and Brown was a noise rock/ punk rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1997 when the members moved west from their old home of Providence, Rhode Island. The band consisted of Pink (John Dwyer) and Brown ( Jeff Rosenberg). Pink pl ...

* Pleasurehorse *

the Scissor Girls The Scissor Girls were an American, Chicago-based band, formed by Azita Youssefi, Sue Anne Zollinger, and Heather Melowic in 1991. The idea to form the group was conceived during the late 1980s by Azita Youssefi and Heather Melowic while they we ...

* Sightings *

Silver Daggers Silver Daggers are an American electropunk/noise rock band formed in 2003. Known for combining intense, atonal music with post-apocalyptic political ideas, they form part of the circle of musicians in close affiliation with The Smell. Discography ...

Six Finger Satellite Six Finger Satellite (a.k.a. 6FS) are an American synthesizer-based post-hardcore band, based in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. History The band formed in 1990 around a line-up of J. Ryan (singer/keyboards), John MacLean (guitar) ...

* Swordheaven * Thee Hydrogen Terrors * Tinsel Teeth * Total Shutdown * the USAISAMONSTER * Ultralyd *

Vincebus Eruptum ''Vincebus Eruptum'' (; pseudo-Latin) is the debut album of American rock band Blue Cheer. Released on January 16, 1968, the album features a heavy-thunderous blues sound, which would later be known as heavy metal. A commercial and critical su ...

* John Von Ryan *

Vaz AvtoVAZ ( rus, АвтоВАЗ, p=ɐftoˈvas) is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ ( rus, ВАЗ), an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian (russian: Во́лжский автомо ...

* the White Mice * Whore Paint * Wizardzz

References

External links

Official website (archived)
{{Authority control American independent record labels Record labels established in 1993 Noise music record labels Experimental music record labels

History

Roster

See also

References

External links