Sonic Unyon Recording Company is an

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

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Their former retail store was located on Wilson Street near James Street North. The label has put out releases by bands including Tristan Psionic, Sianspheric,

Shallow North Dakota Shallow North Dakota was a Canadian noise rock/ sludge metal band from Hamilton, Ontario. The band was well-know known for its loud, aggressive music and live shows, which often included destroying stage equipment. History Shallow North Dakota ...

Eric's Trip Eric's Trip is a Canadian indie rock band from Moncton, New Brunswick. Eric's Trip achieved prominence as the first Canadian band to be signed to Seattle's flagship grunge label Sub Pop in the early 1990s. The band had a minor hit in alternative ...

Hayden Hayden may refer to: Places Inhabited places in the United States *Hayden, Alabama *Hayden, Arizona *Hayden's Ferry, former name of Tempe, Arizona *Hayden, California, former name of Hayden Hill, California *Hayden, Colorado *Hayden, Idaho *Hayden ...

, Chore,

Frank Black and the Catholics Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies (band), Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Bl ...

A Northern Chorus A Northern Chorus was a Canadian band from Hamilton, Ontario. They released four records on the Sonic Unyon label. History The band was formed in 1999 by singers/guitarists Stu Livingstone and Pete Hall after their previous group, Datura Dream D ...

Raising the Fawn Raising the Fawn is a Canadian indie rock band, with its roots in Toronto. The band is composed of John Crossingham (who is also a member of Broken Social Scene), Scott Remila and Dylan Green (who are both members of City and Colour). History Ra ...

, Teenage Head and Voivod.

History

Sonic Unyon was founded in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

by Mark Milne, Sandy McIntosh of the band Tristan Psionic."Sonic Unyon wafts to greatness"
''Toronto Star'' - Toronto, Ont.By Ira Band Dec 19, 1996 Page: G.9 At first they released their own band's music, and then began releasing and promoting music by other local bands. By 1995 Sonic Unyon had grown to be one of the largest independent labels in Canada. The basement of their headquarter often held shows and many local musicians got jobs working for the record label. As of 2005, Sonic Unyon releases were distributed in the United States exclusively by

Caroline Distribution Virgin Music Label & Artist Services is a music distributor of independent artists and record labels, owned by Universal Music Group. The subsidiary focuses on the distribution of new or emerging partners. Started by Virgin Records as Carolin ...

. Tim Potocic and Mark Milne created Sonic Unyon Distribution as a branch of the record label, and distributed releases in Canada from independent labels from around the world and select co-releases with other independent labels including

Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...

, Nuclear Blast, WARP,

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

and

Plexifilm Plexifilm was an independent DVD label and film production company co-founded by Gary Hustwit (formerly VP of Salon.com) and Sean Anderson (formerly Director of DVD Development of The Criterion Collection) in 2001. Plexifilm produced original films ...

(including the

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboar ...

tour DVD, ''

Drive Well, Sleep Carefully Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" * ...

''). Sonic Unyon branched out into events production, by organizing

Supercrawl Supercrawl is an annual art and indie music festival held each September in downtown Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which ...

, the annual version of the monthly Artcrawl, which is dedicated to showcasing the arts scene in the James North region of Hamilton. The event has featured many national and international touring artists; in 2014, its attendance was estimated at 165,000."Supercrawl named Ontario tourism event of the year"
''CBC Hamilton'', Nov 12, 2015.

Selected artists

The following artists have made at least one release through Sonic Unyon.

References

External links

Sonic Unyon1995 Sonic Unyon TV Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonic Unyon Record labels established in 1993 Canadian independent record labels Indie rock record labels Alternative rock record labels Companies based in Hamilton, Ontario Music of Hamilton, Ontario

History

Selected artists

See also

References

External links