Optical Sounds is a
Toronto based
record label that was launched in 2008 by brothers Robert and Richard Gibson.
The label is focused on a community of underground bands with broad psychedelic influences
with The Embassy Bar in
Kensington Market serving as a common meeting place for the musicians.
Optical Sounds operates without contracts or employees and the organization’s main focus is on community based events rather than record releases.
The name Optical Sounds was taken from a track by the 1960s LA psych rock group
The Human Expression. It is distributed in Canada by the
Outside Music group.
Optical Sounds' roster has included Action Makes, The Auras, B17, The BB Guns, Bodies That Matter, The Disraelis, The Hoa Hoa's,
The Flowers of Hell
The Flowers of Hell are a transatlantic experimental orchestra made up of a revolving line-up of 16 or so independent musicians based in Toronto and London. Their mostly instrumental sound builds bridges between classical music and post-rock, sh ...
including
Odes and
"O", Magic Shoppe, Mimico, Ostrich Tuning, Planet Creature, Postcards, Sounds Around, Sun Stone Revolvers, Tess Parks, Twist, The Veldt, and Your 33 Black Angels.
The label's 2012 compilation ''Psych Pop From Toronto'' was curated by
Spacemen 3's
Will Carruthers and reached the Top 20 of the Canadian campus radio charts.
The label and its artists have showcased at
Canadian Music Week,
North by Northeast, and
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
.
Media
The label’s releases and artists have appeared in media including ''
Pitchfork'', the
Financial Times,
The Guardian,
The Quietus,
Noisey
''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...
/
Vice,
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
,
Drowned In Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
,
Now Magazine
''Now'' (styled as ''NOW''), also known as ''NOW Magazine'' is an online publication based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Throughout most of its existence, ''Now'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper. Physical publication of ''Now'' was suspen ...
and on the cover of
Eye Weekly
''Eye Weekly'' was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the ''Toronto Star'', and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following ...
, along with numerous music blogs and campus radio stations.
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Canadian independent record labels
Pop record labels
Psychedelic rock record labels
Record labels established in 2008