WestCom (full name: WestCom Neue Medien Tonträger- Produktions- und Vertriebs GmbH) was a German

recording company A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

that operated the labels Off Beat, Visage Records and other

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

Company history

Founded around 1993. In addition to WestCom, its owner also operates NovaTekk and Euromedia. Headquartered in

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 1999 Stefan Herwig, A&R manager at Off Beat, left the company over differences in promotion, to join forces with

Eskil Simonsson Eskil is a town and district of Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, situated on the southern shore of Lake Tuz Lake Tuz ( tr, Tuz Gölü meaning 'Salt Lake'; anciently Tatta — grc, ἡ Τάττα, la, Tatta Lacus) was ...

(

Covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

Johan Van Roy Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial music act formed by Johan Van Roy in 1986. For live shows, it consists of Van Roy himself on vocals, Torben Schmidt on keyboards, and Mario Vaerewijck on drums. History Van Roy began experime ...

(

Suicide Commando Suicide Commando is a Belgian electro-industrial music act formed by Johan Van Roy in 1986. For live shows, it consists of Van Roy himself on vocals, Torben Schmidt on keyboards, and Mario Vaerewijck on drums. History Van Roy began experime ...

), Bryan Erickson (

Velvet Acid Christ Velvet Acid Christ (VAC) is an electro-industrial band based in Denver, Colorado. The band was formed in 1990 by lead vocalist, musician, and producer Bryan Erickson (aka Disease Factory), and later featured various ex-members of Toxic Coma. The ...

) and

Ronan Harris Ronan Harris (born 14 June 1967) is the founding member of the electronic music project VNV Nation. He is credited with the songwriting, production, lyrical and vocal aspects of the band's music. In the years preceding VNV Nation's debut album, h ...

(

VNV Nation VNV Nation is an Irish alternative electronic project led by Ronan Harris in the roles of singer, songwriter, and producer. VNV Nation's sound combines lyrics with sounds that ranges from melodic industrial dance anthems, to haunting ballads ...

) to form a new label,

dependent A dependant is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included in this definition. In some jurisdictions, supporting a dependant may enabl ...

(which opened January 1999). When he left, most artists switched to the new label, effectively shutting down WestCom.Bayross, Mark (2004)
''VNV Nation - Ronan Harris''
interview. Retrieved 11 August 2008.

Labels

Off Beat

Off Beat was a label specialized in

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

with

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and experimental rhythmic features which was founded in 1993 by Stefan Herwig and Thorsten Stroht. After having signed German electronic music group

Project Pitchfork Project Pitchfork is a German dark wave, electronic rock group from Hamburg, Germany. History First years (1990–1994) Project Pitchfork was formed by Peter Spilles and Dirk Scheuber. After agreeing to work together, they picked the projec ...

as first band to the label, ''Off Beat'' took a number of unsigned bands such as

Haujobb Haujobb is a German electronic musical project whose output has ranged drastically within the electronic music spectrum, from electro-industrial to Ambient music, ambient and techno. They have become a staple crossover act, bringing several forms ...

Download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...

and

Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

under its wing. Also, at the time already well established groups such as

Front Line Assembly Front Line Assembly (FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. FLA has developed its own sound incorporating elements of electronic body music and electro-industrial. The band's members ...

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...

and

joined the label. ''Off Beat'' established license partnerships with American labels

21st Circuitry 21st Circuitry was a record label based in San Francisco, California, that was founded in early 1991. The label released music from genres, such as electro-industrial, industrial rock, and other similar styles of music. The label signed a number ...

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

, Electric Death Trip and

Re-Constriction Re-Constriction Records was a division of Cargo Music based in California. The label was founded in 1992 and headed by Chase, who was previously the Music Director at KCR, a student radio station on the campus of San Diego State University. They ...

as well as with Swedish label

Memento Materia Memento Materia is a Swedish record label focusing on synth-, electro- and futurepop, although it also released some EBM in the 1990s. Its first release was in January 1992, and the label had put out 87 releases (according to its official nu ...

that added Mentallo and the Fixer,

and

among others to the roster. Originally the catalog numbering followed the codes issued by its distributor

SPV GmbH SPV GmbH (short for ''Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH'', "Vinyl Production and Distribution Company") is a German independent record label. Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributor ...

(like ''SPV 085-22292'' for

's 1995 album Hard Wired). Around 1996 the label started its own format, starting with a

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

O followed by the release number. Previous releases were attributed numbers, that were added to the artwork in reprints.This is a conjecture taken from the ''Off Beat'
discography
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Visage Records

Visage was a label/division specialized in

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

. Aside from several

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an synthpop bands as Elegant Machinery and The Northern Territories, it was responsible for the ''Vis-à-Vis'' series of compilation albums.

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy was a label/division specialized in

goth rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

. It started 1998 with the release of the album ''One Day'' by the band Near Dark.Near Dark - One Day
at

Nightshade

Nightshade Productions was a label/division specialized in

dark wave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

music.

References

External links

Nightshade Productions
at

Off Beat
at

Poison Ivy
at

Visage
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westcom German independent record labels Industrial record labels Electronic music record labels