Positiva Records is a subsidiary of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

and concentrates on releasing dance music in the UK. The record label was set up 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

Nick Halkes Nick Halkes (born Nigel Halkes) is a UK based music industry executive best known for signing a breaking dance act the Prodigy and being one of the founders of the XL Recordings label. He is now an artist manager and music publisher managing L ...

, who previously ran

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six album ...

. Its headquarters are at the Universal UK offices (formerly at EMI offices in Brook Green in West London), where it is currently the only large dance music label under the EMI banner.

History

One of the label's first releases was " I Like to Move It" by

Reel 2 Real Reel 2 Real was an American hip house musical project that had seven top 10 hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the 1990s. Biography The project's core member was producer and DJ Erick Morillo from New York City, who spent a porti ...

, an alias of dance DJ

Erick Morillo Erick Morillo (March 26, 1971 – September 1, 2020) was a Colombian-American disc jockey, music producer, and record label owner. Having produced under a number of pseudonyms, including Ministers de la Funk, The Dronez, RAW, Smooth Touch, RBM, D ...

, originally released on

Strictly Rhythm Strictly Rhythm is an American house music record label. History Strictly Rhythm relaunched in 2007 after a five-year break, following a venture with Warner Music. The label made a number of its recordings available for digital download and sig ...

. Later, the label signed US vocalist

Barbara Tucker Barbara Tucker (born March 19, 1967), is an American house and soul singer, songwriter and choreographer born in Brooklyn, New York, US. Tucker had six No. 1 hits on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart in the 1990s and into the 2000s, and seve ...

, who went on to release tracks including " Beautiful People" and " Stay Together" (both 1995) and " Stop Playing with My Mind" (2000). Other house releases in this period came from

Umboza Umboza were a house duo from the United Kingdom composed of Stuart Crichton and Michael Kilkie. They recorded for Positiva Records. Umboza's 1995 single "Cry India", based on a sample of Lionel Richie's hit " All Night Long", was a hit both in ...

the Bucketheads Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez (born July 5, 1970), also sometimes known as K-Dope, is an American record producer and disc jockey. He is one half of the classic house music Masters at Work musical production team with Little Louie Vega; and also release ...

and Judy Cheeks. During the late 1990s, Positiva released several tracks from the emerging trance scene such as Alice Deejay's " Better Off Alone" which became a huge hit in Europe and the U.S., as well as DJ Quicksilver's "

Bellissima Bellissima ("Very Beautiful" in Italian) may refer to: * ''Bellissima'' (film), a 1951 film by Luchino Visconti * ''Bellissima!'', a 1988 Pizzicato Five album * "I Have a Dream"/"Bellissima", a 1997 DJ Quicksilver song * Bellissima (Annalisa son ...

", Ayla's eponymously titled "Ayla",

Binary Finary Binary Finary are a British trance act, originally comprising Matt Laws, Ricky Grant and Stuart Matheson. They are best known for the dance hit single "1998", especially for the Paul van Dyk and Gouryella remixes, which charted in many co ...

's "1998" and BBE's "

Seven Days and One Week "Seven Days and One Week" is a song by Italian-French electronic music act B.B.E. It was released in July 1996 as the lead single from their debut album, ''Games'' (1996). As a representative of the short-lived dream house sound, the song becam ...

". Releases in the 2000s have included the number one hits " Toca's Miracle" by Coco Star vs Fragma, "

Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" is a song by Italian electronic music producer Spiller with lead vocals performed by British singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Various versions of the single were later featured on the German reissue and som ...

" by

Spiller Cristiano Spiller (born 3 April 1975) is an Italian electronic music DJ and record producer. He is best known for his 2000 single " Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song reached number-one in the UK, Australia, ...

featuring

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded Ellis-Bextor went solo and ach ...

, and "

Lola's Theme "Lola's Theme" is the debut single of British house duo the Shapeshifters, featuring soul singer Cookie on vocals. It was released on 12 July 2004 as the lead single from the Shapeshifters' debut album, ''Sound Advice'' (2004). The song became ...

" by the

Shapeshifters In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...

. Other top 10 hits in the same decade include Watergate's "

Heart of Asia Heart of Asia may refer to: Geography *A term coined to highlight the geostrategic location of Afghanistan at the center of Asia's trade and economic junction between Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia and China (s. Istanbul Process). *A ni ...

", "Flashdance" by Deep Dish,

Motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

's "

As the Rush Comes "As the Rush Comes" is a song by American progressive group Motorcycle. Motorcycle was a collaboration between San Francisco-based trance duo Gabriel & Dresden with vocalist Jes. It was released as the group's first single in 2003 and was a num ...

", remixes of The Source feat.

Candi Staton Canzetta Maria "Candi" Staton (, ) (born March 13, 1940) is an American singer–songwriter, best known in the United States for her 1970 remake of Tammy Wynette's " Stand by Your Man" and her 1976 disco chart-topper "Young Hearts Run Free". In E ...

's "

You Got the Love "You Got the Love" is a song by British songwriting team The Source featuring American singer-songwriter Candi Staton. Originally released in 1986, the song was remixed and re-released in 1991, 1997, and 2006. It reached number three on the UK S ...

" and "Watch the Sunrise" by Swedish DJ/producer Axwell. Other artists who have been with the label for many years include Paul van Dyk and the Shapeshifters, although the latter have since left to release tracks via Defected Records and concentrate on running their own Nocturnal Grooves label. The label has since been resurrected by

as a trading name for

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

and releases from foreign dance acts, such as

Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted ''A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&nbs ...

Avicii Tim Bergling (; 8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii (, ), was a Swedish DJ, remixer and music producer. At the age of 16, Bergling began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first rec ...

, Nicky Romero and Nervo.

Releases

Notes

*A Released on Positiva's sub label Additive instead after promo release *B Charted on the UK budget album chart as the total track length of the format exceeded the 20 minute rule in place at the time *C Released through EMI instead after promo release *D Released through EMI subsidiary Feverpitch instead after promo release

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control British record labels English record labels 1993 establishments in England Record labels established in 1993 English electronic dance music record labels EMI

History

Releases

Notes

See also

References

External links