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 "I Like to Move It" is a song by American solo project Reel 2 Real (Erick Morillo), featuring ragga vocals by Trinidad and Tobago rapper The Mad Stuntman (Mark Quashie). Released in 1993, as the second single from their debut album, ''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 "Stop Playing With My Mind" is a 2000 house song recorded by American singer Barbara Tucker (billed as "Ms. Barbara Tucker") featuring singer Darryl D'Bonneau, written and produced by D.J. Freddy Turner and Jason "Whiplash" Hernandez. The track sa ...

" (2000). Other house releases in this period came from Umboza,

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 releas ...

and

Judy Cheeks Judy Cheeks (born February 13, 1954) is an American singer and actress. In the 1970s and 1980s, she recorded as a soul and R&B singer, before releasing more dance-oriented music in the 1990s. Cheeks performed with Ike & Tina Turner as an Ikette ...

. During the late 1990s, Positiva released several tracks from the emerging trance scene such as

Alice Deejay Alice Deejay is a Dutch Eurodance- pop project founded and produced by Wessel van Diepen, Dennis van den Driesschen, Sebastiaan Molijn and Eelke Kalberg (Pronti & Kalmani), fronted by singer Judith Anna Pronk. They are best known for their 1999 s ...

's "

Better Off Alone "Better Off Alone" is a song by Alice Deejay, the trance music project of Dutch producer DJ Jurgen in collaboration with Wessel van Diepen, Dennis van den Driesschen, Sebastiaan Molijn and Eelke Kalberg (Pronti & Kalmani). In 1997, the song was ...

" which became a huge hit in Europe and the U.S., as well as

DJ Quicksilver Orhan Terzi (born 28 June 1964), better known by his stage name DJ Quicksilver, is a German-Turkish DJ and music producer. His stage name derives from his days taking part in DJ contests, where a mercury column would gauge audience reaction. Ea ...

's " Bellissima", 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 beca ...

". Releases in the 2000s have included the number one hits "

Toca's Miracle "Toca's Miracle" is a release by German vocal trance group Fragma featuring vocals from British singer Coco (also known as Coco Star). Taken as the second single off Fragma's debut studio album, ''Toca'' (2001), the song is a mashup of Coco's "I ...

" by

Coco Star Susan Brice (born 16 March 1971), better known by her stage name Coco Star (or simply Coco), is an English singer and songwriter, who was signed to Universal Music and EMI.Coco's Got Her Miracle by Bill Lennon, Hertfordshire Magazine June 2000 B ...

Fragma Fragma are a German vocal trance music group, originally comprising three producers. The group was successful in the early 2000s when they released several singles that charted successfully across Europe, especially the United Kingdom and Irel ...

, " Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" 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 ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

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 ...

" and "Watch the Sunrise" by Swedish DJ/producer

Axwell Axel Christofer Hedfors (; born 18 December 1977), better known by his stage name Axwell, is a Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and owner of Axtone Records. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angell ...

. Other artists who have been with the label for many years include

Paul van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...

and the Shapeshifters, although the latter have since left to release tracks via

Defected Records In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

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 Nick Rotteveel (; born January 6, 1989), professionally known as Nicky Romero or Monocule, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer from Amerongen, Utrecht Province. He has worked with, and received support from DJs, such as Tiësto, Fedde l ...

and

Nervo Nervo (stylised as NERVO) are an Australian DJ duo comprising twin sisters Olivia and Miriam Nervo (born 18 February 1982). After signing with Sony/ATV Music Publishing at 18 years of age, the sisters pursued careers as songwriting partners and ...

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