''For the label of the same name, formed by Pickwick International, see

Quintessence Records Quintessence Records started in 1976. Quintessence was formed by Pickwick International Inc. as a budget label. Pickwick’s trademark for Quintessence was filed on December 10, 1976 with the initial Q made to look like a clef symbol. The labe ...

'' Quintessence Records was a Canadian independent record label, notable for releasing a number of records by punk rock bands in the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

area between 1978 and 1981.

History

Quintessence Records was an independent record label that evolved from a Vancouver independent retail record store of the same name, located in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. The store was the only local record store selling

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and new wave music at the time. The record label were started by store owner Ted Thomas in 1978, at the instigation of store employee Gerry Barad Scott Beadie
Records & Labels
as referenced to the film "Bloodied But Unbowed", April 24, 2010; www.thepunkmovie.com. Retrieved 2015-01-25. Barad during this time also became a well-known concert promoter of local punk bands. He later became the chief operating officer of Live Nation Entertainment. The label was primarily known for releasing music by Vancouver punk bands, most notably music by the Subhumans,

D.O.A. DOA may refer to: * Dead on arrival * Dead or Alive (disambiguation) Film * ''D.O.A.'' (1949 film), a ''film noir'' * ''D.O.A.'' (1988 film), a remake of the 1949 film * '' D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage'' (1980 film), a documentary on the gene ...

Pointed Sticks Pointed Sticks are a Canadian punk rock/ new wave band from Vancouver. Originally active from 1978 to 1981, then reuniting to perform in July 2006 through to November 2012. After a three-year hiatus, Pointed Sticks returned to the stage in June ...

and early recordings by

Art Bergmann Arthur Frank Bergmann (born February 8, 1953 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who was one of the key figures in Canadian punk rock in the late 1970s.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have ...

. The first EP released by Quintessence Records, was ''Hawaii'', by the

Young Canadians Young Canadians (originally The K-Tels) were a Canadian punk rock band formed in Vancouver in 1978 and active for just under two years. The YC's were influenced not only by the other punk bands in town at that time such as D.O.A. and the Pointed ...

. The band, which featured Art Bergmann, had previously been known as the K-Tels, prior to being served with a cease and desist order by

K-tel K-tel International Ltd is a Canadian company which formerly specialized in selling consumer products through infomercials and live demonstration. Its products include compilation music albums, including ''The Super Hits'' series, ''The Dynamic ...

Corporation. Sam Sutherland,
Perfect Youth: The Birth of Canadian Punk
'. Retrieved 2015-01-29. The label also was involved in releasing the early recordings of Canadian country rock band Blue Northern. Both the record label and related record store ceased operations in 1981. The record store lease was taken over by former Quintessence Records employee Grant McDonagh, who continued in the tradition of Quintessence Records as

Zulu Records Zulu Records is a Canadian record store and independent record label, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that sells new and used CDs, LPs, 45s, turntables and concert tickets and is currently located at 1972 West 4th Avenue. One of the most famo ...

, operating both a record store and an independent record label.Uncredited
Punk scene pioneer waxes on record industry
''

Vancouver Courier The ''Vancouver Courier'' was a Canadian semi-weekly local newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, by the Van-Net chain owned by Glacier Media Group. In 2007, it was Canada's largest distributed community newspaper, with a we ...

'' via Canada.com, August 6, 2008. Retrieved 2015-01-26.

Discography

- The Prisoner (1978)
AV - AV EP (1978)

- What Do You Want Me To Do (1978)
The K-Tels - Automan (1979)

- Hawaii (1979)
Subhumans - S/T (1979)
D.O.A. - Disco Sucks (1979)
The Pointed Sticks - The Real Thing (1979)
The Pointed Sticks - Lies! (1979)
Female Hands - S/T (1980)
Modernettes - Teen City (1980)
Young Canadians - This Is Your Life (1980)
Blue Northern - Blue (1980)

UJ3RK5 UJ3RK5 (sometimes written as U-J3RK5, and pronounced "''you jerk''" — the five is silent) was a Vancouver-based band from the late 1970s. Their style was post-punk/new wave music, new wave, but was more art rock than synth pop. History UJ3RK5 w ...

- S/T (1980)
Pointed Sticks - Perfect Youth (1980)
Subhumans - Firing Squad (1980)
Cover Boys - It's A New World/She's A Jerk (1980)

References

{{Authority control Canadian independent record labels