RRRecords is a record label and used and new record shop based in
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...
. RRRecords was the first American
record label
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 produ ...
to publish underground "
noise music
Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...
" in the early 1980s, and published the first American vinyl by
Merzbow
is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists.
The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...
,
Masonna
, better known by his stage name Masonna, is a Japanese noise musician. He was born on November 16, 1966, in Miyazu, Kyoto, Japan.
was started in 1987 in Osaka as Maso Yamazaki's noise project. The name is a combination of the Japanese words ...
,
The Hanatarash,
Violent Onsen Geisha
, also known by his stage names Violent Onsen Geisha and Hair Stylistics, is a Japanese musician, writer and actor. He was described by Allmusic as "one of those musical entities that defy categorization." He co-starred in Shinji Aoyama's 2005 fil ...
, and various other artists. In its first 20 years, RRR has issued hundreds of releases. The label's owner, Ron Lessard, is a tireless supporter of new artists, and created several sub-labels and series to specifically highlight unknown and underground musicians.
RRR Sub-labels and series
One of the most popular of the RRR sub-labels is the Recycled Music series, which consists of used
cassette tapes
The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...
of pop and rock music that have been taped over with new music by a noise band.
[Howe, Bria]
"BoyZone, Clang Quartet, Jeff Rehnlund and Relay for Death: Green noise through recycled cassette tapes"
Independent Weekly, July 8, 2008 RRRecycled tapes are labeled with a simple strip of
adhesive tape along the spine of the insert with the artist's name hand-written upon it. Each recycled release tape is unique, and in some cases, the original audio is still partly audible. They have historically sold for $4 each, in order to encourage curious listeners to take a chance on a band they may not have heard of.
Other sub-labels have included Lowell records, which only published local rock, punk, and metal bands from Lowell, Massachusetts; Statutory Tapes, which reissued music originally published by Kinky Music Institute, G.R.O.S.S, ZSF Tapes, and Beast 666 Tapes; Pure, a series of low-cost CDs by new and established harsh noise bands, again to encourage listeners to take a chance on what might be a new name; RRReport, a magazine and CD set that existed for two issues; Stomach Ache, a collaborative label by Lessard and other unknown participants that published cheap vinyl singles of dubious provenance. Stomach Ache Records listed only a Mexican mailing address, and credited to the singles to a fictional person named Charlie Ward, so that any responsibility could be deflected. RRR has also collaborated with other labels to produce multi-LP box sets of noise based on specific regions of America. To date these have included New England, California, Texas, Michigan, and Portland.
Package design
In the 1980s and early 1990s, RRRecords was known for elaborate packaging of its records. "Steel Plate" is a double 10" vinyl set by Chop Shop, which came sealed in between two 10" x 10" steel plates. A collaborative LP by SBOTHI, Merzbow, and P16.D4 came packaged in between two silk-screened sheets of plexi-glass. "God Bless America" was a 3xLP box set compilation of American experimental music which came wrapped in a purpose-made American flag.
Concerts at RRR
For a period of a few years in the late 1990s, RRRecords would host free Saturday afternoon concerts at the store, which were called the "2 O'Clock Matinee" series. Concerts were never advertised or promoted, but every one was recorded by Ron Lessard and every band always got paid $20.
Mail-order
Lessard's
Xerox
Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...
ed copies of a mail order list added to underground
'zines circulating in the mid-to-late 1980s had a profound effect on the international noise communities, building interest in the music through minimal, very simple black and white advertisements. Catalogs never included descriptions of bands or records, so a new reader was expected to either already know what they were getting, or else buy things at random. Many of today's noise artists learned about the genre in part by being exposed to RRRecords catalogs.
The print catalog is no longer available, but a website has taken its place.
Partial RRR Discography (''in no particular order'')
As a label, RRR has a very expansive discography. Some of the music was co-released with Troniks, Freak Animal, Ground Fault Recordings, SSS, Satutory Tape,
Nurse With Wound's label (
United Dairies
United Dairies is a former United Kingdom-based creamery, milk bottling and distribution company. The company was formed in 1915 and merged to form Unigate in 1959.
During World War I, there were dire shortages of men, horses and vehicles com ...
), and more. Notable releases include:
* Recycled Music cassettes from most established noise artists.
*
Emil Beaulieau
Emil Beaulieau, or more fully, “Emil Beaulieau: America’s Greatest Living Noise Artist” (born July 5, 1957) is the stage name of Ron Lessard, a prominent noise musician who primarily records for his own label: RRRecords. He has collaborated ...
/Zipper Spy/
K.K. Null
, known by his stage name KK Null, is a Japanese experimental multi-instrumentalist active since the early 1980s. He began as a guitarist but learned how to compose, sing, play drums, and create electronic music. He also studied Butoh dance at M ...
- ''Japan 2000''
*
Merzbow
is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists.
The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...
- ''Pornoise 1 kg'' (5 cassette
box-set
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
)
* Can't - ''New Secret''
* Jason Lescalleet - ''Electronic Music''
* Boy Dirt Car - ''Winter''
*
Hanatarash
Hanatarashi (), meaning "sniveler" or "snot-nosed" in Japanese, was a noise band created by later Boredoms frontman Yamantaka Eye and featured Zeni Geva guitarist Mitsuru Tabata. The outfit was formed in Osaka, Japan in 1984 after Eye and Tabata ...
- ''Hanatarash 3''
*
Burning Star Core
Burning Star Core is the experimental music project of violinist C. Spencer Yeh. Originally conceived 1993 in Cincinnati, the project is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Composing music that's driven by his violin, Yeh's Burning Star Core p ...
- ''Let's Play Wild Like Wildcats Do''
*
Skullflower
Skullflower is a British noise rock band, formed in 1987 in London, England. Led by guitarist Matthew Bower, the band attained a cult following with a sound based on "sludgy, Black Sabbath-style riffs overlaid with feedback, fuzzed-out guitar ...
- ''Obsidian Shaking Codex''
Human Is FilthDestroys Emil Beaulieau CD* Sickness - ''Fuck Your Punk Rock''
* Ichorous - ''Lifender''
*
Merzbow
is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists.
The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...
- ''Batztoutai With Memorial Gadgets''
* Karlheinz - ''Fucking''
*
Chop Shop
A chop shop is a business, often mimicking a body shop, that illicitly disassembles stolen motor vehicles and sells their parts. Chop shops are often linked to car-theft rings as part of a broader organized crime enterprise.
In the United Sta ...
- "Steel Plate"
*
blackhouse
A blackhouse ( ga, teach dubh ; gd, t(a)igh-dubh ) is a traditional type of house which used to be common in Ireland, the Hebrides, and the Scottish Highlands.
Origin of the name
The origin of the name blackhouse is of some debate. On the Is ...
- "Holy War"
*
P16.D4 - "Three Projects"
*
K2 &
Macronympha
Macronympha is an American Noise music and power electronics group formed 1990 by Joseph Roemer and Rodger Stella in Pittsburgh, PA. Tim Oliveira ( Stimbox) and Dominick Fernow (Prurient) have occasionally appeared on Macronympha recordings and l ...
- "Biometrics"
*
Anenzephalia
Anenzephalia is the ''nom-de-plume'' of noise musician B. Moloch, who is occasionally joined by Wilhelm Herich of Genocide Organ. Anenzephalia was one of the first projects to record for the Tesco Organisation label.
Partial discography
*''Lyse'' ...
- "Fragments of Demise"
*
Violent Onsen Geisha
, also known by his stage names Violent Onsen Geisha and Hair Stylistics, is a Japanese musician, writer and actor. He was described by Allmusic as "one of those musical entities that defy categorization." He co-starred in Shinji Aoyama's 2005 fil ...
- "The Midnight Gambler"
*
Emil Beaulieau
Emil Beaulieau, or more fully, “Emil Beaulieau: America’s Greatest Living Noise Artist” (born July 5, 1957) is the stage name of Ron Lessard, a prominent noise musician who primarily records for his own label: RRRecords. He has collaborated ...
- "That Velvet Touch"
*
Ramleh
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
- "We Created It, Let's Take it Over 1-3"
*
Sudden Infant - "Solothurn"
*
Small Cruel Party &
Chop Shop
A chop shop is a business, often mimicking a body shop, that illicitly disassembles stolen motor vehicles and sells their parts. Chop shops are often linked to car-theft rings as part of a broader organized crime enterprise.
In the United Sta ...
- "Split"
* various artists - ''New England'' (5 LP
box-set
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
with hand-made cover art)
* Master Slave Relationship - ''This Lubricious Love''
See also
*
List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
Cassette culture 1970s–1990s
Notes
External links
RRRecords websiteRRRecords entry @ Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rrrecords
American record labels
Noise music record labels