Shelflife Records is a

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

based independent record label run by Ed Mazzucco and Matthew Bice and has produced such bands as

Days A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two solar ...

Acid House Kings Acid House Kings are a Swedish indie pop band. They were founded in 1991 by Joakim Ödlund (also in the bands Poprace, Double Dan, and Starlet) and brothers Niklas (Red Sleeping Beauty) and Johan Angergård (Club 8, The Legends, Poprace). Histo ...

, and

The Radio Dept. The Radio Dept. is a Swedish dream pop band from Lund. History In 1995, schoolmates Elin Almered and Johan Duncanson started a band which they named after a gas-station-turned-radio-repair-shop called "Radioavdelningen" (Swedish language, Swedish ...

History

Shelflife Records traces its 1995 origins to a bedroom in a southern California suburb, where it began in conjunction with a mail order and distribution service. A fan of 1980s English pop and inspired by labels such as

Factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

and

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

Records, Ed Mazzucco launched the label as a way to expose foreign

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

groups to US audiences. Shelflife's first release was the August 1996 compilation ''Whirl-Wheels'' which included tracks by

Club 8 Club 8 is a Swedish musical group consisting of Karolina Komstedt (from the band Poprace) and Johan Angergård (Acid House Kings, Poprace). History Formed in 1995, Club 8 were signed to the Spanish record label Siesta. They released a single ca ...

Boyracer Boyracer (sometimes styled Boyracer UK) is a British punk band from Leeds, England. History Boyracer was founded by vocalist/guitarist Stewart Anderson in 1990 and released their first single in 1991. Richard Adams left the group in 1993, after ...

La Buena Vida La Buena Vida (The Good Life) is a Spanish indie pop group from San Sebastián, Spain. The band was formed in 1988 and continues to make music as of today. They have recorded 7 albums and 14 EPs. Their music is a form of pop also known as th ...

, and Ed's own band The Autocollants. In 1997 Ed moved Shelflife to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where he began long-time collaborations with graphic designer Jill Bliss and producer Jon Chaikin. The mail order and distribution service were discontinued in order to devote more time to the growing roster of artists, a move that quickly propelled the label out of its hobby status. During the late 1990s Shelflife steadily gained recognition as

twee pop Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 ''NME'' compilation ''C86''. Characterised by its simplicity and perceived innocence, some of its defining features are boy–girl harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics about love ...

and

indie music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, DIY ethic, do-it-yourself approach to r ...

became increasingly popular. From 1998 until 2001 the label hosted ''The September Set'', an annual showcase of live pop music from bands on Shelflife and other labels. In June 2007 Ed and Matthew Bice relaunched the label with a new focus on blending art with music. Their newsletter explained, "Each release will feature exclusive tracks in a limited edition, collectable package designed by various up-and-coming artists."

Roster

;Current * Airiel * Brideshead * California Snow Story * Corasandel * Close Lobsters *

Dylan Mondegreen Dylan Mondegreen (born Børge Sildnes) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. His debut album, ''While I Walk You Home'', was released in his native country on 17 September 2007. The second album, ''The World Spins On'', was released in 2009. Th ...

* Even As We Speak * The Fireworks * The Garlands * Goodly Thousands * The Holiday Crowd * Ice Choir * Jim Ruiz Set * The Keep Left Signs *

Life On Venus The possibility of life on Venus is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to Venus's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no definitive evidence has been found of past or present life there. In the early 1960s, studies conducted vi ...

Lost Tapes ''Lost Tapes'' is an American television series that aired on Animal Planet. Produced by Go Go Luckey Entertainment, the program presents fictional found footage depicting traumatic encounters with creatures cryptozoological, supernatural, myth ...

* The Luxembourg Signal * Nah... *

The Ocean Blue The Ocean Blue is an American indie pop band formed in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1986. Its original members included David Schelzel on lead vocals/guitar, Steve Lau on keyboards/saxophone, Bobby Mittan on bass guitar and Rob Minnig on drums and v ...

* Outerhope * Palms On Fire * Pia Fraus *

Pinkshinyultrablast Pinkshinyultrablast is a Russian shoegaze band from Saint Petersburg. History Their band name is a reference to the shoegaze band Astrobrite's 2005 album, ''Pinkshinyultrablast''. The group's first output was a 2009 EP, ''Happy Songs for Happy Zo ...

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

* Pretty Sad * The Proctors *

Red Sleeping Beauty "Red Sleeping Beauty" was the second single by McCarthy released in October 1986. The B-sides were "From the Damned", "God the Father" and "For the Fat Lady". The latter two were only available on the 12" vinyl release. The single is not on an ...

* She Sir *

Some Gorgeous Accident ''Some Gorgeous Accident'' (1967) was James Kennaway's fifth novel and the last to be published during his lifetime. It is a portrait of a triangular relationship between photographer James Link, journalist Susan Steinberg and doctor Richard Dav ...

* Star Tropics * Tears Run Rings * The Treasures Of Mexico * vhs dream * Laura Watling * When Nalda Became Punk ;Former *

*The Arrogants *Artisokka *A Smile and a Ribbon *The Autocollants *Balloon Magic *Brittle Stars *Burning Hearts *Call and Response *The Castaway Stones *Champagne Riot *Charming *Churchbuilder *

*The Consultants *Days *Evening Lights *The Fairways *Free Loan Investments *The Frenchmen *Gingerlys * Horse Shoes * Kawaii * Kuryakin *

Language of Flowers Floriography (language of flowers) is a means of cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers. Meaning has been attributed to flowers for thousands of years, and some form of floriography has been practiced in tradition ...

* Le Coupe * Majestic * Majestic 12 * The Maybellines * Moving Pictures * Phoebe Quest * Postal Blue *

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

* The Ruling Class * The Shermans *

Soda Shop A soda shop, also often known as a malt shop (after malted milk) and as a “malted shop” in Canada, is a business akin to an ice cream parlor and a drugstore soda fountain. Interiors were often furnished with a large mirror behind a marble count ...

Souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

* Sushi * Thieves Like Us * Warm Morning

External links

Official Website
American independent record labels Indie pop record labels Companies based in Portland, Oregon {{US-independent-record-label-stub

History

Roster

See also

External links