Slumberland Records is an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C. and based in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. The label has released recordings by

Velocity Girl Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, and active in the Washington, D.C., area. The band released three albums before splitting up in 1996. History The band started as the duo of Kelly Riles ...

Honeybunch Honeybunch is an indie pop band from Providence, Rhode island formed in 1987 by future Velvet Crush member Jeffrey Underhill, releasing a string of records before splitting up in 1995. The band reformed in 2003. History The band was formed in 19 ...

Lilys Lilys are an United States, American indie rock band (music), band formed in Washington, D.C., Washington, District of Columbia, D.C in 1988. The only constant member is Kurt Heasley, with the line-up changing regularly. Several of the band's tra ...

Stereolab Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetit ...

, Evans The Death,

St. Christopher Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (reigned 249–251) or alternatively u ...

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 ...

, Beatnik Filmstars,

14 Iced Bears 14 Iced Bears are a British indie pop band associated with the C86 music scene. Formed in Brighton in 1985, by Robert Sekula and Nick Emery the band featured a shifting line-up of musicians across their seven-year existence, centred on songwrite ...

, and

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were an American indie pop band from New York City, formed in 2007. The band centered around founding member and principal songwriter Kip Berman (vocals, guitar). In the band's final iteration, Berman was joined ...

History

Inspired by independent punk labels such as

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mu ...

, Slumberland was created as a collective effort consisting of members of D.C. area bands

and Big Jesus Trash Can as a mecca for

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 ...

bands, seldom heard outside of the

label.
/ref> The debut Slumberland Records release was "What Kind of Heaven Do You Want?", a shared 7" featuring early line-ups of Velocity Girl,

Black Tambourine Black Tambourine was an American indie pop band and one of the earliest Slumberland groups of the early 1990s. Formed in Silver Spring, Maryland, the band comprised vocalist Pam Berry and instrumentalists Archie Moore, Brian Nelson and Mike Schu ...

, and Powderburns. The record was sold in December 1989, limited to 1000 copies with some sort of hand coloring. By 1992, Slumberland Records was exclusively managed by Michael Schulman and operations were moved from Silver Spring, Maryland to Berkeley, California. In 1993, Slumberland Records started a in-company record promotion label called "I Wish I Was a Slumberland Record", using colored vinyl instead of black vinyl for up-and-coming bands. The debut release for the WISH label was Sleepyhead's "Sick of Heaven" 7". In 2001, Slumberland Records went on a temporary hiatus after The Saturday People self-titled full-length but returned in 2003 to release the vinyl version of

The Aislers Set The Aislers Set is an American indie pop band that formed in San Francisco in 1997, after the breakup of chief songwriter Amy Linton's former band Henry's Dress. The Aislers Set's music is influenced by C86-style British indie pop. The founding me ...

third full-length '' How I Learned to Write Backwards''. The label once again returned to active status in 2006, releasing albums by The Lodger, Sarandon, Crystal Stilts, Cause Co-Motion!, as well as numerous 7" singles.

Catalog

DRYL catalog discography (1989-1992)

SLR catalog discography (1992-present)

WISH catalog discography (1993-present)

References

External links

Slumberland Records website

{{Authority control American independent record labels Indie pop record labels