Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based

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 pr ...

, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word '' seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distributed by

Entertainment One Distribution Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television s ...

. Starting as a label that specialized in fiddle music, they began releasing work by

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

groups such as

Planxty Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guit ...

and

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

. Other genres on the label include

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-e ...

African music Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and othe ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

and ska. In 1989 they acquired Yazoo Records from

Nick Perls J. Nicholas Perls (4 April 1942 – 22 July 1987)jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

recordings. Today, they have another imprint, Shanachie Jazz. In 1992 Shanachie began releasing CDs by folk singer-songwriters, including Richard Shindell, Dolores Keane, John Stewart, Rod MacDonald, Richard Meyer, Karan Casey, Sue Foley, Four Bitchin' Babes,

Kevin Gordon Kevin Sysu Gordon (born 26 December 1989) is a former Philippines international rugby league footballer. A New South Wales Country and Prime Minister's XIII representative, he played as a er and for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rug ...

, and others. In 1980 Shanachie released its first

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

album, ''King Tubbys Meets Rockers In a Firehouse'' by

Augustus Pablo Horace Swaby (21 June 1953 – 18 May 1999),Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , p. 200-202 known as Augustus Pablo, was a Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer and a multi-instrumentalist, active f ...

, and soon after released albums from many reggae artists, including Rita Marley,

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

, Bunny Wailer, Judy Mowatt, Alpha Blondy,

Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007 3 August 1964 – 18 October 20 ...

, The Skatalites and others. Shanachie was the U.S. liaison for the UK-based reggae label, Greensleeves Records, until about 1987. Shanachie also issued material for

under the Message imprint of his company, Rockers International. The Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir releases albums on Shanachie Records, as has Grammy nominated

Liquid Soul Liquid Soul is a jazz, hip-hop, funk, freestyle fusion ensemble formed in 1993 from Chicago, Illinois which helped pioneer the acid jazz movement in the United States in the 90s. Coined ''"Beyond Acid Jazz"'' by founder Mars Williams who plays ...

. The Latin acts on the label include

Los Jovenes del Barrio Jillian Armsbury was a singer, performer, songwriter and occasional activist, originally from Washington state. She was a pioneer in the Charanga R&B music genre. She was the lead singer of the Latin group Los Jovenes del Barrio. She had worked ...

.''CMJ New Music Report'', April 10, 2000
Paged 36 UPCOMING RELEASES
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References

External links

* {{Authority control 1976 establishments in the United States American country music record labels American independent record labels Folk record labels Jazz record labels Latin American music record labels Record labels established in 1976 Reggae record labels Ska record labels Smooth jazz record labels Soul music record labels World music record labels

See also

References

External links