Talitres, formerly known as Talitres Records, is a French

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 ...

based in Bordeaux, founded in 2000 and specializing in

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 ...

and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. It began as a way to release music from

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

bands that were not distributed in France and Europe, and has expanded to include various artists from all around the world. The label has released notable records by The National,

Motorama The General Motors Motorama was an auto show staged by GM from 1949 to 1961. These automobile extravaganzas were designed to whet public appetite and boost automobile sales with displays of fancy concept cars and other special or halo models. Mo ...

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

François & the Atlas Mountains François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

Emily Jane White Emily Jane White is an American singer and songwriter from Oakland, California who has released six solo albums and toured internationally. Early life White was raised in Fort Bragg, California.Talitres discography
/ref> Talitres' first release was Elk City's debut album in March 2001 and has gone on to release between 5 and 8 albums each year since then.

History

Talitres was founded in 2000 by Sean Bouchard and his friend Xavier Simon (who left shortly after to start his own record label Drunk Dog). Inspired by the likes of

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apart ...

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, Bouchard, a former agronomist, wanted to start a label that championed indie albums and artists that were virtually unknown to the general public in France and Europe and that were not released in these territories. The label's first release was Elk City album Status, licensed from

Parasol Records Parasol Records is an American independent record label based in Urbana, Illinois. The label was founded by Geoff Merritt as an outgrowth of the catalog Parasol Mail Order (which was started in 1991). The Parasol Records banner also includes the ...

for release in Europe. It was a reasonable success, gathering praise by specialist press and generalist media alike. Many of the following albums on Talitres' discography were released under the same licensing model that allowed to put out albums much faster while reducing costs, an ideal solution for these risky early days. However, the label has gradually departed from this model, preferring instead to sign production contracts when possible. The notable releases came with

The Walkmen The Walkmen is an American indie rock band. Active from 2000 to 2013, they are known as part of the 2000s-era post-punk revival in New York City, particularly for their critically acclaimed single "The Rat (song), The Rat." The band is made up o ...

debut album in 2002, The National Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers album in 2003 and

Flotation Toy Warning Flotation Toy Warning is a band from London, United Kingdom, UK formed in 2001. Their sound has been described as a cross between space rock and chamber pop, with musical similarities to bands such as Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, ...

Bluffer’s Guide To The Flight Deck in 2004, which gave the label its first international exposure and opened the gates for a wider repertoire of artists like

The Wedding Present The Wedding Present are an English indie rock group originally formed in 1985 in Leeds, England, from the ashes of The Lost Pandas. The band's music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, ...

The Organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, attracted by its growing notoriety and the developing touring opportunities that resulted from it. In 2006, the shutdown of Talitres’ historical distributor Chronowax weakened the label and made it vulnerable. Understanding the need to diversify his income sources to survive, Bouchard rapidly began to handle the touring and booking of the artists himself. At the same time, he focused on the music publishing and licensing aspects in order to collect rights and royalties generated by public broadcasts and radio airplay. He also went on to develop and supervise the placement of songs from the catalogue in movies, advertising, documentaries and the whole TV network. Famous music placement include Ewert And The Two Dragons' song “In The End There's Only Love” in a McDonald's advertising campaign centered on the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Le Loup's “Morning Song” for a SFR commercial in 2014 and a 2016 sync of Motorama's song “Wind In Her Hair” in a cosmetics commercial by

Garnier Garnier () is a mass market cosmetics brand of French cosmetics company L'Oréal. It produces hair care and skin care products. Launch ''Laboratoires Garnier'' was founded in France in 1904 by Alfred Amour Garnier. The company's first produc ...

. In 2008, the label made a pivotal move by signing folk songwriter Emily Jane White and releasing her album Dark Undercoat, which is still the biggest sale of the label to this day. Emily Jane White has so far released 5 albums on Talitres and is considered as one of the most emblematic artists of the label’s catalogue. In march 2012, while visiting the

Tallinn Music Week Tallinn Music Week (TMW) is an international new music showcase, city culture festival and networking event for music and creative industry professionals, held every spring in Tallinn, Estonia since 2009. Operated by Tallinn-based company Shiftwo ...

festival, Sean Bouchard stumbled upon the Russian post-punk band Motorama which was playing in a Design and Architecture gallery.url=http://archive.tallinnmusicweek.ee/2012/artist_2012.php?nid=409 He signed them shortly after and released their second album, “Calendar”, in November 2012. Good reviews and extensive touring in various countries allowed the band to make an impact much beyond French boundaries and helped the label to reach a larger audience. Thanks to this success, Talitres signed a contract with American record distributor MVD and allowed the label to develop itself abroad. Talitres has continued to sign various artists and currently has a roster of 19 active bands and has released near 100 albums.

Artists

Current Artists

Full Roster

References

{{Authority control French record labels Indie pop record labels Record labels established in 2001

History

Artists

Current Artists

Full Roster

See also

References