Thrill Jockey 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 ...

established by former

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

History

Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while working at a

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

, record store, and ran the label from her apartment in New York City.Pareles, Jon
It's Her Label and She'll Sign Who She Wants To

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

September 23, 1998 accessdate = 2007-05-09 In 1995, she moved the label to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where "rent and taxes are considerably cheaper" according to Richards, and the independent label found some larger success. Thrill Jockey offers full-length

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

of every song on every release in its catalog. "I believe if people can listen to the albums, they tend to buy them," Richards said in a 2006 interview with ''Chicago Reader''. Artists who have recorded on the label include

Double Dagger A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descenda ...

Future Islands Future Islands is an American synth-pop band based in Baltimore, Maryland, comprising Gerrit Welmers (keyboards and programming), William Cashion (bass, acoustic and electric guitars), Samuel T. Herring (lyrics and vocals), and Michael Lowry (p ...

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

The Sea and Cake The Sea and Cake is an American indie rock band with a jazz influence, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The group formed in the mid-1990s from members of The Coctails (Archer Prewitt), Shrimp Boat (Sam Prekop and Eric Claridge), an ...

, Bummer,

High Places High Places is a band originating from Brooklyn, New York, that subsequently relocated to Los Angeles, California. The band is a duo comprising multi-instrumentalist Rob Barber and vocalist Mary Pearson. Pearson and Barber met while Mary was comp ...

Trans Am Trans Am may refer to: * Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, an automobile model * Trans Am (band), an American post-rock band ** ''Trans Am'' (album), their 1996 debut album *** ''Trans Am'' (1996 song), their eponymous song from the eponymous album, see ...

Mouse on Mars Mouse on Mars is a German electronic music duo formed in 1993 by Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma. Their music is a blend of electronic genres including IDM, dub, krautrock, breakbeat and ambient, featuring heavy use of organic analog synth and ...

ADULT. Adult (stylized as ADULT.) is an American band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1998 by married couple Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller. The band integrates vocals with drum machines, analog synthesizers and electronic/ punk elements.Copela ...

Bosse-de-Nage Bosse-de-Nage is an American band from San Francisco, California, United States, composed of four anonymous members. Considered as a part of the blackgaze scene, the band performs an experimental black metal style that draws from post-rock, s ...

Nobukazu Takemura Nobukazu Takemura (竹村延和 ''Takemura Nobukazu'') is a Japanese musician and artist. Born in Hirakata, Osaka in August 1968, he became interested in music at a young age by listening to the radio, and began to make music at home with a ta ...

Bobby Conn Jeffrey Stafford (born June 13, 1967), known professionally as Bobby Conn, is an American musician based in Chicago, Illinois. He often collaborates with other artists and film-maker Usama Alshaibi. Career Conn was born as Jeffrey Stafford i ...

Tom Verlaine Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New York City rock band Television. Biography Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey and ...

Freakwater Freakwater is an American alternative country band from Louisville, Kentucky, with one co-founding member living in Chicago. Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic diss ...

The Zincs The Zincs are a four-piece band originally from London, England, and now based in Chicago, Illinois, US. They are signed to Chicago's Thrill Jockey Records. History The Zincs were organized by English singer-songwriter James Elkington in 2000. ...

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Eleventh Dream Day Eleventh Dream Day (EDD) is an American alternative rock band from Chicago. History The band was founded by guitarists Rick Rizzo and Janet Beveridge Bean, who met at a place fondly known as 1069. This was a house/practice space/hang out in Lou ...

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Chicago Underground Duo Chicago Underground is an avant-garde jazz ensemble formed in Chicago in 1997 based around the core duo of cornetist Rob Mazurek and drummer/percussionist Chad Taylor. They have recorded and performed as the Chicago Underground Duo, Trio, Qu ...

, Howe Gelb/

Giant Sand Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later s ...

, Mary Lattimore,

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, Town & Country,

Archer Prewitt Archer Prewitt (born 1963 in Frankfort, Kentucky) is an American musician and cartoonist associated with the independent music scene in Chicago, Illinois. Biography Music Prewitt enrolled in the Kansas City Art Institute and began drumming in ...

Sam Prekop Sam Prekop (born October 18, 1964) is an American musician in the band The Sea and Cake. He also has released five solo albums. Early life Prekop was born in London, but grew up in Chicago. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute. Career ...

, The Lonesome Organist, OOIOO, Pit er Pat,

Marisa Anderson Marisa Anderson is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Portland, Oregon. She is primarily known for playing the guitar, mixing American primitive guitar with various genres from throughout the United States and the rest of ...

The Fiery Furnaces The Fiery Furnaces are an American indie rock band, formed in 2000 in Brooklyn, New York.. - ''In 2000 they moved Brooklyn... and began playing as the Fiery Furnaces late in the year''. - Allmusic The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor ...

Angela Desveaux Angela Desveaux is a Canadian singer-songwriter, based in Montreal, Quebec, whose style blends a diverse mix of pop, rock and country influences.T'cha Dunlevy"Not indie, not country, just Desveaux" ''Vancouver Sun'', 18 September 2008. Backgrou ...

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Pontiak Pontiak is an American neo-psychedelic rock band of three brothers from the Blue Ridge Mountain area of Virginia: Jennings Carney (bass, organ, vocals—born 1978, Washington DC), Van Carney (lead vocals, guitar—born 1980, Washington DC) and ...

, and

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amongst others. Artists on the label have often collaborated with other artists on the label to form spin-off groups.

Fifteenth birthday

In 2007, Thrill Jockey bands old and new recorded songs for a boxed set to celebrate the label's 15th birthday. Bands were asked to choose a song to cover by any other act on their roster. ''Plum 7" Box Set'' compilation was released in December 2007 on ten 7-inch vinyl singles. Some notable tracks include: Directions covering

guitarist Jeff Parker's "Toy Boat," while Pullman tackles the Chicago Underground Quartet's "3 A.M."

and

Thalia Zedek Thalia Zedek (born 1961) is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the early 1980s, she has been a member of several notable alternative rock groups, including Live Skull and Uzi (band), Uzi both of which, according to ''Spin (magazine) ...

all cover

songs, while

the Sea & Cake The Sea and Cake is an American indie rock band with a jazz influence, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The group formed in the mid-1990s from members of The Coctails (Archer Prewitt), Shrimp Boat (Sam Prekop and Eric Claridge), an ...

reworks a version of

's "Spider's House."

covers Japanese artist

's "Falls Lake," and ex-

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

frontman

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

contributes a cover of

the Fiery Furnaces The Fiery Furnaces are an American indie rock band, formed in 2000 in Brooklyn, New York.. - ''In 2000 they moved Brooklyn... and began playing as the Fiery Furnaces late in the year''. - Allmusic The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor ...

' "Ex-Guru."Billboard.com - "Thrill Jockey Bands Cover Each Other On Boxed Set" By Jonathan Cohen
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Authority control American independent record labels 1992 establishments in New York City Record labels established in 1992 Alternative rock record labels Companies based in Chicago

History

Fifteenth birthday

See also

References

External links