Zulu Records is a Canadian record store and independent record label, based in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, that sells new and used CDs, LPs, 45s, turntables and concert tickets and is currently located at 1972 West 4th Avenue. One of the most famous independent record stores in Canada, Zulu was a finalist in
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music.
The service, which lanuc ...
's ''Searchlight'' contest to name Canada's best record store.
History
Zulu Records was started in 1981 by Grant McDonagh, who had been an employee of
Quintessence Records
Quintessence Records started in 1976. Quintessence was formed by Pickwick International Inc. as a budget label. Pickwick’s trademark for Quintessence was filed on December 10, 1976 with the initial Q made to look like a clef symbol. The labe ...
. When Quintessence Records ceased operations as both an independent record store and independent record label, McDonagh continued operations in a similar fashion, as Zulu Records.
Zulu frequently hosts free in-store performances which have included
Julie Doiron
Julie Doiron (born June 28, 1972) is a Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage. She has been the bass guitarist and co-vocalist for the Canadian indie rock band Eric's Trip since its formation in 1990. She has released ten solo albums, beg ...
,
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...
,
Dean Wareham
Dean Wareham (born 1 August 1963) is an American musician and actor who formed the band Galaxie 500 in 1987. He left Galaxie 500 in April 1991 and founded the band Luna. Since Luna's breakup in 2005, Wareham has released albums with fellow Lun ...
,
Chad Vangaalen
Chad VanGaalen (born 1977) is a Canadian musician and artist from Calgary, Alberta.
Career
''Infiniheart''
Following a few scattered independent releases, done mostly on homemade CDs with hand-drawn art, VanGaalen released ''Infiniheart'' (2004 ...
,
The XX
The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...
,
Kurt Vile
Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work and as the former lead guitarist of rock band the War on Drugs. Both in the studio and during li ...
,
Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock mus ...
,
Kid Koala
Eric San (born December 5, 1974), aka Kid Koala, is a Canadian scratch DJ, music producer, theatre producer, film composer, multimedia-performer and visual artist. His career began as a scratch DJ in 1994. Kid Koala works with genres as eclectic ...
,
Jay Reatard
James Lee Lindsey Jr. (May 1, 1980 – January 13, 2010), known professionally as Jay Reatard, was an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He was signed to Matador Records. He released recordings as a solo artist and as a member of the Reat ...
,
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.
Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is u ...
Superchunk
Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the ...
,
Hawksley Workman
Hawksley Workman (Born Ryan Corrigan, March 4, 1975) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has garnered critical acclaim for his blend of cabaret pop and glam rock. Workman has released eleven full-length albums throughout his career. A mul ...
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
,
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...
and
Frog Eyes
Frog Eyes are an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada fronted by Carey Mercer. Their 2010 album Paul's Tomb: A Triumph was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. They have released eight albums and two EPs an ...
among others.
In 2011, Zulu Records began selling DVDs and Blu-rays in partnership with Videomatica video store. However, in March 2021, Videomatica moved out of Zulu Records and into their own space.Videomatica Split February 7, 2021
Zulu Records has often been called the birthplace of the indie rock genre "
Cuddlecore
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 lo ...
" as the term was coined by long term employee and local indie music hero Nicolas Bragg, best known for his work as a guitarist in the Vancouver rock group
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 ...
. In addition to Bragg, Zulu has housed many employees who have played in legendary Vancouver bands. These include: Cub, The Christa Min, The Nasty On, The Cinch, Anemones, The Book of Lists, Weed, Ali Milner, Fuck Me USA, The Shilohs, Victoria, Victoria!, Leviathans, Cowards, Womankind,
Pink Mountaintops
Pink Mountaintops is a Canadian rock and roll band from Vancouver led by Stephen McBean.
The band's first album, ''The Pink Mountaintops'', featured Amber Webber and Joshua Wells. The tracks varied from alt-country to indie rock.
The band's rec ...
, Baron Samedi, Connecticut, Magneticring, Blaise Pascal, Blues Crab, Old Mutton and others.
In the early 2000s, Zulu employees formed a super-group amongst themselves known as The Countless Jibes. The band is best remembered for their multitude of members (often up to ten), multiple guitar attack and such classic rock gems as "Jibes Alright", "Jibes'll Ride" and "Going For Dead". Throughout the years they have shared the stage with many successful bands including
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...
,
The Decemberists
The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. The band consists of Colin Meloy ( lead vocals, guitar, principal songwriter), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion), Nate ...
and
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 ...
. Unfortunately due to the vacation of key members from the city, most notably lead vocalist Jason Grimmer and bassist Steven Balogh, the Jibes disbanded in late 2008. Talks of a reunion have occurred in passing but no plans have been made yet.
In 2011 Zulu celebrated 30 years in business.
Record label
The store also previously operated an
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 ...
, releasing albums by Vancouver artists such as
Bob's Your Uncle
"Bob's your uncle" is a phrase commonly used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries that means "and there it is" or "and there you have it" or "it's done". Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions or when a ...
,
Sook-Yin Lee
Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian broadcaster, musician, film director, and actress. She is a former MuchMusic VJ and a former radio host on CBC Radio. She has appeared in films, notably in the John Cameron Mitchell movie ''Shortbus''.
Early and pers ...
,
Slow
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of the change of its Position (vector), position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per ...
,
Nomeansno
Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, a ...
and
Perfume Tree
Perfume Tree was a band from Vancouver, British Columbia that existed from 1991 until December 1999. Members were Jane Tilley, Bruce Turpin and Peter Lutwyche The band performed mostly psychedelic electronic rock.The Pointed Sticks,
Young Canadians
Young Canadians (originally The K-Tels) were a Canadian punk rock band formed in Vancouver in 1978 and active for just under two years. The YC's were influenced not only by the other punk bands in town at that time such as D.O.A. and the Pointed ...