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 music" since the 1980s.

The label was founded by Beat Happening frontman Calvin Johnson and managed for many years by Candice Pedersen. Many early releases were on the cassette tape format, making the label one of the longest lasting reflections of the cassette culture of the 1970s and early 1980s. Although itself releasing primarily offbeat pop music and indie rock, the DIY label is regarded as one of the pioneers of riot grrrl movement and the second wave of American punk in the 1990s.

History

Calvin Johnson founded K Records with the intention of distributing cassette tapes of a local band, The Supreme Cool Beings, which he had recorded performing for his radio show at Evergreen State College radio station KAOS (FM). According to author Gina Arnold, the name "K" originally stood for "knowledge"—as in knowledge of regional underground music scenes and of music in general. Johnson, however, has stated that "it's unclear why the name is K."

K was run from Johnson's kitchen in Olympia until January 1986, when he hired Candice Pedersen for $20 a week and academic credit at Evergreen State College. Pedersen became a full partner in 1989 until selling her half of the label to Johnson in 1999.

Johnson noted:

<blockquote>A cassette is great for a local scene like Olympia because a band can release a cassette and not have to spend their would-be savings. If they were to press 500 records, there goes their savings. But if you do a cassette you make up as many as you need, they're cheap, and if you don't sell them you just use them. Phil Elverum of the Microphones and Jared Warren of KARP also spoke on the record about late royalty payments and difficulties engaging the label. Johnson said K would liquidate its holdings to make good on its debts to artists, but stated that the label was not in jeopardy.

International Pop Underground

In 1987, K Records shifted from cassette distribution to vinyl single production with the launch of the "International Pop Underground" series. This event featured more than fifty independent and punk bands, including Bikini Kill, Beat Happening, Fugazi, L7, Unwound, and Jad Fair. It has been called "a remarkable testament of musical self-preservation and fierce resistance to corporate takeover." The music festival included arts and crafts, film presentations, and poetry readings, and was notable for its deliberate lack of hired security officers.

Al Larsen of the band Some Velvet Sidewalk was part of the K Roster. In 1989, he wrote an article for the Snipehunt zine which reflected and distinguished K's approach to "punk" music with an ethos he called "Love Rock," in which he wrote: "It's a scary world, but we don't need to be scared anymore. We need active visionary protest, we need to grab hold and make the transformation, from complaining that there is NO FUTURE to insisting there be a future." which maintained a philosophical link to punk. The first K Records newsletter includes the K shield as a knight, described as battling "the many-armed corporate ogre."

Some critics have considered this philosophy to be a liability in regards to mainstream success. Author Mark Baumgarten has observed that Pitchfork Media's "Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s" included six bands with direct relationships to the label (Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Fugazi, Built to Spill, Beck, and Nirvana) but only one proper K Records release.

Twee punk

Early K releases included childlike, hand-drawn album art. Combined with the stripped-down toy-instrument aesthetic of Beat Happening and distribution of bands such as Heavenly in the US, the label was quickly associated with the twee music scene. Johnson has been called "the first star of American twee."

Critics have suggested that the "twee" label for K Records acts reflects its rejection of the hardcore punk ethos popular in the 1980s, and that K Records acts were subverting "punk" through confronting and threatening masculine sensibilities within the punk scene.

Riot Grrl movement

The Love Rock philosophy also made room for a feminist approach to punk, which had existed in Olympia, WA just as K Records became an established presence in the town.

Rock critic Michael Azerrad writes that K was "a major force in widening the idea of a punk rocker from a mohawked guy in a motorcycle jacket to a nerdy girl in a cardigan".

While Pederson was behind the scenes, acts like Mecca Normal, and Heather Lewis' presence in K's flagship band, Beat Happening, have been mentioned as an inspiration for many female-fronted bands at the time.

The label also highlighted women in its International Pop Underground Convention's opening night at the Capitol theater, "Love Rock Revolution Girl Style Now", or "Girls Rock Night", dedicated to 15 female-led acts such as Bratmobile,

Many riot grrrl acts would release through another Olympia label, Kill Rock Stars, which launched with a compilation record at the International Pop Underground Convention. Though Kill Rock Stars would have financial conflicts with K Records over the compilation, Bikini Kill and others moved to Kill Rock Stars out of an aesthetic preference for the "grungier" sound of its releases, and there is no evidence of ill-will. Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney has said "It's not that we didn't love Calvin and love K; it's just that this new thing that was starting was going to be so exciting." The song "Lounge Act" on Nevermind references his logo tattoo in the line, “I'll arrest myself and wear a shield.” Cobain also played guitar on a K Records release, "Bikini Twilight," with Johnson, released as The Go Team.

Roster

The following artists have released albums through K Records.

<!-- NOTICE: This list should only include artists that have a release on K Records. Artists who have only

appeared on a K compilation should not be on this list. -->

  • Adrian Orange
  • All Girl Summer Fun Band
  • Beat Happening
  • Beck
  • Bikini Kill
  • Bis
  • The Blackouts
  • Karl Blau
  • The Blow
  • Built to Spill
  • Cadallaca
  • Chain and the Gang
  • Chicks on Speed
  • The Crabs
  • D+
  • Sarah Dougher
  • Dub Narcotic Sound System
  • Electrosexual
  • Eprhyme
  • Fifth Column
  • fish narc
  • Steve Fisk
  • Gaze
  • Girl Trouble
  • The Go Team
  • The Halo Benders
  • Heavenly
  • Jeremy Jay
  • Calvin Johnson
  • Karp
  • Kimya Dawson
  • Kiwi Jr.
  • LAKE
  • Landing
  • Lois
  • Love as Laughter
  • Lync
  • Maher Shalal Hash Baz
  • Mahjongg
  • Make-Up
  • Marine Research
  • Mecca Normal
  • Melvins
  • The Microphones / Mount Eerie
  • Mirah
  • Miranda July
  • Mopar Stars
  • Modest Mouse
  • Old Time Relijun
  • Anna Oxygen
  • Pansy Division
  • The Pine Hill Haints
  • The Rondelles
  • Saturday Looks Good To Me
  • Sharp Pins
  • Shonen Knife
  • Snuff
  • The Softies
  • Talulah Gosh
  • Some Velvet Sidewalk
  • Tender Trap
  • Thee Headcoats
  • Tiger Trap
  • Trans FX
  • Yume Bitsu

See also

  • List of record labels

References

Further reading

  • Official site
  • K Records Artist List
  • Unofficial K Blog
  • Copy of early K Newsletter