Brassland Records

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brassland Records is an artist-operated independent record label started in 2001 by Alec Hanley Bemis, Bryce Dessner, and Aaron Dessner. Bemis is a writer who has contributed to publications such as LA Weekly, the New York Times, the New Yorker, LA Times, Slate.com, and Coolfer.com. The Dessners are twin brothers and both musicians. Bryce plays in Clogs, The National, and guests in groups such as Bang on a Can All-Stars. Aaron is the primary songwriter for The National.

Brassland is based in New York, though it claims to operate "a satellite office in California." The label also has close ties to Ohio, where the Dessner brothers were raised. All five members of the label's original flagship band, The National, all hail from Cincinnati.

The first two releases were debut albums by The National and Clogs. Over the years, it has also released albums by musicians such as Baby Dayliner, Erik Friedlander, and Pela. In 2006, it signed a new artist from Australia called Devastations.

The label considers itself something of a collective, making A&R decisions based on the tastes of its founders but also the interests of the artists involved in the label. The label actively encourages collaboration among its musicians. Examples include:

- Founding Clogs' member, Padma Newsome, now contributes regularly to The National's records and live shows. He also plays on Devastations second album, Coal.

- Erik Friedlander first met Bryce Dessner when he invited him to perform on his album, "Grains of Paradise"

- Baby Dayliner came to the attention of the label after The National's lead singer, Matt Berninger, tipped them off to his well-attended live shows

- Pela guitarist, Nate Martinez, has frequently acted as a sub guitarist for The National

Brassland also publishes this mission statement on its website: "Music is our current focus. We like music that transcends genre. At the same time we try not to make transcending genre a cliché by applying labels to what we do: funk-metal, progressive punk, Afro-Cuban jazz, underground hip-hop, intelligent dance music, whateva! We like musicians who play well and possess the elusive tonic of personality. Most of all we just like music."