Prawn Song Records

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Prawn Song Records is the record label owned by Les Claypool of Primus. The name (and logo) is a parody of Led Zeppelin's famous label Swan Song Records.

The label was created in 1989 for the initial limited release of the Primus live album Suck On This. To fund the release, the band borrowed some money from Claypool's father and pressed one thousand vinyl copies of the record. The album was later licensed to independent record label Caroline Records in 1990 for its second pressing, the same label that released the Frizzle Fry album the same year. Primus signed to Interscope Records before their third album Sailing the Seas of Cheese in 1991, who released all of their subsequent albums.

Prawn Song was resurrected in 1993 as a subsidiary of Interscope to launch jazz fusion guitarist Charlie Hunter's debut album and for the use of Claypool's side projects, Sausage and The Holy Mackerel, with Primus' albums continuing to be released solely by Interscope. In 1998 & 1999, however, Primus also started utilising the Prawn Song imprint to release the albums Rhinoplasty and Antipop.

By 2001, Prawn Song had branched out from Interscope to become a full-fledged independent record label, whilst also remaining as Primus' liaison to Interscope for the release of their EP/DVD Animals Should Not Try to Act like People in 2003. It should be noted that the 2006 compilation album They Can't All Be Zingers was released only by Interscope, separate from Prawn Song.

As an independent label, so far it has been used to release Claypool's most recent side projects and to re-issue the early, out-of-print, pre-Interscope Primus albums. It has also been used to launch the artist Gabby La La's debut album Be Careful What You Wish For..., on which Claypool produces and provides the rhythm section.

When operating independently of Interscope, the Prawn Song label is based in San Francisco, California, and distribution is handled by Red Distribution in the United States, and Essential Music and Marketing in Europe.

Contents

[edit] Catalogue

[edit] As an Interscope subsidiary

[edit] As an independent label

[edit] See also

[edit] External link