Takoma Records

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The distinctive Takoma label

Takoma Records was a small but influential record label set up between 1959 and 1960 by John Fahey, Norman Pierce and Eugene "ED" Denson. It was named after Fahey's hometown, the Washington, D.C. suburb of Takoma Park, Maryland. Fahey had started a new genre of guitar music, known later as American Primitivism, which comprised traditional fingerpicking steel string guitar techniques applied to neo-classical compositions. The Takoma label showcased such music; its roster included Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, Robbie Basho and already famous Mississippi bluesman Bukka White. American composer and electronic music pioneer Joseph Byrd released three records in 1975-76 on Takoma. The label's best selling release was Kottke's 6 and 12-String Guitar (often called The Armadillo Album because of the cover art). Another influential album on Takoma was the 1974 eponymous compilation LP featuring Fahey, Kottke and Lang. The Takoma catalogue was purchased in 1995 by Fantasy Records, which in 2004 was taken over by the Concord Music Group.