Engine Company Records

Engine Company Records
Founded 2002 (2002)
Founder Blake Morgan
Status Active
Distributor(s) Burnside Distribution
Genre alternative rock, soul music
Country of origin United States
Location Manhattan, New York
Official Website EngineCompanyRecords.com

Engine Company Records is an American independent record label. Founded by rock musician and producer Blake Morgan in 2002. Distributed by Burnside Distribution, it has released a number of albums by musicians such as Janita, James McCartney, Laura Warshauer, Shimmerplanet, Mike Errico, and Lesley Gore.

Contents

History

Founder Blake Morgan signed a seven-record deal with Phil Ramone's N2K Sony/Red label in 1996.[1] However, he has stated he quickly became frustrated with being on a corporate label. After his first tour he found a loophole in the contract,[1] and despite being the label's most successful artist at the time, he told Ramone he wanted out of the deal.[2] Morgan went to bands and artists he was recording at the time, and pitched a label where they would have control over their own material and output.[3] He launched Engine Company Records in New York City[1] in 2002, and remains President and owner.[3]

The associated publishing company is called Big Red Firetruck Music.[4] Similar to Rick Rubin's relationship with American Recordings, Morgan produces the music for the label. Genres have ranged from emo/punk, to alternative rock, to classical.[3] Recordings have taken place in locations such as The Hit Factory in New York and Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas.[2]

Among artists and producers that have worked with the label are James McCartney, Lesley Gore, Janita, Tyler Bates, Mike Errico, Patti Rothberg, Terry Manning, and Azam Ali.[3] In summer of 2005 the label landed five albums in the Top 20 simultaneously, including Lesley Gore's Ever Since and Rick Henrickson's Reaching For A Gun.[2]

Notable releases

Morgan's solo album Buring Daylight, was released on Engine Company Records on July 12, 2005. Co-produced with Grammy Award-winner Phil Nicolo, it reached #1 on eMusic's album charts. The bonus track of his cover of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" became the most successful track in the history of the label, and climbed high on iTunes charts.[2]

In 2006 Morgan's song "It's Gone," performed by Lesley Gore, was featured in the final scene and closing credits of the independent film Flannel Pajamas, by Jeff Lipsky. The film, which was lauded by Roger Ebert, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. On March 18, 2009, Morgan's track "Better Angels" was featured in MTV's The Real World: Brooklyn.[2] The Lesley Gore version of "Better Angels" was also featured in the 2005 season premiere of CSI: Miami.[5][2]

In June 2008, the label released 20th Century Duos for Violin and Cello with works by Zoltan Kodaly, Roger Sessions and Maurice Ravel, which received a glowing review for performance and engineering in The New York Times.[6]

Artists

Discography

No. Artist Title Year
ECR0112001 Jordan Berlant Born To Be Revealed 2002
ECR0111002 Shimmerplanet Welcome To Shimmerplanet 2002
ECR0201003 Mike Errico Tonight I Drink You All 2002
ECR0206005 Robin Robinson Copacetic 2002
ECR0210006 Puzzleball Giant In Japan 2003
ECR0302007 Laura Warshauer Laura Warshauer 2003
ECR0305008 Rick Henrickson Reaching For A Gun 2003
ECR0312010 Eyeleve Elevator Plans 2004
ECR0411011 Jonathan Ellinghaus Leave It All Behind 2004
ECR0506012 Lesley Gore Ever Since 2005
ECR0507013 Blake Morgan Burning Daylight 2005
ECR0604015 Blake Morgan Silencer 2006
ECR0202004 Various Artists Anywhere (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 2007
ECR0803016 Gil Morgenstern & Darrett Adkins 20th Century Duos for Violin and Cello 2008
ECR0901017 David Cloyd Unhand Me, You Fiend! 2009
ECR0902018 Melissa Giges Evident 2009
ECR1006019 David Cloyd I Could Disappear 2010
ECR1007020 Janita Haunted 2010
ECR1007020-S1 Janita "Do We Learn" 2010
ECR1109001 David Cloyd "Dear Boy" (cover) 2011

References

  1. ^ a b c Monger, James Christopher. "Blake Morgan Biography". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p203800. Retrieved 2011-11-22. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Blake Morgan: Home". Engine Company Records. http://www.enginecompanyrecords.com/blakemorgan/. Retrieved 2011-11-22. 
  3. ^ a b c d "Featured Record Label Owner: Blake Organ". Unified Manufacturing. http://www.unifiedmanufacturing.com/blog/featured-record-label-engine-company-records/. Retrieved 2011-11-22. 
  4. ^ "Interview: Blake Morgan". Such Cool Stuff. http://www.suchcoolstuff.net/2009/09/blake-morgan.html. Retrieved 2011-11-22. 
  5. ^ Collar, Matt. "Silencer: Review". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/silencer-r931024. Retrieved 2011-11-22. 
  6. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (June 1, 2008). "Turns From Indie Label, Piano Pair and Philip Glass". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/arts/music/01reco.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved 2011-11-22. 

External links