Ninth Street Opus is an independent record label in Berkeley, CA. Founded in 2008 by producer Wayne Skeen, Opus is a genre-agnostic label, with recordings that focus on artists with strong live musical performances.[1] Their catalog’s recordings have dipped into folk, country, rock, jazz and alternative rock music genres. Opus offers management, tour support, Internet and traditional marketing and promotion, long term career and fan building and publishing.
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The artist roster has seen steady growth since the label’s start (see complete discography). The first band to sign on to Ninth Street Opus in 2008 was Blame Sally. Their first album with the label, Night of 1000 Stars, was released in May 2009.[2] Shortly thereafter, Opus released Carrie Rodriguez’ Love and Circumstance which remained in the top three on Billboard (magazine)’s Americana Charts for over six weeks. In the winter of 2010, Opus released Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion’s album “Bright Examples”, produced by Andy Cabic and Thom Mohanan of Vetiver and includes artists such as Gary Louris and Mark Olson of the Jayhawks.
Along with long term “label artists”, Opus also works on projects on an individual basis. These projects have included recordings with young artists looking for a professional album to tour with, side projects of signed artists and longer termed series projects with various artists.
Opus Studios, also located in the Ocean View district of West Berkeley, is a state of the art studio which includes a 48 channel mixer and a plethora of instruments including a grand piano, vintage mics, a Hammond B3 and harmonium available for recording artists to use. The studio includes a glass vocal booth, control room and large tracking room so full bands can record together live.
Chief engineer/studio manager, Dave Luke,[3] has 32 years under his belt with Platinum, Gold, Grammy and Academy Award Winning Projects in his resume.
Along with founder, Wayne Skeen, in-house producers include San Francisco duo, The Rondo Brothers. The Rondo Brothers,[4] Jim Greer and Brandon Arnovick, formally joined the Opus team after producing the first recordings of Rondo Sessions with The Kin.[5] They continue to build upon their artistic and commercial clients including a 2011 Rondo Session planned with Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion.
| Year | Title | Artist | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Night of 1000 Stars" | Blame Sally | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2009 | "Corner of the World" | Luce | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2009 | "Paper City" | The Real Nasty | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2009 | "There is No Reason Here" | Annie Bacon and her OSHEN | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2009 | "The Pam and Jeri Show" | The Pam and Jeri Show | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2010 | "The Year We’ll Have" | Luce | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2010 | "Love and Circumstance" | Carrie Rodriguez | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2010 | "Felsen Loves You" | Felsen | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2010 | "Live at Stern Grove Festival" | Blame Sally | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2010 | "From the Echo" | Cyndi Harvell | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2010 | "Bright Examples" (EP) | Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2010 | "The Kin Rondo Sessions EP (US)" | The Kin | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2010 | "The Kin Rondo Sessions EP (UK)" | The Kin | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2010 | "The Kin Rondo Sessions EP (Japan)" | The Kin | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2010 | "Strangers and Friends" | The Real Nasty | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2011 | "We Still Love Our Country" | Carrie Rodriguez and Ben Kyle | Ninth Street Opus |
| 2011 | "Bright Examples- (full length LP) | Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion | Ninth Street Opus |