Young American Recordings is a New York City based record label founded in 2005 by partners Rocco Giordano and Josh Swade who met in the late 90's as interns as seminal hip-hop label Loud Records. The duo realized their dream of launching Young American after Giordano left an A&R post at Kinetic Records and Swade left Maverick Records and then the William Morris Agency. Young American was initially formed behind the release of the British band South, who rose to fame with 2001's critically acclaimed "From Here On In" featuring the song "Paint the Silence" from the Fox TV show "The OC."
In February 2006, Young American reissued the classic album "Something to Believe In" from Scottish post-punk band APB. The double-disc offering commemorated the 20th anniversary since the albums first release. The first disc included a remastered version of "Something To Believe In" in its entirety, while the second disc included B-Sides, rarities and live tracks. Matt Pinfield who wrote the liner notes for the release said: "I consider these two CD's to be an absolute treasure. Even if Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, The Rapture, Kasabian and many more of the new dance groove / new wave 80's inspired artists are not familiar with the amazing APB, I feel these bands all indirectly owe a debt to them. At the times when most artists were still rocking with nihilistic punk fervor, APB was fearlessly breaking new ground. I will always fondly remember them as one of the most exciting bands of the early 1980's."
Young American then went on to release APB's "Radio 1 Sessions" in connection with the BBC. The collection featured cuts recorded during APB's performances on the legendary John Peel BBC radio show. Renewed interest in the band led to a triumphant Stateside reunion tour in 2007.
Young American continued to carve out a niche as a label whose artists released original music and also scored film and television. The Young American band South scored the film "Sexy Beast" along with James LaVelle of Mo' Wax / Unkle fame. In 2007 the label released the debut album "Horsepower" from the New Zealand band The Phoenix Foundation who's score for the Miramax film Eagle vs. Shark, would garner high praise. Young American distributed the album "Harpooner" from New York solo artist Paul Brill and then released the Soundtrack to the HBO Documentary The Trials of Darryl Hunt. The Soundtrack featured Paul Brill's acclaimed score along with original material from a who's who of indie artists including Califone, M Ward, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Starsailor, and more. The label next signed Baltimore Production duo Darkroom Productions, releasing their "Hamsterdam - The Album." Darkroom went on to perform a bevy of TV scores, most notably for HBO's "The Wire," which played a big part in putting Baltimore Hip-Hop on the map.
Young American has also released music from New York area bands like Orange Park and The Silver State. Through sub label Kill Buffalo, Young American distributed the debut album from The Roadside Graves.
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