Sonic Unyon
| Sonic Unyon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder |
Sandy McIntosh Mark Milne Tim Potocic |
| Genre |
Alternative Indie |
| Country of origin |
 Canada |
| Location | Hamilton, Ontario |
| Official website | sonicunyon.com |
Sonic Unyon Recording Company is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Their former retail store was located on Wilson Street near James Street North). The label has put out releases by bands including Tristan Psionic, Sianspheric, Shallow North Dakota, Eric's Trip, Hayden, Chore, Frank Black and the Catholics, A Northern Chorus, Raising the Fawn, Teenage Head and Voivod.
History
Sonic Unyon was founded in 1992 by Mark Milne, Sandy McIntosh and Tim Potocic of the band Tristan Psionic.[1][2] At first they release their own band's music, and then began releasing and promoting music by other local bands.[3][4] By 1995 Sonic Unyon had grown to be one of the largest independent labels in Canada.[5]
As of 2005, Sonic Unyon releases were distributed in the United States exclusively by Caroline Distribution.
The organization created Sonic Unyon Distribution as a branch of the record label, and distributed releases in Canada from independent labels from around the world and select co-releases with other independent labels including Jagjaguwar, Nuclear Blast, WARP, Fearless and Plexifilm (including the Death Cab for Cutie tour DVD, Drive Well, Sleep Carefully).
Sonic Unyon branched out into events production, by organizing Supercrawl,[6] the annual version of the monthly Artcrawl, which is dedicated to showcasing the arts scene in the James North region of Hamilton. The event has featured many national and international touring artists; in 2014, its attendance was estimated at 165,000.[7] bringing significant [8]
Selected artists
The following artists have made at least one release through Sonic Unyon.
- A Northern Chorus
- Ad Astra Per Aspera
- Aereogramme
- Frank Black / Frank Black and the Catholics
- Chore
- Damon & Naomi
- Death Cab for Cutie
- Dinner Is Ruined / Dale Morningstar
- Danko Jones
- Elevator Through
- Eric's Trip
- Andre Ethier
- The Ghost Is Dancing
- Gorp
- Hayden
- Kestrels
- The Kittens
- Kitchens & Bathrooms
- Jens Lekman
- The Jesus Lizard
- Mayor McCA
- Mystery Machine
- The Nein
- The New Grand
- Paley & Francis (Reid Paley & Black Francis)
- Pixies
- Poledo
- Raising the Fawn
- Ringo Deathstarr
- Sacrifice
- Shallow North Dakota
- SIANspheric
- Simply Saucer
- Sleeper Set Sail
- Smoother
- Tangiers
- Teenage Head
- Terra Lightfoot
- Thrush Hermit
- Treble Charger
- Tricky Woo
- Tristan Psionic
- Untimely Demise
- Voivod
- Wintersleep
- Wooden Stars
- Young Rival
See also
- Now We Are 5 (1998), Sonic Unyon's fifth anniversary compilation album
- List of record labels
References
- ↑ Larry LeBlanc (23 September 1995). Sonic Unyon Stays True to its Artists. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 64–. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ↑ "Sonic Unyon wafts to greatness" Toronto Star - Toronto, Ont.By Ira Band Dec 19, 1996 Page: G.9
- ↑ "For two Hamilton buddies, home building is a gut job". Dave LeBlanc, The Globe and Mail, Jan. 22, 2015
- ↑ Tennant, James. "Sonic Unyon throws a musical Christmas bash". The Spectator - Hamilton, Ont. Dec 14, 2006. page G.15
- ↑ Rockingham, Graham. "The Many Layers of Sonic Unyon". Hamilton Magazine. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ↑ Taylor, Ric. "Supercrawl II". Weekly Paper Article. View Magazine. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ↑ "Supercrawl named Ontario tourism event of the year". CBC Hamilton, Nov 12, 2015.
- ↑ Karpenchuk, Alexsis. "Supercrawl will be Super Big this year in Hamilton". News Article. CBC. Retrieved 6 November 2013.