P.O. Box 8402
Houston, TX. 77288
(713) 675-7802
e-mail

ARCANA RECORDS:
(281) 352-8458
e-mail [6/25/2006]

ARMFAR COLLECTIVE:
(832) 922-1254
e-mail

Under the name Music For Apartments Records, the collective offers music from a wide range of genres. A lot of the niche mentality of the past has been dissolved by the immense amount of culture that diffuses daily accross the internets. This medium has empowered many to be able to create, and to share their work with a vast multicultural audience. By combining the forces of their individual members, the ARMFAR collective is able to offer material that is above the par in terms of creativity and value.

Under the name ARM, the collective offers a wide variety of multimedia, from website and interactive presentations, to promotional advertisements and identity development for artists and companies. Our creative team is at the forefront of the fast growing field of interactive and motion design. The collective has multiskilled artists with many years of experience and award winning designs. Our main service is the development of promotional services for musicians and artists. We are inclined to this medium because it allows for maximum creative freedom. The expressive nature of music fuels the creativity of the artists, which reflects and enhances the music. [6/25/2006]

ATLARGE PRODUCTIONS:
719 East 9th Street #1
Houston, TX. 77007
e-mail

BINARY HATE:
P.O. Box 923
Humble, TX. 77347
e-mail

A cool new local label, Binary Hate's actually not focused strictly on local stuff, which is sorta unusual for around here. In fact, the only locals they've released stuff by so far is ex-Sore Loser people The John Sparrow (BH put out their self-titled EP); label head Brent told me he'd rather focus on people who're more 'national' in scope, which is cool... Anyway, they've got stuff out right now by The John Sparrow and Austin's The Impossibles (their Return CD), and a split-7" with Hunter-Gatherer and Mock Orange, with a new CD on the way from thisyearsmodel and a 12" remix series called "Break Beats, Not Bones." Sounds good to me... [9/25/2000]

BRONZE BEAGLE RECORDS:
1136 E. 7th Street
Houston, TX. 77009
(713) 863-1274

Man, these labels are popping up left'n right - I can barely keep up! sigh... At any rate, this label was apparently started by Sperlings' guitarist/singer Carl Sandin (formerly of the Walk-Ins), and they've released a surprising number of things, including Carl's 2 solo albums, the Walk-Ins' Got Dumb If You Want It, and both of the Sperlings' CDs so far (the new one of which, Sea of Sarcasm, I'm pretty curious to hear...). Stuff in the works up at Bronze Beagle Studio One (the label seems to be mostly just stuff recorded at BBSO) includes the Orphans' followup album and a band called Gasoline Alley that features another former Walk-In. Could be cool... [7/13/98]

CINQUE ENTERTAINMENT, INC.:
Chris Nichols
P.O.Box 15861
Houston, TX. 77220
(281) 932-0614
FAX: (713) 674-8088
e-mail

COMPADRE RECORDS:
1505 Hadley Street
Houston, TX. 77002
(713) 772-5175
FAX: (713) 289-5777
"info" at "compadrerecords" dot "com"

Compadre's one of the bigger-profile labels in town these days, with well-known country/roots music folks like Billy Joe Shaver, Hayes Carll, and Townes Van Zandt on the roster. It used to be out on its own, but these days it's reportedly owned by Music World Entertainment, the entertainment monolith run by Mathew Knowles (yep, that "Knowles"). Thanks to Chris K. for the info... [10/10/2007]

COPPER RECORDS:
Darrell Clingman
8208 Westpark, Suite 101
Houston, TX. 77063
(713) 785-3205
FAX: (713) 952-0031

Well, finally found a bit more info about these folks (like how to contact them, for example). The label's apparently run by the owner of Third Stone Recording Studios, has released a Badfinger(???) tribute album featuring a track by Adrian Belew, and recently released two very cool albums, at least, one by Nashville popsters The Shazams and another by Austin guys Cotton Mather. [11/26/98]

DIRTY WATER RECORDS:
10807 Jones Road
PMB 120
Houston, TX. 77065
(832) 274-8503
e-mail

DOPE HOUSE RECORDS:
Arthur Coy, Jr.
(713) 862-4052
FAX: (713) 862-1466
e-mail

Don't know a whole lot about this label, except that it was started by now-big-time local rapper Carlos Coy, aka South Park Mexican, and is turning rapidly into one of the biggest hip-hop labels in town. I think they've already got quite a few other people on the roster, like Hillwood Hustlaz, Pimpstress, Low G., Grimm, & Rasheed, but I don't know much about any of 'em, I'm afraid... [9/25/2000]

DOUBLE NAUGHT RECORDS:
P.O. Box 131172
Houston, TX. 77219-1172

Well, idiot that I am, I hadn't actually thought these guys were local. At any rate, it appears that they are, so here you go. Dunno much about 'em, except that the Worship Guitars people distribute their stuff (see below), and that Death Valley's incredible Que Pasta! CD is on the label (and if you don't have it, you really need it, believe me).

DROP OUT RECORDS:
Jonathan Williamson
P.O. Box 58960-142
Houston, TX. 77058-8960

Dunno these guys personally, but I've heard really good things about 'em (mostly from Eric the Sound Guy @ Fitz - who, by the way, kicks much ass)... Their first release was a CD by local hardcore guys Injury, Thrown Away, and then they released a Latchkey Kids 7", Punk Rock Does The Body Good, but beyond that, hell, I dunno. Have to wait & see, I s'pose. [4/17/98]

ESOTYPE RECORDS:
Post Office Box 11515
Spring, TX. 77391-1515
e-mail

FACE DOWN RECORDS:
Derwin Blackshear
4631 Tidwell
Houston, TX. 77016
(713) 631-6999
FAX: (713) 635-5757

FARRÁGO RECORDS:
Box 13148
Houston, TX. 77219
e-mail

These guys've released some really cool stuff in recent memory, including the debut CD by Lozenge, Plenum, several Buddha on the Moon 7-inch efforts, and a rockin' album by now-defunct scientist-rockers Dyn@mutt. More recently, they've put out a 10" EP by ESP Summer (formed by Warren Defever of His Name Is Alive and Ian whatshisname of the Pale Saints), and they've also released both a Spoonfed Hybrid CD EP and a Buddha on the Moon CD (which is a split w/some other label I dunno) real recently. Check out their web site for the full catalog, and buy lots of what they've got, 'cause it's all cool. And besides, Larry and H.K. are cool guys. [6/15/97]

FLEECE RECORDS:
P.O. Box 70012
Houston TX. 77270
(713) 666-5555
Fax: (713) 526-7706
e-mail

Since the seeming demise of folks like Sound Virus and Lazy Squid, Fleece is actually one of the few record label bastions of experimental music left in this town (at least, as far as I can tell, and I'm no expert). By "experimental," I generally mean that the bands they release play music that, well, isn't for everybody - but hey, if you're adventurous... Anyway, it's run by Kurt, the "experimental music god" down at SoundEx (who, by the way, is a cool guy). He hasn't been going long, but he's already racked up an impressive number of releases - CDs by local heroes Rusted Shut and Kable (including a new one), a jointly-released (Wholly Other) album by the coolly-named Ash Castles On The Ghost Coast, a comp of some of the noisier local bands (Dry Nod, Dave Dove Paul Duo, etc.), a benefit CD for Ptolemaic Terrascope, an odd little British magazine (this one's a joint release w/Worship Guitars, too), and Thaumaticron, the latest CD by the ex-The Mike Gunn member known as Dunlavy (and his first U.S. release). phew...

Plus, he's got lots of other stuff in the works, like new albums from improvisational guitar player Philip Gayle, Rotten Piece, Klak (space-drone stuff), Dry Nod, Dunlavy, and Rusted Shut, a reissue of the classic Culturcide album, Year One, and a non-Houston release, an LP from King Frog (one-half of Noggin, from Portland). To be honest, I can't say most of this stuff is really my "thing," but my taste isn't the only one that matters, here - if you want noisy, strange, innovative music, this is the place. [12/26/98]

4CONTROL RECORDS:
Kathleen Buckley
Vice President
(713) 551-9453
e-mail

WITHERING SOUL PRODUCTIONS:
P.O. Box 4783
Pasadena, TX. 77502
(713) 643-2239
e-mail