| Knitting Factory Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1998 (1998)[1] |
| Genre | Alternative rock Folk Experimental Afrobeat[2] |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Official website | store |
Knitting Factory Records is anindependent American music label that is notable for promoting a variety of artists, including the music of deceased Nigerian political activistFela Kuti.[2][3] The label promotes a variety of music artists includingAges and Ages,[4]Ash Black Bufflo,Cuong Vu,[5]Graham Haynes,[6]Femi Kuti,Gary Lucas,[7]Lumerians,Thomas Chapin,[1]Patrolled By Radar,Joe Morris,[8]Rachid Taha,Seun Kuti, andShilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers.[9]
The label was begun in 1998 as a spinoff of the music venues calledKnitting Factory and signed artistThomas Chapin as the first artist, according to theNew York Times.[1] Since then, it has promoted a variety of independent artists and groups such as Hasidic New Wave, which featured Jewish musicians combining withSenegaleseMuslim musicians in 2002.[10] In 2008, while working as the Night Manager for The Knitting Factory venue at their Leonard St. location in Manhattan, Tim Putnam was approached by Knitting Factory Entertainment CEO Morgan Margolis to form a strategic partnership with Partisan Records. Together they've reissued the Fela Kuti catalogue and revived the Knitting Factory Records label.[11]
With the Partisan Records team behind it,[12] KFR has released six albums fromNigerian musician andactivistFela Kuti in January 2011.[3] The label released the entire catalogue of Kuti'sUniversal-controlled music inNorth America from 2009 to 2011.[13] The lateFela Kuti has fascinated millions, according to theBoston Globe.[14] A decade after his death in 1997, Kuti's music is becoming mainstream,[2] and a Broadway musical titledFela! was created, which chronicled his life as a political agitator with more than two dozen wives through use of his music.[14] Kuti was jailed over 200 times, and hismother was murdered after being thrown out of a window.[14] His sonsSeun Kuti andFemi Kuti[15] have become prominent musicians[16] as well and are promoted by Knitting Factory Records. In addition to releasing music by Fela Kuti and his sons, the label also released the original Broadway cast recording of the musical adaptationFela! Knitting Factory reached a licensing deal withUniversal Music to reissue Fela Kuti's music in the United States during 2010.[17]
A list of past and current artists include the following:
... Mr. Chapin was the first artist signed by the club's record label, Knitting Factory Records.
... Knitting Factory Records put out Fela's...
The frenetic musical biography of Nigerian musician and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti ... vinyl box set of six albums that is available next month from Knitting Factory Records.
AgesandAges ... the Portland band's debut albumAll Right, You Restless on Knitting Factory Records ...
... Cuong Vu ... (Knitting Factory Records)...
Graham Haynes, ... Knitting Factory Records ...
... Songs To No One 1991 - 1992 by Jeff Buckley and Gary Lucas is from Knitting Factory Records.
Every time guitarist Joe Morris ... alluring "Many Rings" CD (on Knitting Factory Records) ...
... The Jewish musicians of the band Hasidic New Wave are now playing music with a troupe of Muslim drummers from Senegal. ... The CD is on Knitting Factory Records.
Fela Anikulapo Kuti ... Knitting Factory Records is reissuing his entire [Universal Music] catalogue in North America over the next eighteen months....
Fela, the late Nigerian musician and political agitator, fascinated millions....
As son of Nigeria's legendary Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti has some big shoes to fill...
... Fela Kuti. What you may not know is that his son Femi Kuti...is in some ways a bigger star, with a following far beyond the borders of his country. [...] Femi Kuti has created innovative, memorable and invigorating music....
... Knitting Factory Records has bought rights to the Fela catalog and is reissuing 45 titles, in batches, with the original artwork....[dead link]
Bill Ware: This groovy vibraphonist can wail with big jazz groups (including his own, Groove Collective), but he can also play crisply in a pared-down setting. Sir Duke is a collection of Ellingon duets with guitarist Marc Ribot on Knitting Factory Records.
