Brassland Records
| Brassland | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | fully independent |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | Alec Hanley Bemis, Aaron Dessner, and Bryce Dessner |
| Status | active |
| Distributor(s) | ADA, The Orchard, PIAS, and Hostess Entertainment |
| Genre | n/a |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | New York City |
| Official website | brassland |
Brassland is an artist-operated independent record label started in 2001 by Alec Hanley Bemis, Aaron Dessner, and Bryce Dessner. On their 10th anniversary, The Guardian said it was "the centre of New York's other music scene.". More recently Pitchfork referred to it as a "venerable artpop boutique label."
In Brassland's early years, Bemis's primary career was as a freelance journalist for publications such as LA Weekly, the New York Times, and the New York Times. The Dessners are twin brothers and musicians with differing artistic focuses—Aaron is a producer and songwriter, while Bryce is a guitarist, composer and curator. Both are primary songwriters behind The National, while Bryce is equally known for his collaborations with artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Bang on a Can All-Stars and other creative musicians. Brassland is based in Brooklyn, New York, though has claimed to operate "a satellite office in California." The label also has close ties to Ohio, where the Dessner brothers were raised. (All five members of the label's original flagship band, The National, hail from Cincinnati, Ohio.)
The label's first two releases were debut albums by The National and Clogs which were influential in shaping two tendencies in early 21st century independent music. Clogs kicked off what has been called the "indie classical" scene, while The National became the first generation of "indie" musicians to regularly play arena-sized venues and headline festivals around the world. (Others in their cohort include Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.)
Over the years, Brassland has also released albums by musicians such as Thomas Bartlett aka Doveman, Jherek Bischoff, Buke and Gase, This Is The Kit, and Baby Dayliner — and licensed music by artists such as Nico Muhly and The Gloaming for the North American market. The label considers itself an intentional community, making collective A&R decisions based on the tastes of both its founders and the interests of the artists involved in the label, actively encouraging collaboration and a sense of community among its roster. “Art is a way of life,” Dessner has been quoted as saying. “We don’t think in isolation, we exist in a community with each other.”
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