ZE Records
| ZE Records | |
|---|---|
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|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder |
Michel Esteban Michael Zilkha |
| Genre | Dance-rock, no wave, indie rock |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Official website | www.zerecords.com |
ZE Records was originally a New York-based record label, started in 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban. It was reestablished by Esteban in 2003.
Michael Zilkha (b. 1954) is a British-born Oxford graduate of Iraqi descent, the son of Selim Zilkha, former owner of Mothercare, a major UK retail company, and the stepson of Cabinet member Lord Lever. In the mid-1970s, Zilkha worked in the New York publishing industry and was a contributor to the Village Voice.
Michel Esteban (b. 1951) studied art in Paris and at the School of Visual Arts in New York, before returning to Paris in 1975 and opening the shop Harry Cover (a pun on "haricots verts"), which specialised in current rock music merchandise from the US and UK. The basement shop quickly became the rehearsal place for Parisian new wave bands. Between 1975 and 1976, Esteban published Rock News, which covered the birth of the punk rock movement in London, New York and Paris. In 1977 he published Patti Smith's books Witt and The Night, and Lizzy Mercier Descloux's first book Desiderata.
In 1977, Esteban signed French new wave band Marie et les Garçons, and asked John Cale - who had been introduced to him by Patti Smith - to produce them. Cale produced the single "Re Bop" in New York, and when he decided to start a record label with Jane Friedman he asked Esteban to assist. Cale later introduced Esteban to Zilkha, and they first established SPY Records to release singles produced by Cale, including records by Harry Toledo, the Necessaries, Lester Bangs, Model Citizens and Bob Neuwirth.
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