Northern Spy Records

Northern Spy Records

Founded	2010 (2010)
Founder	Tom Abbs Adam Downey
Distributor(s)	Redeye Distribution
Genre	Avant-garde, noise rock, experimental jazz
Country of origin	U.S.
Location	Brooklyn, New York
Official website	northernspyrecs.com

Northern Spy Records is a record label in Brooklyn, New York that specializes in avant-garde music, noise rock, and experimental jazz. The label was founded by Tom Abbs and Adam Downey in 2010 after working for ESP-Disk.

History

Northern Spy is an artist-run record label. In October 2011, Northern Spy produced the first annual Spy Music Festival, spanning two days and hosted by two venues. The festival was hailed as a celebration of the label's first birthday. A year later, the label threw its second festival, which took place over two weeks in venues throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan. NSPY artists continue to support local venues by bringing their devoted fans together in small DIY venues.

Northern Spy and its management has been featured in the press through interviews, blogs and in newspapers. The Village Voice published an extensive interview with Downey and Abbs in September 2011.^[1] In July 2011, East Village Radio named Northern Spy one of the four most important independent record labels in New York City.^[2]

Northern Spy also owns the NNA Tapes record label. It is closely affiliated with the Clandestine Label Services management firm and with the Birdwatcher record label and recording studio firm.^[3]^[4]

Artists

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (May 2014)

Aa (Big A Little a)
Angels in America
Arnold Dreyblatt & Megafaun
Arto Lindsay
Bird Names
Charles Gayle
Chicago Underground Duo
Chris Forsyth
Cloud Becomes Your Hand
Colin L. Orchestra
Colin Langenus
Cuddle Magic
Dan Melchior
Diamond Terrifier
Donovan Quinn
Eleven Twenty-Nine
Eugene Chadbourne
Extra Life
Foot Village
Gary Lucas
Gerald Cleaver's Black Host
Haunted House
Horse Lords
Hubble
Jenks Miller
John Butcher
Loren Connors and Suzanne Langille
Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
Mystical Weapons
Neptune
NYMPH
PC Worship
Renata Zeiguer
Rhys Chatham
Seaven Teares
Shilpa Ray
Starring
SUSS
The Home of Easy Credit
The Necks
The Spanish Donkey
The USA Is a Monster
Thurston Moore & Loren Connors
Wume
Zs^[5]

Discography

Incomplete list of releases
Yr	Cat	Release title	Artist(s)	Notes
2010	NS-001	R.I.P	USAISAMONSTER	LP, CD
2010	NS-002	Songbook Vol. 1	Old Time Relijun	7"
2010	NS-003	The Warrior	Jooklo Duo	7"
2011	NS-004	Outdoor Spell	Rhys Chatham	CD
2012	NS-019	Honky Tonk Medusa	Donovan Quinn	LP
2012	NS-020	Age of Energy	Chicago Underground Duo	CD, LP
2013	NS-034	Power Ballads	Seaven Teares	LP
2013	NS-036	The Only Way to Go Is Straight Through	Thurston Moore & Loren Connors	CD, LP
2013	NS-038	Your Turn	Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog	CD, LP
2013	NS-039	Life in the Sugar Candle Mines	Black Host	CD
2014	NS-052	Locus	Chicago Underground Duo	CD, LP
2014	NS-053	Who Sleeps, Only Dreams/Hide With Me	Deerhoof w/guest Marc Ribot	7", Ltd
2014	NS-054	Live at Le Poisson Rouge	J. Spaceman & Kid Millions	LP + 7"
2015	NS-066	Accidental Sky	White Out with Nels Cline	CD
2018	NS-106	Towards the Shadow	Wume	LP, digital

References

^ Jesse Jarnow (September 28, 2011). "Northern-Spy Records Are The Realists - Page 1 - Music - New York". Village Voice. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
^ "Northern Spy Records » Spotlight: Four NYC Independent Record Labels | East Village Radio". Northern-spy.com. July 5, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
^ "Info". NNA Tapes. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
^ "About". Northern Spy. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
^ "Artists". Northern Spy Records. Retrieved 2014-05-08.

External links

Official site
"Northern-Spy Records Are The Realists". Village Voice. Sep 2011.
"Northern Spy Records: Do People Want to Be Challenged by Music?". Noisey. Jun 2012.

"Eclectic Northern Spy Music Label Hosts Festival". Wall Street Journal. Aug 2013.
"Skeletal Improvisations and Thrilling Crescendos of Madness: Spy Music Fest 2013". The Brooklyn Rail. Oct 2013.