| Cleopatra Records | |
|---|---|
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| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder | Brian Perera |
| Genre | Gothic rock, hard rock, Industrial Music and heavy metal |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Official website | http://www.cleorecs.com/ |
Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label. This article is about the musical style of gothic rock For the goth scene in general see Goth subculture. Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock Industrial music is a loose term for a number of different styles of Experimental music, especially but not necessarily Electronic music. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West An independent record label (or indie record label) is a Record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the Major record labels
Contents |
History
Founded in 1992 by long-time music fan Brian Perera, it specialises in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music. This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992 This article is about the musical style of gothic rock For the goth scene in general see Goth subculture. Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock It is widely known for its compilations, usually collections of cover songs performed by bands signed to the label. In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released
In the mid-1990s, Cleopatra released tribute albums of goth, techno, industrial bands covering influential artists such as The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sisters of Mercy, and New Order. The Cure are an English rock band that formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976 Siouxsie & the Banshees were a British rock band which formed in 1976 The Sisters of Mercy are an English Gothic rock band that formed in 1980 New Order are an English rock group formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner ( vocals, Guitars Synthesizers, Peter Hook These sold so well that the label kept coming up with more artists they considered ripe for tribute. As goth and industrial acts were compiled to cover songs by AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Smashing Pumpkins (see: A Gothic-Industrial Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins), Guns N' Roses, and the arguably un-coverable Dead Can Dance and Skinny Puppy, some fans in the dark music scene began to perceive the label as having jumped the shark. AC/DC are an Australian Hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. Pink Floyd are The Smashing Pumpkins are an American Alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988 A Gothic-Industrial Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins is a 2001 Tribute album, featuring a variety of artists covering songs from the American Guns N' Roses is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 Dead Can Dance is a band comprising Lisa Gerrard ( Contralto) and Brendan Perry ( Baritone) Skinny Puppy is an industrial band formed in Vancouver, BC, Canada in 1982. Jumping the shark is a Colloquialism used by TV Critics and fans to denote that point in a TV show or movie series' history where the plot veers
Early success
Cleopatra made very big waves in the early 1990s US goth and industrial scene with several important compilations and reissues. Industrial music is a loose term for a number of different styles of Experimental music, especially but not necessarily Electronic music.
- Industrial Revolution series
- The Goth Box
- The Gothic Rock double disc sets and
- In Goth Daze
All of these introduced a new generation of listeners to the dark genres, and their releases of classic albums by Kraftwerk, Nico, and Hawkwind were for many years the only US versions in print of these discs. Kraftwerk (ˈkʁaftvɛɐk German for " power plant " or " Power station " is an influential Electronic music band from Christa Päffgen ( October 16, 1938 ? &ndash July 18, 1988) was a German Singer - Songwriter, fashion model Hawkwind are a British rock band, one of the earliest Space rock groups
Market dominance
Cleopatra's dominance of the US goth/industrial market was strong into 1997, when it signed legendary synthpopper Gary Numan, joining an already impressive roster that included (either by contract or license) Electric Hellfire Club, Switchblade Symphony, Leæther Strip, X Marks the Pedwalk, Mephisto Walz, Kill Switch...Klick, Information Society, Heaven 17, Download, Noise Box, and Razed In Black. Synthpop is a subgenre of New Wave and Pop music in which the Synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on 8 March 1958 is an English singer composer and musician The Electric Hellfire Club is an Industrial metal band mixing elements of Glam metal, techno, Gothic rock, Psychedelia and experimental Switchblade Symphony was a San Francisco, United States –based Darkwave Though this sound is uncommon it might be compared with Rhea's Obsession Leæther Strip is a Danish musical project founded on January 13, 1988 by Claus Larsen All related projects of industrial musician André Schmechta redirect here Mephisto Walz are a Gothic rock group formed in 1985 They have an accomplished discography behind them having released many full-length albums over the course of Kill SwitchKlick, also known as KsK and Kill Switch (the original is the name of an American industrial rock band Information Society (also known as InSoc) is a US band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, primarily consisting of Kurt Heaven 17 are a British Synthpop band originating from the city of Sheffield in the early 1980s Download is an electronic music group formed by Dwayne Goettel and CEvin Key of Skinny Puppy during 1994 Noise Box is the Industrial techno Seattle duo of Andre Robinson and Josh Helm. Razed in Black (RiB is an electronic music act created by Romell Regulacion (vocals keyboards guitars
Subsidiaries
The label hatched several smaller subsidiaries according to Perera's musical tastes, including one for Krautrock and a techno imprint. Krautrock is a generic name for the Experimental music scene that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s especially in Britain The factor that was most influential in Cleopatra's financial boom in this era, however, was the tribute album. A tribute album is a recorded collection of Cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions
Furthermore, many of the label's acts disbanded or signed with other labels: Switchblade Symphony imploded after disappointing sales of their second and third albums, Electric Hellfire Club, Information Society and Dead or Alive stopped making records, Kill Switch...Klick formed their own Go-Kustom Rekords label and Heaven 17, Download, Gary Numan, X Marks the Pedwalk, and Ikon all were signed by other companies. Switchblade Symphony was a San Francisco, United States –based Darkwave Though this sound is uncommon it might be compared with Rhea's Obsession The Electric Hellfire Club is an Industrial metal band mixing elements of Glam metal, techno, Gothic rock, Psychedelia and experimental Information Society (also known as InSoc) is a US band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, primarily consisting of Kurt Dead or Alive are a British New Wave band from Liverpool that rose to popularity during the 1980s Kill SwitchKlick, also known as KsK and Kill Switch (the original is the name of an American industrial rock band Kill SwitchKlick, also known as KsK and Kill Switch (the original is the name of an American industrial rock band Heaven 17 are a British Synthpop band originating from the city of Sheffield in the early 1980s Download is an electronic music group formed by Dwayne Goettel and CEvin Key of Skinny Puppy during 1994 Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on 8 March 1958 is an English singer composer and musician All related projects of industrial musician André Schmechta redirect here
Add to this that two European labels with whom Cleopatra had licensing deals—Zoth Ommog and Hard Records—both folded, and Cleopatra was suddenly in very dire straits. Zoth Ommog Records is the name of the short-lived German Industrial music Record label which was owned by the parent label Music Research However, artists such as Razed In Black, and later Zeromancer and Bella Morte, generated some sales for the label. Zeromancer is a Norwegian Industrial rock band formed in 1999 by members of the band Seigmen. Bella Morte is a gothic band that was formed in 1996 in Charlottesville Virginia.
Present situation
Today, Cleopatra is largely funded by its sub-labels (Hypnotic, Dead Line Music, Stardust Records, Master Classics, Magick Records, Purple Pyramid, and Goldenlane Records), which between them offer prog rock reissues, metal and techno acts, as well as pop and easy listening tributes. Having relegated the tribute albums largely elsewhere, the Cleopatra brand itself is now focusing again on non-cover-oriented compilations and on digging up out-of-print gems of the goth/industrial scene.
See also
External links
This is a list of notable Record labels Due to the large number of entries the list has been divided by the first character of the label's name See also This is a list of notable Electronic musicDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic