Grassroots Label Shapes “Portland Sound”
There are few other places in the country than Portland, OR, where one man can successfully create a record label with an “early CD burner and a prehistoric Mac,” showcasing only local acoustic artists. Chad Crouch is that man for Portland, and the success of his HUSH Records is due largely to Portland’s support of local talent.
Beginning in 1998, initially in an effort to promote his own music, singer/songwriter Crouch began recording his own debut solo album “on a whim, with less than $100 and an Apple computer.”
Crouch and some of his “talented friends” began the venture: “We just recorded ourselves as best we could, burned CDs and sold them at local shops. Later, when we could barely keep up with the hand manufacturing of a title or two, we entered the realm of replication and distribution. So it was very grassroots and born of the digital revolution.”
His debut album, entitled Portland, Oregon, kicked off the label’s present success of defining and embodying the new Portland sound. Some of the label’s current up-and-coming “folk and roots artists” include singer/songwriters Laura Gibson, Kele Goodwin and Run on Sentence. Portland’s well-known band The Decemberists recorded their debut album, Castaways and Cutouts with HUSH.
According to Crouch, HUSH Records releases a “swath of music, from folk to indie-rock to electro-acoustic. We tend to be identified with a base of singer/songwriters.” Though the label has a mailing address, they strongly discourage mailed-in demos.
DEMO POLICY:
“With regard to demos, we totally strongly discourage unsolicited mailings. Please, please save your money and time and product. If you’d like us to listen to your music, we prefer a link to some mp3s online or a MySpace page (mp3 files sent as attachments will be regarded as spam). Send submissions to chad@hushrecords.com.”
BONUS MINI DIRECTORY:
OTHER PORTLAND RECORD LABELS
Tender Loving Empire
412 SW 10th Ave.
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 243-5859
Tender Loving Empire is a record label, retail consignment shop, and screen-printing studio focused on supporting handmade art and music while fostering community exchange.
Artists Include: Typhoon, Radiation City, And And And, Jared Mees & The Grown Children
Made In China Records
P.O. BOX 10608
Portland, OR 97296
Made In China Records provides limited run, high quality vinyl and other mediums for people to gawk at and be liberated by.
Artists Include: White Orange, Black Pussy, The Ro Sham Bo’s, Empty Space, Orchestra
Kill Rock Stars
107 SE Washington St. Suite 155
Portland, OR 97214
KRS’s mission is to continue putting out exceptional records by important artists, and their tradition of being queer-positive, feminist, and artist-friendly continues as well.
Artists Include: The Decemberists, Deerhoof, Boats, Forbidden Friends, Horse Feathers
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