Hefty Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois (United States). Founded in 1995 by John Hughes III,[1][2] the label releases records in a range of genres that include post-rock, IDM, down-tempo, nu jazz, experimental music, and hip-hop.
History
Hefty Records was formed by John Hughes with Dan Snazelle as a way of releasing Hughes' own music.[2][3] Hughes, the son of filmmaker John Hughes, had been interested in music since his youth, but had initially been more interested in record production than in creating music of his own.[4] The label was formed in 1995 while Hughes was a college student, and was originally set up in his dorm room.[5] Hughes chose the label name because, as he put it, "I liked it because it sounded optimistic. And it had a conquering tone to it."[6]
The first label's releases were of Hughes's own work as Slicker just after the breakup of his previous band Bill Ding.[6] Hefty began the Immediate Action series in 2000, a collection intended to consist of six vinyl records. The sleeves were created by the Brooklyn graphics company Graphic Havoc. In 2005, the label hosted a live concert in Chicago and released two volumes of compilation and remix material from artists on the label, titled History is Bunk: Collaborations, Reinterpretations and New Compositions.[7] Their last release was in 2010.
Artists
- Victor Bermon
- Phil Cohran
- Euphone
- Ghosts & Vodka
- L'Altra
- Eliot Lipp
- Plus Device
- Prefuse 73
- Radicalfashion
- Phil Ranelin
- Retina.IT
- Savath and Savalas
- Slicker
- Smaze
- Samadha
- Solo Andata
- Some Water and Sun
- Spanova
- Telefon Tel Aviv
- T. Raumschmiere
Compilation albums
- Immediate Action series of 9 EP's
- Hefty's 10th Anniversary series of 4 albums
References
- ^ Kamp, David. "David Kamp on John Hughes". Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ a b Hefty Records: Looking to the Future. XLR8R, September 29, 2005.
- ^ "Hefty Records". Chicago Music.
- ^ John Hughes Iii: Hefty Is His Bag. Chicago Tribune, May 2, 2004.
- ^ A NIGHT OUT WITH: John Hughes III; The Whole Menagerie. The New York Times, May 16, 2004.
- ^ a b Label Oral Histories: Hefty Records. Stop Smiling, October 23, 2006.
- ^ The Interview: John Hughes III, Hefty Records Archived 2017-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. Chicagoist, May 22, 2006.
External links