|
Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by John Fahey in the late 1950s.〔(Hoffman, Frank. ''The Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound, Volume 1. CRC Press. 2005'' ) Retrieved December 2009.〕 It was named after Fahey's hometown, the Washington, D.C. suburb of Takoma Park, Maryland. ==History== Takoma Records began with a custom pressing of 100 copies of ''John Fahey/Blind Joe Death'', an album of his own guitar playing released by John Fahey around 1959.〔According to ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', First Edition (1979), "there were only ninety-five copies of the record available for distribution." The ''Guide'' assigns the record 5 stars out of 5.〕 He had no distribution and sold the pressing mainly to friends, and at music parties. A copy of this record recently sold on eBay for several thousand dollars. John moved to Berkeley, California, and the label was really launched when John rediscovered the country bluesman, Bukka White. With Eugene "ED" Denson, John drove to Memphis and the pair produced Bukka's first recording in 23 years. Later in 1963 they released it, as well as John's second album of his own music. Independent labels were a novelty at that period in American musical history, but gradually in the next several years word spread about the music. At the same time independent "folk music" labels like Rounder were springing up, and establishing distribution systems. The content of the Takoma label expanded to include other guitarists, such as Robbie Basho, and other types of folk music. ''Contemporary Guitar'', a compilation recorded in 1966 and featuring artists John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Bukka White, Max Ochs, and Harry Taussig, displays Takoma's interest in diverse acoustic-guitar styles, from plantation blues to raga. At the same time the label ventured into the avant-garde with ''The Psychedelic Saxophone of Charlie Nothing''. Acoustic guitar music, especially that of John Fahey, remained the mainstay of the label. Around 1967, Denson moved to full-time management of the rock band Country Joe and the Fish and John became the sole owner of Takoma.〔(''Double Fantasy Label Purchases''. Billboard Magazine. October 14, 1995. ) Retrieved December 2009.〕 He moved the label and himself to Los Angeles, where he was studying for his Masters degree at UCLA under D.K. Wilgus. Leo Kottke's ''6 and 12-String Guitar'' became a surprise hit and the profits funded an expansion of the label which now had a staff. In 1970 Jon Monday joined the label, first as Promotion Manager, and working his way up to General Manager. The label grew as progressive radio stations played new releases by Fahey and other Takoma artists. In 1973 Charlie Mitchell became Takoma's president. Takoma was one of the founding companies of NAIRD - the National Association of Independent Record Distributors. Fahey had started a new genre of guitar music, known later as American Primitivism, which comprised traditional fingerpicking steel string guitar techniques applied to neo-classical compositions. The Takoma label showcased such music; its roster included Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, Mike Auldridge, Robbie Basho, Max Ochs, and already famous Mississippi bluesman Bukka White. George Winston released his first album on Takoma and Mike Bloomfield released several solo albums on the label. American composer and electronic music pioneer Joseph Byrd released three records in 1975-76 on Takoma, which were co-produced by Jon Monday. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Takoma Records」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|