Arcade Fire

City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1990 by former tour agent Christof Ellinghaus, exclusively to release The Flaming Lips’ In A Priest Driven Ambulance . With bands The Lemonheads, Das Damen, and Yo La Tengo also looking for a label to... release their 1990 albums, City Slang became, almost by chance, a home for US bands looking to bring their music to the European market, principally the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and Benelux. Over the past 22 years, City Slang has grown into an extensive and varied catalogue with releases ranging from veteran acts to up-and-coming favourites. It is now home to several European acts, but Its focus on US- and Canada-based acts remains, maintaining its established relationship with several key North American independent labels. On 1st October 2011, the label expanded into the French market with the inception of City Slang France.
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Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk and early post punk bands such as Buzzcocks and Desperate Bicycles, Travis began to... manage acts and distribute bands such as Scritti Politti and began the label, which was informed by left-wing politics and structured as a co-operative. Soon after, Rough Trade also set up a distribution arm that serviced independent retail outlets across Britain, a network that became known as the Cartel. Interest and investment of major labels in the UK indie scene in the late 1980s, as well as overtrading on behalf of Rough Trade's distribution wing, led to cash flow problems, and eventually to bankruptcy, forcing the label into receivership. However, Travis resurrected the label in the late 90s, finding success with The Libertines, The Strokes and Antony and the Johnsons. Rough Trade began as a record shop, opened by Geoff Travis on Kensington Park Road, West London, in February 1976.
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