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On June 25, Other Music will close its doors after more than twenty years as a global destination for adventurous sounds and a hub of music culture in New York City.
Other Music opened at 15 East 4th St. in Manhattan in December of 1995, a time when underground music was exploding and the East Village was the center of NYC’s musical universe. Founded by Chris Vanderloo, Jeff Gibson (Gibson left the shop in 2001) and Josh Madell, who had together established the original Kim’s Underground music shop on Bleecker St., and staffed by passionate fans who made it their mission to connect open-minded listeners to great music, Other Music soon became a trusted authority for indie rock, electronica, avant-classical, hip-hop, dub, psychedelia, folk, jazz and improvised music, and so much more.
Other Music approached culture as an ongoing conversation, constantly searching out new and innovative sounds. They reviewed thousands of new releases in a standard-setting email Update, which reached close to thirty thousand subscribers weekly. The shop hosted hundreds of intimate in-store shows, including seminal performances by Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith, DJ Shadow, Vampire Weekend, The National, St. Vincent, Courtney Barnett, Mac DeMarco, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, and Tinariwen, to name just a few. They threw some wild parties in NYC and at SXSW in Austin, with artists like Autechre, Jim O’Rourke, Yo La Tengo, The xx, James Blake, Jay Reatard, and many more.
Other Music’s staff has always been the lifeblood of the store, the creative energy that defined its aesthetic. Over the years, the shop has employed so many talented musicians and DJs, including members of Animal Collective, Mountains, Queens, 75 Dollar Bill, EZTV, Nude Beach, Widowspeak, Raspberry Bulbs, Anti-Pop Consortium, Daniel Givens, DJ Duane Harriott, DJ Clay Wilson, DJ Scott Mou, and many more. Other Music staff have gone on to become key players at labels including XL, Captured Tracks, Dead Oceans/Secretly Group, The Orchard, Finders Keepers, Light In The Attic, Ghostly, and Atlantic Records, while others have achieved success in the music industry as publicists, tour managers, and event bookers.
In 2012, in partnership with Fat Possum Records, they launched Other Music Recording Co., to support the same kind of diverse and innovative artists championed at the store. The label has worked with an incredible roster of musicians from across the globe, including Shintaro Sakamoto (Japan), Anna von Hausswolff (Sweden), Monika (Greece), Boogarins (Brazil), Xylouris White (Crete/Australia), Mutual Benefit (U.S.A.), and many others. OMRC will carry on, continuing to support adventurous artists and spreading great music throughout the world.
Other Music is proud to have worked directly with so many talented and visionary artists and labels, and more than anything, for the passionate and thoughtful customers who walked through its doors every day for twenty years. The shop has sold millions of records, won awards and accolades, and hopefully touched more than a few lives. Times change. This business has changed, this city has changed, but records will keep spinning, and they ask only one thing -- that you keep supporting great music, wherever and however you can.
For more information:
josh@othermusic.com
Tel: 212-477-8150
Other Music logo and photo assets here
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