Sad news, everyone: Load Records has officially called it quits. “After 24 years of Load Records its time to move on,” states a tweet from the Providence-based label. “Will be contacting bands to arrange next steps. Thanks for a great ride.”
Load’s impact on experimental music — especially on the “noise scene” from the mid-00s — was undeniable, with the label having a particularly heavy, lasting influence on Tiny Mix Tapes. It was, of course, home to TMT favorites Lightning Bolt, but it was also responsible for highly influential, seminal releases by artists ranging from the more well-known (Prurient, Hair Police, Excepter, Yellow Swans) to the lesser-heards (White Suns, Fat Worm of Error, DJ Scotch Egg, Ultralyd), all of whom played a large role in shaping TMT’s tastes and interests.
Load’s final release is, appropriately enough, from Finished, who released Cum Inside Me Bro last year.
Let’s raise a glass to label heads Ben McOsker and Laura Mullen. Then blow out your fucking ears:
More about: Black Pus, DJ Scotch Egg, Excepter, Fat Worm of Error, Friends Forever, Gang Wizard, Hair Police, Khanate, Kites, Metalux, Mindflayer, Neon Hunk, Noxagt, Prurient, Ultralyd, White Suns, Yellow Swans
