This article was originally published on beingtheremag.com, an independent music and film magazine that ran from 2004 to 2007. It is presented here as part of the Being There Magazine archive.
By Adam Anklewicz | Being There Magazine, September 2004
Belle & Sebastian, Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Liz Phair, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Pavement, Neko Case, Guided By Voices, Khan, Spoon and Mogwai. What do all these artists have in common? At one point or another they were part of the Matador catalogue. But this list only scratches the surface of Matador’s history. Though now partially owned by Beggars Group, Matador is running independently and releasing incredible music.
Matador, a label that primarily focuses on releasing rock and pop acts, has over the past 15 years made a career of supporting unknown artists. During that process they are helping these musicians mature into some of the best rock and roll acts seen in recent years. Based in New York City, Matador has helped local acts as well as other international acts. Matador has been the American home to such international acts as Boards Of Canada, while Matador Europe, based in London, has licensed American artists like Sleater-Kinney for European distribution.
H.P. Zinker was the first act to call Matador Records home. He was signed by Chris Lombardi, who started the label, in 1989. Together they released an E.P. called …And There Was Light, featuring guitar, bass and a drum machine. The release crossed many genres including metal and folk. At this point, Matador has been releasing music outside of the mainstream for 15 years. “We’ll sign someone from Mars if we like their music enough,” Matador says in their website’s F.A.Q. Music being a universal medium, Matador has taken an eclectic approach to its catalogue. Matador has promoted modern punk acts such as Pretty Girls Make Graves, experimental pop such as Matmos, and power pop acts like The New Pornographers.
Yo La Tengo is one of Matador’s biggest acts, signing to the label for their 6th album. 1993’s Painful is considered by many to be one of their best. Having been on the label for over a decade, Yo La Tengo doesn’t look like they’re slowing down any time soon.
In 1996, when very few people had heard the name Belle & Sebastian, Matador licensed the North American release of their second album, If You’re Feeling Sinister. Belle & Sebastian were able to gain a loyal following which paid off for Matador when they hit it big with their album The Boy With The Arab Strap two years later.
Matador is about to release a double disc set retrospective of some of the music they have released over the past 15 years. Their back catalogue and current roster is extremely impressive and offers a refuge for music lovers of all kinds.