About

Ultimately, the point of a record label is to share exciting new music with the world. Yet few record labels have taken that purpose and turned it into a culture-transforming philosophy like Rough Trade.

Getting fresh, new sounds to listeners was the clear impetus behind the label’s first incarnation as a record shop which opened its doors in London in 1976. With an unrivalled selection of alternative music for sale and inspired by City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco which encouraged customers to hang out as much as they did to buy, it was not long before the unique culture that formed around the Ladbroke Grove store drove Rough Trade’s founder Geoff Travis to no longer wait for other people to sign his favourite artists and instead release himself.

At the forefront of musical innovation – often inspiring its own future signings by getting exciting music into the ears of people who would go on to make their own – since 1978 Rough Trade has constantly been at the creative vanguard.

Still run by Travis, in partnership since the 1980s with Jeannette Lee – herself an artist, she has ensured creativity and forward-thinking has been at the heart of the label’s outlook – though an independent, Rough Trade has been responsible for releasing a host of albums that have truly changed the world.

A home as much to Augustus Pablo as The Smiths, Robert Wyatt and The Raincoats, while overseeing the era-defining debuts of Scritti Politti, The Libertines, Arcade Fire, Alabama Shakes and The Strokes, Rough Trade’s track record is remarkable.

More impressive than this artistic breadth and innovation though, is the fact that as it enters its fourth decade the label’s focus remains on forging the future. ANOHNI, Sleaford Mods, Amyl & The Sniffers, Lisa O’Neill, Gilla Band, Dean Blunt, Soak, Jockstrap, caroline, Parquet Courts, Lankum and Pulp represent just a small selection of the artists currently creating exciting new music with Rough Trade, while Scritti Politti have returned to the label to over see their creative legacy and collaborate on their future.

Meanwhile demonstrating this continuing desire to embrace and nurture new sounds, My New Band Believe have just introduced the world to their kaleidoscopic musical universe through the label; the sweet vocals and deep melodies of Tyler Ballgame’s album For The First Time, Again, are charming audiences around the globe; while Lankum’s Radie Peat is taking her first steps as a solo artist with Rough Trade. With sub-label River Lea focusing on more folk-infused artists since 2017, the likes of John Francis Flynn and Ye Vagabonds are making records that sit at the vanguard of this ever-evolving genre.

“The music has always been our priority,” explains Jeannette and Geoff. “The most exciting record is always the one you’re about to work on with an artist, because until the recording process is finished, it really can really be anything. To be able to help bring something totally brand new into existence, to turn someone’s artistic vision into something tangible, is what a record label is all about.”