Play/Rec

Play/Rec discography

Play/Rec Logo HiRes (Black On White)
Play/Rec Logo HiRes (White On Black)

Play/Rec is an independent record label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. We have been around since 2001 and have 24 releases behind us by now.

Play/Rec started out as a collective of musicians from the bands Barra Head, Menfolk, The Unit and The Violet Hour who supported each other and helped each other set up gigs, festivals and even run a monthly club in Copenhagen.

As the label grew larger it became necessary to restructure. Hence, whilst keeping very much in touch with the independent scene we emerged from, Play/Rec has become a professional entity run by four people with experience from many different sides of the music business.

Play/Rec’s musical profile, if pressed to pin it down, follows two main paths. One focuses on melodic and poetic indie rock, the other on hard-hitting, angular rock.

The Play/Rec roster consists primarily of Danish acts such as Barra Head, Lack, Menfolk, The Violet Hour and The Unit. However as of lately we’ve managed to attract established international artists such as American lo-fi prodigy Mount Eerie (Microphones), Canadian folk rocker Greg MacPherson and Sweden’s fine indie rockers Hell on Wheels.

In Play/Rec we strive to promote quality music every way we can. That is why, beside releasing records, we also organize the monthly Club Play/Rec in the legendary Copenhagen venue Huset i Magstræde and why we’ve set up the annual Vibration indie festival in venues all over Denmark. A welcome side effect of these enterprises is an ever-growing network of musicians, promoters, journalists, zines and record labels.

The main goal of our collective effort in Play/Rec is to further the opportunity for music lovers to get their hands on interesting music that would not reach them under the usual circumstances. This goes for the records we release ourselves as well as the records we distribute.

We collaborate with other small independent labels on the distribution of their releases in Denmark and the distribution of our releases in their respective countries. These labels are run by people who, like us, have started releasing records as a way of documenting and exposing interesting or challenging music in their communities. We trade with these labels directly not involving any middle men or distribution firms and this gives us the opportunity to offer their releases at a price level that will hopefully allow the average music lover to take a chance on some of these rare and original releases.