130701/FAT CAT

130701 – an imprint of FatCat Records – has come to embody incredibly graceful and evocative music with a huge emotional weight. It is currently home to some of the most recognisable names in the broad-reaching post-classical field.

Set up on July 13th 2001 (hence the label’s superficially cryptic name) for the release of the first Set Fire To Flames record ‘Sings Reign Rebuilder’, the pioneering 130701 imprint has since grown to encompass a highly influential, high quality stable of artists operating at the cutting edge of the modern classical genre – utilising traditional orchestration often coupled with more abstract sounds and approaches: field recordings, radio static and various methods of digital and analogue signal processing. Not to limit the sonic palette, guitars, drums and electronics also make it into the 130701 artists’ mix, culminating in an overall sound that is somehow both eclectic yet coherently unified over the course of our release history.

Initially established as an outlet for Montreal-based Set Fire To Flames (a 13-piece collective featuring members of Godspeed you black emperor!, A Silver Mt Zion, etc), the label has been home to some of the most recognisable names in the broad-reaching post-classical field, having introduced the likes of Max Richter and Hauschka, as well as becoming a home for pianist / composers Dustin O’Halloran, Sylvain Chauveau, and Golden Globe winner / double Oscar nominee Johann Johannsson.

With a sound and identity that is both eclectic yet coherently unified over the course of our release history, 130701 may not have been prolific but has rigorously maintained a seriously high quality control bar from the outset and, as No Ripcord wrote, “has released some of the most important records of the last decade and single-handedly defined the post-classical genre.”

Looking to expand the scope of its repertoire, the signing of a number of new artists – Dmitry Evgrafov, Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, Ian William Craig, Resina, Olivier Alary, Shida Shahabi, Maarja Nuut & Ruum, Clarice Jensen, Yair Elazar Glotman & Mats Erlandsson – and an increase in activity around our 15th anniversary marked an invigorating injection of fresh blood for 130701. 130701 continues to go from strength to strength, being run as a full-time, fully focused concern and with a release schedule busier than at any time in our history. We are supremely proud of both our past and the hugely talented current roster.

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