25 years’ Old Independant Label from Bloomington USA, Secretly Canadian is a very influential and Popular Record label in the Indie music scene
When brothers Ben and Chris Swanson originally founded Secretly Canadian with two friends, they were in a basement in Bloomington. It was 1996, and their experience, infrastructure and internet connection were all shaky. On one of those early formative days, Jason Molina jammed part of a broken guitar into a maple tree in the Swansons’ backyard. Rather than break the tree or shatter the neck, the maple absorbed this shrapnel, frets and all, patiently forming an unexpected and unlikely totem for Secretly Canadian’s story. Every good next step was a little different, but every one of them started, in some fashion, by asking someone they admired if they’d like to make something together. From the transcendent voice of ANOHNI to the celestial sound of The War on Drugs, the emphatic declarations of serpentwithfeet to the subtle power of Skullcrusher, the dreamy singularity of Whitney and the stark, searing honesty of Jason Molina, Secretly Canadian’s musical legacy is defined, to this day, by otherworldly minds and a Midwestern heart.
Home for Antony and the Johnsons’ first records, now Anohni, The War On Drugs, Cherry Glazerr, Alex Cameron, Whitney, Damien Jurado, Suuns, Richard Swift, Porridge Radio, SerpentWithFeet, Skullcrusher ….
In 2018, Secretly Canadian was listed as #8 on Paste Magazine’s top 10 record labels of 2018. Jagjaguwar was listed as #4 and Dead Ocean was listed as #7.
On June 4th 2021, Secretly Canadian will release the first set of SC25 Editions, a collection of 12 classic Secretly Canadian titles reissued as limited edition LPs with special color variants, physical packages and accompanying essays from artists and writers who love each of the records. The initial installment includes Jens Lekman’s When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog, The War On Drugs’ Wagonwheel Blues, Tig Notaro’s Live and Whitney’s Light Upon the Lake. Future SC25 Editions will arrive in groups of four throughout 2021, and all profits will be donated to New Hope For Families.