Barsuk

Headquarters: Seattle, WA

Founded: 1994

Founded by: This Busy Monster

Link: http://www.barsuk.com/

Genre(s): Indie-Rock, Indie-Pop

Active Roster

• Aqueduct
• Aveo
• Death Cab For Cutie
• The Long Winters
• Travis Morrison
• Nada Surf
• Rilo Kiley
• Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter
• They Might Be Giants
• John Vanderslice
• Rocky Votolato

Inactive Roster

• All-Time Quarterback
• Abigail Grush
• Jessamine
• Kind of Like Spitting
• Little Champions
• Pea Soup
• The Prom
• The Revolutionary Hydra
• Sunset Valley
• This Busy Monster

Key Releases

• Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
• John Vanderslice - Time Travel is Lonely
• Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous

History

Starting your own label to release your personal band's material (which, for some reason or another, is not being released by the hundreds of other labels already established) is definitely nothing out of the ordinary in today's DIY culture. Taking that label and using it to release your friends' band's material (whom, along with you, has failed to catch the attention of the many labels already doing this sort of thing... you know, all of them), again, is not too out of the ordinary as well. Having your label continually expand for 10 years into a national success... well yeah, that's slightly odd. Barsuk, which is not pronounced bar-suck, which you have been mentally pronouncing it up to this point, is actually pronounced bar-suke. It is Russian; it means badgers. The fine people at Barsuk are not Russian; nor do they appear to be overgrown badgers. Barsuk happens to be a very lovable black lab/pit-bull mix that can be viewed chewing lovingly on a panicking and utterly confused 7 inch on their website. Are black lab/pit-bull mixes considered badgers in Russia? I do not know, and it is more than likely a very complicated and extensive subject that I should probably not use this platform to divulge into (though I am currently writing my thesis on it). Barsuk, the label, was created in 1994 for the members of This Busy Monster to release their and their friends' music to the Seattle community. It has henceforth grown to release very popular indie-rock and indie-pop to the eager public and has done so successfully by using fairness and a genuine love for the music they represent.