Second City Recordings: The Next Frontier of Chicago House

By Jake Guidry in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 18, 2011 6:00PM

Starting a record label, much less one that will be successful, is a hard task in today's musical landscape. We've all heard the doom and gloom stories, accounts of techno-piracy wreaking havoc on independent musicians looking to make a living. To be successful in this altered landscape, there has to be more to a record label than simply releasing music, and Second City Recordings, Chicago's latest House music label, aims to do just that.

Second City Records was started by Garrett Shrigley and Lee Dunn, otherwise known as Adulture and Ghosts of Venice. It was started as a response to being "inundated with a lot of music that we didn't really identify with," Shrigley says. "The music filling clubs today doesn't seem to have the same timeless qualities, and labels releasing it seem to have relaxed the barriers to entry. The artists that get a spot on the [first] release along side us have worked very hard and make exceptional music; we want to make sure that we will consistently deliver a superior product."

But SCR are delivering more than just a "product". The debut release, Second City Recordings Vol. 1: Livin' for the City, features cuts from Second City Rhythm (Adulture & Ghosts of Venice), Maxime F, JNL, Black Madonna, Alec Carlsson, Broke One and Ridney, in a vinyl format that many independent labels have shied away from. "We think that there's more to a release than can be conveyed in an mp3 file," says Shrigley. "We've spent a lot of time making sure that all aspects of our label are perfect and finding the right music was only one piece of the puzzle. We believe that the experience of tangible, physical content, combined with stunning art and design cannot be matched by any other format."

There are, of course, struggles with maintaining a vinyl label, most of which relate to money. Pressing vinyl is not a cheap route for releasing music, and it's why SCR decided to seek funding through Kickstarter, a funding platform for creative projects all over the world. So far the project has seen positive results, and is already beyond 75% of its goal with almost two months left to go. With such a solid stable of artists, this is no surprise.

Second City Records will be throwing a launch party next month to help raise money and celebrate their imminent success. Second City Rhythm will headline, with support from Black Madonna, Jake+Andrew, Adam Rowse, Michael Serafini, and Kid Color.