ARTISTRY & DISTINCTION IN RECORD-MAKING
SINCE 1980
A UNIQUE LABEL FOR UNIQUE MUSIC
Founded in 1980 by musician and letterpress artist Bruce Licher, Independent Project Records (IPR) and its sister entity Independent Project Press are known for their instantly recognizable hand-printed record and CD packages for bands including Savage Republic, Scenic, Camper Van Beethoven, R.E.M., For Against, Stereolab and more. In 1987, Licher was nominated for a Grammy Award for best album package for his work on Echelons, the debut album from For Against. In late 2020 Licher teamed up with new partner Jeffrey Clark to relaunch the label, creating new and archival releases from the best of the creative underground of the past four decades. With physical & digital distribution by Darla Records, IPR is bringing it's distinctive aesthetic to a wide array of fresh and memorable sounds. Independent Project Records is presently based in the downtown Arts District of the remote Eastern Sierra town of Bishop, California.
There aren't many compilations that highlight the best of a label's catalog and let you know what the label will become. Source both surveys the history of Independent Project Records and gives you a taste of what's in store as IPR prepares to relaunch with an extensive series of reissues and digs through the archives. Sure there are cuts by some of California's leading bands of the late twentieth century who blended post-punk, psychedelia, and atmospheric soundscapes, like Shiva Burlesque, Red Temple Spirits, the Ophelias, and IPR head Bruce Licher's groups Savage Republic and Scenic. Yet there are also acts working at the edge of rock and experimental trance music who never found a big alternative audience. And there are even goodies by icons who haven't previously issued music on Independent Project, like David J of Bauhaus & Love And Rockets...
our latest release
october releases
HALF STRING
A Fascination With Heights
Half String’s A Fascination With Heights gets a special reissue treatment by Independent Project Records with this newly remastered and expanded version of the band’s first and only full-length release. Filled with beautiful melodies and harmonies, alternately hard-edged and chiming guitars, Heights reveals Half String at their peak in 1995 churning out well crafted songs and their brand of ‘beautiful noise’. Jack Rabid, writing in The Big Takeover has said, "'Shell Life' and especially 'Departures' set Half String off as the finest from the pack of American bands who've heard their share of U.K. post-Valentine pop-noises...
SCENIC
Incident At Cima
"Incident at Cima" is the debut album from SCENIC, the group formed by SAVAGE REPUBLIC and IPR founder Bruce Licher. Conceived of as an all-instrumental soundtrack for the East Mojave Desert, Licher is joined by former SHIVA BURLESQUE bassist James Brenner and drummer Brock Wirtz, with guest musicians Jeffrey Clark (SHIVA BURLESQUE vocalist), Robert Loveless (former SAVAGE REPUBLIC and 17 PYGMIES member), Chris Manecke (from the ABECEDARIANS) and John Ganem...
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