Matador

Matador began in New York in 1989, when Chris Lombardi brought the Austrian duo H.P. Zinker into Wharton Tiers’ Fun City studio to make the label’s first release, ...and there was light. Initially run from Lombardi’s apartment, the label’s early roster included Dustdevils, Railroad Jerk and Superchunk. Gerard Cosloy, formerly a manager at Homestead Records, joined Lombardi in 1990.

Matador’s early profile grew with its North American release of Teenage Fanclub’s A Catholic Education. It became a U.S. home for Pavement, Liz Phair and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, while working with artists including Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Cornelius, Solex, Pizzicato Five, Helium and the Arsonists. The label’s output has never stayed within a single strain of guitar music: its catalog also makes room for electronic, hip-hop and experimental records alongside singer-songwriters and rock bands.

The label has also brought international artists to North American listeners through licensing arrangements, including Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Boards of Canada, Red Snapper and Arab Strap. Matador opened separate London offices in 1996, handling promotion, sales and marketing for Matador releases in Europe, while licensing recordings by artists such as M. Ward, Sleater-Kinney, Modest Mouse and Superchunk.

During the 1990s, Matador entered partnerships with Atlantic and Capitol Records. Lombardi and Cosloy bought back Capitol’s 49 percent share in 1999. In 2002, Beggars Group Ltd. acquired 50 percent of the legal entities behind Matador Records and assumed worldwide marketing responsibilities.

Based in New York City, Matador’s current artist community reflects the label’s wide musical reach. Its roster includes the art-rock duo Water From Your Eyes, London group bar italia, Chicago’s Lifeguard, Kim Gordon, DARKSIDE, Car Seat Headrest, Mdou Moctar and Perfume Genius. The common thread is less a fixed style than a longstanding commitment to artists whose work can move between noise, songcraft, electronic texture, experimental production and independent rock.