DFA Records

08/21/2024

Pre-order and listen: https://lnk.to/bellhead

If you don’t already, know that DFA owes a not insignificant debt to Liquid Liquid. The music they released on 99 Records across the early to mid-80s is as core to our double helix as New York City and the OCR-A font. To us, they are perfect.

The nerds remember that a DFA-produced, torrentially-fast version of their song “Bellhead” appeared on Compilation 2 back in 2005. It’s an all-timer percussion workout, bursting at the seams with marimba, drums, and bells, like the slacker train sound funk of the original went off the rails.

It’s always felt slightly overlooked on that mammoth comp and deserved a proper 12” release for the hordes that buy those things, but we didn’t really have anything to go with it. Domino had already released a compilation and series of remixes back in 2008, not to mention the work done by Mo’Wax and Grand Royal in the 90s preaching the Liquids gospel.

Then one day the band (amazingly, friends for years! they opened for LCD at MSG!) sent us an instrumental version of Optimo (the DJs’) remix of “Optimo” (the song). It wasn’t released in that collection of Domino remixes for whatever reason, and with the absence of the vocal and the presence of a commanding trumpet solo, it perfectly filled that gap in our dreams.

So here they are: two a-sides from one of our all-time favorite bands in a sleeve designed by Liquids bassist and esteemed graphical artist Richard McGuire, finally on DFA.

“Bellhead / Optimo (Remix)” is out worldwide October 5.

08/09/2024

London, we love you and we’ve missed you and we’re finally coming back for something official. LCD Soundsystem headlines a big day of music at Victoria Park on 23 August for All Points East and we’re on for an after party at the nearby MOTH CLUB. Mermaid Chunky plays live and the almighty Idjut Boys DJ. Doors at 11PM and it’ll go late, as it does. Presale exclusively for APE ticket holders begins on Monday 12 August at 6PM BST - grab tickets for the full journey here: http://allpointseastfestival.com/events/lcd-soundsystem-23-august/

General onsale is Tuesday 13 August. Art for all these shenanigans by LCD’s Nick Millhiser.

07/16/2024

San Francisco, come slide away with us as we operate "Devon Turnbull’s HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 2" at SFMOMA San Francisco Museum of Modern Art this Thursday and Friday. We are bringing selections from the furthest reaches of our catalog and beyond and Stuart Bogie is going to play his album “Morningside” live a few times throughout each day. Wigs will be flipped. Hours below and tickets at: https://tickets.sfmoma.org/tickets

THURSDAY JULY 18 12-8PM PDT
FRIDAY JULY 19 10AM-5PM PDT

06/26/2024

Indeed "their music could expand your brain or rearrange all its compartments entirely." Mermaid Chunky in the NME.

Freya Tate and Moina Moin's malleability and freewheeling spirit won over LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, who signed them to DFA Records

06/18/2024

Thursday.

06/13/2024

We aren’t in our coffee table book era yet, but there is a new tome from our old pal and photographer Tim Soter tracing the early years of this enterprise. Titled simply “DFA Records: The Early Years” it contains photos of the early gang - the studio, the parties, the shows, the office, the emails, the characters. It’s a sweet, insightful document of that era, carefully curated and printed by Tim like we make records (independently, from a really high quality press). You can see some selections here, and we have copies for sale at the store with a bonus 4x6” C-Print.

https://dfarecords.com/products/dfa-records-the-early-years-by-tim-soter?variant=43778204663977

05/31/2024

Sometimes you press records just because you want them for yourself.

“I’m Hot For Your Body” burned a sizable hole in our brains when we first heard it. That creeping, grinding sound - disco blues, we guess - really lingers. John Greek was a prolific musician from the Pacific Northwest who had already passed to the other side by the time we heard this track, but we managed to get permission from his estate to reissue it and save it from the lofi wasteland of YouTube. It’s now been remastered and recut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service and features a 9-minute, even more unhinged version by Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold on the b-side.

(Those guys, by the way - Gerry Rooney of Black C**k fame and Joel Martin of Quiet Village - were responsible for that initial listen via a bootleg edit they released in 2015.)

Limited to 300 copies worldwide, digital out forever.

https://lnk.to/johngreek

05/16/2024

Seattle, we’re coming in mob handed. (Might as well after all this time?) You already heard about Sunday’s after party finale with the LCDJs, but we are also hosting a few DFA extracurriculars on Saturday. First, an in-store session at Street Records in West Seattle from 1-3PM, where we’ll have some limited run shirts (like, 40 total) and a whole bunch of records for sale. Then after the gig that night, we’ll keep going at Rich Rich in Queen Anne, which is hidden down a little alleyway. Music at both from me, human who runs label, and both are free.99.

05/10/2024

There have been many DFA mugs over the years. The ones we keep using in the office are these tulip-shaped ones that are about 5.75oz / 170ml, perfect for a milky espresso drink somewhere in the cortado/flat white/capuccino zone. Took us awhile to find a place still making and branding them, but alas, they are here...again.

https://dfarecords.com/products/dfa-mug?variant=44097150746793

02/23/2024

Mind-benders rejoice: today we release the first three albums from Infinity Machine, the new project by one Juan MacLean and Gee Dee. 20 songs and nearly 3 hours of music that nuzzles the warm, liminal space between new age, ambient, drone and psychedelia. Trite to say, but it really is a voyage.

Stream wherever you stream, download wherever you download - it's everywhere. We also have a handful (really, just a handful) of the limited edition cassette versions on the store.

LISTEN/STREAM: http://lnk.to/IMDFAplay
BUY THE CASSETTES: http://lnk.to/IMDFAbuy

Cover art by Litowitz

01/17/2024

Nigh on a year ago, we received a message from Optimo's Jonnie Wilkes with a link to “F. Lux,” the debut album from Naum Gabo, his project with mastering engineer James Savage. We knew Naum Gabo: knew the people, of course, and the tracks that had dribbled out on various 12-inches and labels over 15 or so years. And yet none of that prepared us for the complete annihilation of this record. It’s a deep, towering listen, sat in some liminal space between music concrete, dark ambient, industrial techno and apocalyptic new beat.

We’re very excited to release “F. Lux” on March 8. You can get a taste via the non-album “reversion” of “This 1¨º∆” now. The vinyl is available for pre-order as well.

http://lnk.to/ngdfa1

01/12/2024

The DFA debut from longtime family member JAYSON GREEN also marks the return of the classic DFA 12-inch. “Local Jerk / I Need Love” is out digitally today, vinyl ships on 2/2.

Jay’s sung in a lot of bands. Like, a lot, all with great names. Panthers, Violent Bu****it, Cheeseburger, and, perhaps most canonically, the legendary and soon-to-play-again hardcore band Orchid. He’s always been a smart and hilarious frontman, quick with a withering joke but never quite cynical.

Now leading his own band as JAYSON GREEN & THE JERK (who played their first gig this week to a sold out Baby’s All Right!), he’s delivered us a classic DFA a-side in “Local Jerk,” which sounds like a party because it was recorded during one: tight disco drums, big claps, a neck-rolling baseline, horns, gang vocals. You can literally hear the bottles clinking.

The head trip is the b-side, “I Need Love,” which is a most terrifying, ridiculous piece of nightlife satire dripping in slo-mo electro.

LISTEN/COP THE GEAR: https://lnk.to/localjerk

12/12/2023

The party's over and what a party it was. Hats off to the band, the crew, the venues, the DJs and everyone who came and danced and made these nights special.

Now some leftovers are live and (surprise!) we also have The Long Goodbye back in stock for maximum dream reliving.

https://dfarecords.com

11/17/2023

Boil the energy and interests and attitude of early DFA to its essence and it is the sound of these 47 minutes across two sides. Lightning in a bottle, as they say. Our long overdue repress of The Rapture's "Echoes" is out today worldwide.

Grab a copy: http://lnk.to/puCW1g

11/10/2023

It's taken awhile, but the band is *finally* doing a NYE run. SF, you're in for one (or rather, two).

Tickets on sale at 10AM PST.

https://billgrahamcivic.com/?swpquery=LCD%20Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem
2manydjs
Peaches

11/03/2023

Don’t call him a stalwart, but Marcus Lambkin bka S**t Robot is the true DFA ringer. His new called “5 Songs” is out now. Five deceptively simple and riotously effective tracks for dancefloors real or imagined. It’s like a warm, bleary-eyed group hug from your best friends.

LISTEN/COP VINYL: https://lnk.to/CUxrr4IxFD

New tops are available as well, designed with attention and care by Nick Millhiser.

MERCH: https://dfarecords.com/collections/5-songs

10/31/2023

Raise the alarm, raise the alarm! The video for S**t Robot's "Breathe (Looking At Gibraltar)" is now screening at the DFA YouTube: https://youtu.be/sKLU3MU-iJA

Featuring Suzi Horn
Directed by Tim Saccenti
Creative Direction by Setta Studio

10/27/2023

Today, we finally release "Morningside" by Stuart Bogie, a record we’ve been cherishing privately for a long while that you can now hear. This record came together so naturally and has been like an antidote to our usual cynicism, the moment of zen we need today (after last night’s party) and often (given life).

LISTEN: https://lnk.to/5JkB4PFD