Violette Records
(pronounced: vee-oh-LET reh-kords)
/viˈəˌlɛt ˈrɛkərdz/
Noun
The independent record label operating between Liverpool and Paris since 2013, specialising in the release of music that prioritises artistic integrity over commercial expedience. Characterised by patient development of artists' visions and an emphasis on the transformative relationship between sound and listener. See also: slow resistance, accidental communion, beautiful obscurity.
There’s something quietly perverse about hunting for meaning in the era of infinite content. Like searching for a single grain of sand while being buried, over and over, in an avalanche. Still, many of us keep at it, in this odd ritual of listening for signals in the noise, curating absence rather than presence, holding a space where something real might surface.
Culture’s new industrial setting treats art as product, and artists as content providers to manage. But in certain corners, a different practice endures. One that steps back. One that notices when something true vibrates under the surface. Where the silence between notes can carry as much weight as the notes themselves. Where what’s left unsaid speaks loudest.
We’re being conditioned to consume, not commune. But sometimes, the right sound slips past our filters. Music that doesn’t seek to entertain, but to recognise us. That stops us mid-scroll with the uncanny sensation that we’ve been named in a letter we were never supposed to read. Those moments still happen. Still matter. Even now.
Matt Lockett
Violette Records is a Liverpool and Paris-based record label run by Matt Lockett, Pascal Blua and PJ Smith. Since 2013, we've operated on the simple belief that music and art matter to both the people who make it and the people who experience it.
We work with artists whose approach makes sense to us, then we get out of their way. Our role is to provide the space for great music to happen without interference.
Contributors
Risha Alimchandani, Rob Allen, Chris Anderson, Théophile Armani, Arthur Arnold, Stéphane Auzenet, Stephen Beckwith, Marc Bessant, Paul Birtill, Gerry Braiden, Dan Brownrigg, Peter Buck, David Butcher, Darcie Chazen, Sam Christie, Iain Conroy, Carl Cook, Kira Courtney, Tim Cunningham, Darcie and Sian, Tim Davidson, Andy Diagram, Matthieu Dufour, Philippe Dufour, John Edge, Carl Egger, Nick Ellis, Matteo Fernandes, Paul Fitzgerald, Andy Frizzell, Jane Gallagher, Toria Garbutt, Chris Geddes, David Glover, Matthieu Grunfeld, Austen Harris, Charlie McKeon, Austen Harris, Mark "Harry" Harris, Joanne Head, Michael Head, Michael Holcroft, Jon Humphreys, Rachel Jack, Simon James, Arvin Johnson, John Johnson, Stevie Jones, Eimear Kavanagh, Tim Keegan, Gilles de Kerdrel, Stuart Kidd, Jake Kyle, Lindsay Jamieson, Chris Latham, James Leesley, Fred LeFalher, Martha Lockett, David Lovenbury, Anne Lundon, Simon Mason, Mary McCombs, Jim McCulloch, Raymond McGinley, Dave McGowan, Kevin McGuinness, , Iain “Skinnie” McFarlane, Brian McHenry, Gordon McNeil, Mark McNulty, Matthew McPartlan, Danny Murphy, Gary “Bandit” Murphy, Phil Murphy, Vicky Mutch, Pete Paphides, Alex Pester, Briony Powell, Steve Powell, Tom Powell, Ed Rimmer, Tom Roberts, Sophie Rocks, Dan Rogers, Lee Rogers, Jess Rose, All the good people of Shacknet, Nick Sharp, Anna Sheard, Rod Skipp, Martin Smith, Sarah Spoor, Adam Stearns, Brian Sweeney, Jamie Taylor, Sarah Thomas, Karina Townsend, Louis Teyssedou, Yves Tronet, Eddie Wigin, David Wiggins, Peter Wilkinson, Alan Williams, Nina Windsor-Roe, Angela Yates and John Canning Yates.