| Free Music Production (FMP) | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Jost Gebers |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Location | Berlin |
| Official website |
www |
Free Music Production (FMP) is a German record label that specialises in free jazz.
Origins
FMP originated from the New Artists Guild, which was an informal cooperative of musicians in the mid-1960s. [1] In 1968, The New Artists Guild sponsored the Total Music Meeting, a festival that presented different forms of music from those performed at the Berliner Jazztage. [1] The name FMP was adopted the following year and the group "began operating as a cooperative venture under the administrative guidance of a former double bass player, Jost Gebers [...] At some point the operation of FMP transferred from the cooperative to Gebers alone." [1]
Company activities
The label's first release was Manfred Schoof's European Echoes. [2] Specialising in free jazz from the beginning, [1] FMP soon released recordings by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, bassist Peter Kowald and drummer Detlef Schönenberg. [2]
The collective ended in 1976 and Gebers, who was running the company part-time, decided to found a sub-label, SAJ, with drummer Sven-Ake Johansson. [2] This concentrated on experimental and avant-garde music, releasing recordings by musicians such as Hugh Davies, Heiner Goebbels- Alfred Harth and Yoshi Wada. [2] In the late 1980s, SAJ was discontinued and CD releases were numbered from CD 1. [1]
A lot of FMP's releases have been recordings of concert performances, including those that it organised. [2] In 1988 FMP recorded Cecil Taylor in Berlin '88, an 11-CD, award-winning collection. [1] According to Grove, "Vinyl stock was deleted in 1992". [1]
In 2000 FMP-Publishing became the new owner of FMP, but a legal battle ensued between Gebers and the new group. [2] In 2007, he returned to being in charge of the label. [2] Some albums have been reissued by other labels, which include Intakt Records and Atavistic Records. [2] In its first 40 years, FMP released "over 200 LPs and around 140 CDs". [2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Kernfeld, Barry (2003). "FMP (Free Music Production)". Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J153400.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Allen, Clifford (25 December 2009). "FMP Records: A Snapshot of German Jazz History". allaboutjazz. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
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