Hefty Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois (United States). Founded in 1995 by John Hughes III,[1][2] the label releases records in a range of genres that include post-rock, IDM, down-tempo, nu jazz, experimental music, and hip-hop.
History
Hefty Records was formed by John Hughes with Dan Snazelle as a way of releasing Hughes' own music.[2][3] Hughes, the son of filmmaker John Hughes, had been interested in music since his youth, but had initially been more interested in record production than in creating music of his own.[4] The label was formed in 1995 while Hughes was a college student, and was originally set up in his dorm room.[5] Hughes chose the label name because, as he put it, "I liked it because it sounded optimistic. And it had a conquering tone to it."[6]
The first label's releases were of Hughes's own work as Slicker just after the breakup of his previous band Bill Ding.[6] Hefty began the Immediate Action series in 2000, a collection intended to consist of six vinyl records. The sleeves were created by the Brooklyn graphics company Graphic Havoc. In 2005, the label hosted a live concert in Chicago and released two volumes of compilation and remix material from artists on the label, titled History is Bunk: Collaborations, Reinterpretations and New Compositions.[7] Their last release was in 2010.
Artists
- Victor Bermon
 - Phil Cohran
 - Euphone
 - Ghosts and Vodka
 - L'Altra
 - Eliot Lipp
 - Plus Device
 - Prefuse 73
 - Radicalfashion
 - Phil Ranelin
 - Retina.IT
 - Savath and Savalas
 - Slicker
 - Smaze
 - Samadha
 - Solo Andata
 - Some Water and Sun
 - Spanova
 - Telefon Tel Aviv
 - T. Raumschmiere
 - Twine (band)
 
Compilation albums
- Immediate Action series of 9 EP's
 - Hefty's 10th Anniversary series of 4 albums
 
References
- ↑ Kamp, David (10 February 2010). "David Kamp on John Hughes". Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
 - 1 2 Hefty Records: Looking to the Future. XLR8R, September 29, 2005.
 - ↑ "Hefty Records". Chicago Music.
 - ↑ John Hughes Iii: Hefty Is His Bag. Chicago Tribune, May 2, 2004.
 - ↑ A NIGHT OUT WITH: John Hughes III; The Whole Menagerie. The New York Times, May 16, 2004.
 - 1 2 Label Oral Histories: Hefty Records. Stop Smiling, October 23, 2006.
 - ↑ The Interview: John Hughes III, Hefty Records Archived 2017-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. Chicagoist, May 22, 2006.
 
External links