# Babel Label

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{{Short description|English jazz record label}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox record label <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Music -->
| name        = Babel Label
| image       = <!-- logo, such as "LABEL-LOGO.jpg" -->
| founded     = {{start date|1994}}
| founder     = [Oliver Weindling](/source/Oliver_Weindling)
| distributor = <!-- distributors, separate with commas or <br /> -->
| genre       = [Jazz](/source/Jazz)
| country     = UK
| location    = London, England
| url         = {{URL|babellabel.co.uk}}
}}

'''Babel Label''' is a jazz record label founded in 1994 by [Oliver Weindling](/source/Oliver_Weindling) that specialises in [British jazz](/source/British_jazz), particularly the London scene.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://londonjazznews.com/2010/11/09/london-jazz-festival-preview-15-artists-linked-to-the-babel-label/ | title=London Jazz Festival Preview (15) Artists linked to the Babel Label | date=9 November 2010 }}</ref> It released more than 130 recordings in its first 20 years, two of which were nominated for the [Mercury Prize](/source/Mercury_Prize).

==Formation==
Weindling was a banker in England in the 1980s when his interest in jazz expanded beyond a hobby.<ref name="DB" /> He became acquainted with musicians from the British big band [Loose Tubes](/source/Loose_Tubes) and with [Iain Ballamy](/source/Iain_Ballamy) and [Billy Jenkins](/source/Billy_Jenkins_(musician)).<ref name="AAJ" /> Weindling began organising concerts for London musicians and found that CDs were essential to generate publicity.<ref name="NYC" /> In 1994,<ref name="DB">{{cite magazine |last=Margasak |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Margasak |date=May 2014 |title=Babel Records Banks on the Long Term |magazine=[DownBeat](/source/DownBeat) |volume=81 |issue=5 |page=18}}</ref> Motivated by this and by the difficulty of releasing the music that he was interested in, Weindling started the label and named it after the Biblical tower.<ref name="AAJ">{{cite web|last1=Baekgaard|first1=Jakob|title=Babel Label: New Songs from the Tower of Sound|url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/babel-label-new-songs-from-the-tower-of-sound-by-jakob-baekgaard.php|website=[All About Jazz](/source/All_About_Jazz) |accessdate=21 April 2017|date=24 September 2012}}</ref><ref name="NYC" />

==Approach and releases==
Despite being the label's owner and only full-time employee, Weindling does not seek to influence what the musicians play on the label's recordings.<ref name="NYC" /> Although Babel is not formally linked with any studio or recording engineers, it tends to use a small number of each.<ref name="AAJ" />

Babel has released both studio and concert recordings.<ref name="AAJ" /> "Most releases are joint ventures with musicians licensing their recordings to Babel and after-cost profits [are] shared."<ref name="NYC" /> In 2014, all of the label's releases were available on CD and as downloads, with some also available on vinyl.<ref name="NYC" /> In its first two decades, Babel released more than 130 albums.<ref name="NYC">{{cite magazine |last=Waxman |first=Ken |date=January 2014 |title=Babel Label |magazine=[The New York City Jazz Record](/source/The_New_York_City_Jazz_Record) |issue=141 |pages=12, 39 }}</ref>

Babel's catalogue includes albums by Jenkins, [Steve Argüelles](/source/Steve_Arg%C3%BCelles), [Julian Argüelles](/source/Julian_Arg%C3%BCelles), [Huw Warren](/source/Huw_Warren), [Christine Tobin](/source/Christine_Tobin) and [Phil Robson](/source/Phil_Robson).<ref name="AAJ" /> ''Held on the Tips of Fingers'' by [Polar Bear](/source/Polar_Bear_(British_band)) and ''[Knee-Deep in the North Sea](/source/Knee-Deep_in_the_North_Sea)'' by [Portico Quartet](/source/Portico_Quartet) were nominated for the [Mercury Prize](/source/Mercury_Prize).<ref name="AAJ" />

==See also==
*[Lists of record labels](/source/Lists_of_record_labels)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.babellabel.co.uk/ Official site]

{{Authority control}}

Category:British jazz record labels
Category:Record labels established in 1994

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Babel Label](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babel_Label) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babel_Label?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.