Nitrous Oxide Records

About

([For submitters]: Please use this entry for releases listing "N2O Records," with corresponding Notes to reflect how the label appears.) Nitrous Oxide Records, also known as N2O Records and Charged N2O/Nitrous Oxide Entertainment (since 2006), is an American independent label established in 1997 by Nate "N8LOC" Shimizu and based in Los Angeles, California. It has been on hiatus for over five years, with the latest digital-only release, [r=27978453], published in August 2017, and a short-lived "N2O Custom Dubplate Campaign" series of limited-edition 10" acetates in 2014. (The official website's URL, n2orecords.com, is most likely still controlled by the owner as it currently redirects to the Wikipedia page about the label.) An associated Freeburning Rekkid Shoppe ran on Melrose Avenue in LA until the early 2010s, with many N2O releases pressed with "Freeburning" center labels advertising the shop. The label extensively collaborated with Japanese hip-hop, electronic, and rock artists since the mid-2000s, such as DJ Baku, Bomb Factory (3), and Uzumaki, with some albums and EPs pressed in Japan only. The N2O's exclusive distributors were The Orchard (USA), Entertainment One (Canada), Ultra-Vibe, Inc. (Japan), and Cargo (UK/Europe). N2O Records began as a DJ-oriented label with its inaugural [r=655087] CD/12" EP compilation featuring underground breakbeat, jungle, drum & bass, and hardcore LA producers. In the early days, Nitrous Oxide primarily continued with 12" EPs and singles, including many turntablism/DJ-tool releases. The label gradually adopted a broader range of genres and released several prolific artists, most notably, the 2006 debut solo album by Slipknot's DJ/keyboardist, Sid Wilson, under his DJ Starscream alias, 178430 CD/LP, and one of the solo albums by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta fame, 113770 CD/2×LP. (The fourth part of Omar's "Amsterdam series," Calibration became his second and the highest-charting album in the US at the time, peaking at 29 on Billboard's "Top Heatseekers" chart.) The company signed a deal with Sony Music Records/gr8! records in 2006, becoming an exclusive US promoter for the Japanese band Boom Boom Satellites.