Black Butter Records

History

Black Butter Records started as a home for artists already managed by Stackhouse Management, the company behind Rudimental, Gorgon City, Redlight, and Sub Focus. The label’s first two singles were ‘Lovestruck’ by Man Like Me and ‘Soundclash’ by RackNRuin, a project from Gorgon City’s Matt Robson-Scott that featured a then-unknown Jessie Ware on vocals. To build its name, Black Butter threw club nights and hosted festival stages, putting out mostly singles and EPs. Early on, it was seen as a central hub for British electronic music, touching several sub-genres. The third release, Marco Del Horno v Swerve’s ‘Ho! Riddim’ with P Money, became a YouTube hit and earned cult classic status. Other key early tracks included debut singles from Clean Bandit (‘A+E’), Gorgon City (‘Real’ with Yasmin), and Rudimental (‘Deep In The Valley’ with MC Shantie). A year later, Rudimental’s ‘Spoons’, featuring a young MNEK and Syron, started getting daytime radio play. Rudimental signed with Atlantic/Asylum through Black Butter, and the label’s big mainstream moment came in 2012 with ‘Feel the Love’, featuring John Newman. That track became the label’s first UK number one and helped push Rudimental’s debut album Home to platinum status, spending ten weeks at the top of the UK Dance Chart and landing at number 17 on the year-end chart. In a 2014 Music Week interview, co-founder Henry credited investor and mentor Roger Ames for helping the label navigate the industry and grow. In April 2014, Gorgon City’s ‘Ready For Your Love’, featuring MNEK, reached number two on the UK Dance Chart and number four on the UK Singles Chart, ending the year at number 59. Their debut album Sirens, released that October, hit number one on the UK Dance Chart and number ten on the UK Albums Chart, earning Gold certification. In November 2014, Black Butter became a standalone label under Sony Music UK, sitting alongside RCA, Columbia, and Sony CMG. Founders Henry and Joe were named co-presidents, with Nick Worthington leading A&R. Sony UK CEO Jason Iley called Black Butter the most exciting label to emerge in the previous five years.