Matt Lunsford

Matt Lunsford is the founder and co-owner of Polyvinyl Record Co.,[1] an American independent record label headquartered in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.

Matt Lunsford
Born (1976-11-05) November 5, 1976
Danville, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationCo-founder of Polyvinyl Record Co.
Years active1996-present

Early years

In 1994, while attending high school in Danville, Illinois, Lunsford and his then-girlfriend (now wife) Darcie published a fanzine called Polyvinyl Press.[1] After releasing a pair of 7"s and Direction, a 20-track compilation album documenting the Midwestern D.I.Y. scene, Polyvinyl Press officially transitioned into Polyvinyl Record Co. in 1996.[1] At this point, Lunsford decided to drop out of college (where he had been pursuing an engineering degree) to focus on the label full-time.[2]

As recounted in the book Post: A Look at the Influence of Post-Hardcore 1985-2007, Lunsford's relationship with Polyvinyl's first break-out band, Braid, formed during time spent skateboarding with a couple of the group's members. Lunsford says the DIY ethos of skateboarding "defined my personality."[3]

Career

As of 2015 Polyvinyl had released over 300 albums from over 100 artists under Lunsford's watch.[4]

In 1998 Lunsford became friends with the members of American Football and encouraged the band to record an album.[5] In 1999, Lunsford decided to release their debut full-length even though the band broke up.[6] American Football has gone on to garner considerable acclaim in the time since its release, including a #6 ranking on Rolling Stone's list of the 40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time.[7]

Lunsford has been credited as a producer on two Braid releases - Movie Music Vol. 1 and Movie Music, Vol. 2 - as well as an art director on the 2008 of Montreal album Skeletal Lamping,[8] which was part of the groundbreaking Skeletal Lamping Collection.[9]

In 2009, Lunsford was interviewed for a New York Times article about Kickstarter because Polyvinyl was considered one of the site's "earliest success stories."[10] According to Kickstarter, Polyvinyl's project was the platform's most-funded project for a 57-day period.[11]

In 2014, Lunsford received an executive producer credit for his work on the Montreal feature-length documentary The Past Is a Grotesque Animal, which was released via Oscilloscope Laboratories.[12]

In 2018, Polyvinyl entered into a partnership with Brooklyn-based label Double Double Whammy.[13] DDW co-founder/owner Mike Caridi has been enthusiastic about the pairing, telling Pitchfork "I’ve learned a ton from them. I talk to them pretty much every day—they’re kind of like mentors in a way."[14]

References
  1. "Label History". Polyvinylrecords.com. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  2. "Polyvinyl Records 15 Years with Matt Lunsford and Bob Nanna". Manual Dexterity. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  3. Grubbs, Eric (August 2008). Post: A Look at the Influence of ... - Google Books. ISBN 9780595518357. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  4. Hammershaug, Bjorn (2015-07-30). "Label Focus: Polyvinyl". Tidal. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  5. Goggins, Joe (2016-11-03). "Never Meant". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  6. Galil, Leor (2016-10-26). "American Football: Accidental rock stars". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  7. Exposito, Suzy (2016-03-01). "40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  8. "Matt Lunsford > Credits". allmusic. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  9. Hemerly, Jess (2008-08-26). "Rethinking the Album Release: of Montreal's Skeletal Lamping Collection | Institute For The Future". Iftf.org. Archived from the original on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  10. Wortham, Jenna (2009-08-25). "Using Kickstarter to Fund a Small Business". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  11. Strickler, Yancey (2014-08-27). "The History of #1 UPDATED". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  12. "Matt Lunsford (I)". IMDB. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  13. "Polyvinyl + Double Double Whammy". RAMP. 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  14. Trewn, Pranav (2018-09-28). "The End of LVL UP and the Future of Double Double Whammy". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
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