Stanfields' John Landry Launches Ragged Head Imprint

By Ken Kelley

After years of helping steer albums by the likes of Rawlins Cross, The Town Heroes, and others, Jon Landry, a member of Halifax band The Stanfields, is adding the title “record label owner” to his resume.

Earlier this week, Landry announced the launch of Ragged Head Records, an imprint that will fall under the umbrella of Halifax company GroundSwell Music. The label will share funding, partnerships and services with GroundSwell’s international network.

Ragged Head’s first signing is Nova Scotian band The Royal Volts. Formed in 2011 and with one independent release to its credit, 2016’s Enough Is Never Enough, the Volts’ debut single for Ragged Head, Shake, is now available on all DSPs.

“The Ragged Head Records vision is quite simple,” Landry begins. “We want to bring new and established Canadian rock and roll artists to the world. Rock music isn’t the money-spinning cultural zeitgeist it once was, so we feel compelled by love and pride to work with artists that make us blow steam from our ears, while also abstaining from the pressure to develop them into the caricatures that big-box industry often typifies as ‘rock and roll.’”

Landry foresees a slow and steady build for Ragged Head, targeting two to three releases a year for the short term. But as the label grows its reach, he hopes to ramp up its release schedule significantly.

“We are beginning with small, confident steps by developing album projects that can easily be implemented into a sustained, drip-feed digital release policy,” he says. “But of course, we are mindful of the value of the almighty vinyl and will capitalize accordingly from project to project. We want to be known internationally as a label that does a particular thing well, and hope that our growing catalogue speaks to fans.”