Daptone Records#Brooklyn studios

Daptone Records was formed in 2001 by Gabriel Roth (Bosco Mann) and Neal Sugarman. Daptone was born out of the closure of Desco Records, a label run by Roth with fellow musician Philip Lehman who both played in the band Soul Providers.{{cite news|last1=Gross|first1=Terry|date=November 28, 2007|title=Sharon Jones Is 'Nobody's Baby'|work=Fresh Air|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16690407}} Roth and Lehman ended their band and business relationship in 2000. Roth, who had played with Sharon Jones as part of the Soul Providers, subsequently founded a new label with Neal Sugarman, leader of The Sugarman 3, as the home of their new group, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.

Their first release was 2002's Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.{{Cite magazine|title=How Daptone Records Is Healing After Two Years of Profound Loss: 'We're Going to Go On'|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8484121/daptone-records-charles-bradley-sharon-jones/|access-date=2021-03-07|magazine=Billboard|language=en}} In their first four years, Daptone would also put out Sharon Jones' sophomore album, Naturally, as well as original releases by the Sugarman 3 and Dap-Kings-adjacent The Budos Band.

During this time, they also converted a two-family home in Bushwick, Brooklyn into an analog recording studio space. The first album recorded there was Antibalas's "Who Is this America?" in July 2003. Producer Mark Ronson became a fan of the studio. He brought in Amy Winehouse to record parts of her album Back to Black there with The Dap-Kings and Antibalas members Nick Movshon and Victor Axelrod. The Dap-Kings would tour with Winehouse in 2007.

In addition to Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Daptone has recorded and released the music of Antibalas, The Sugarman 3, The Budos Band, The Poets of Rhythm, The Mystery Lights, The Daktaris, The Mighty Imperials, Lee Fields, Charles Bradley, Binky Griptite, The Sha La Das, and Naomi Davis. The Daptone Record label is inexorably tied to Sharon Jones. The label and members of her band were with her during the last weeks before her death.{{cite news |last1=Roberts |first1=Randall |title=Dap-Kings' Gabriel Roth recalls Sharon Jones' last days: 'She didn't want to stop singing' |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-sharon-jones-gabriel-roth-last-days-20161119-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 20, 2016}}

Since its founding, Daptone has released over one hundred 45 RPM singles and fifty albums.{{Cite web|last=Bloom|first=Madison|title=Daptone Records to Release 100th 45 RPM Single Featuring Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones, More|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/daptone-records-to-release-100th-45-rpm-single-featuring-charles-bradley-sharon-jones-more/|access-date=2021-03-07|website=Pitchfork|date=May 23, 2019 |language=en-us}}

As of 2021, Daptone operates four specialty imprints.

• Ever-Soul, an imprint that reissues rare soul singles from the 1960s and 1970s.{{Cite web|title=EVER-SOUL RECORDS – Daptone Records|url=https://daptonerecords.com/ever-soul-records/|access-date=2021-03-06|website=daptonerecords.com}}
• Dunham, a label run by Thomas Brenneck and Homer Steinweiss, best known for their releases of Charles Bradley and Menahan Street Band.{{Cite web|title=DUNHAM RECORDS – Daptone Records|url=https://daptonerecords.com/dunham-records/|access-date=2021-03-06|website=daptonerecords.com}}
• Penrose, a Southern California offshoot of Daptone began by Bosco Mann in 2020.{{Cite web|title=Daptone Records Presents: Penrose Records|url=http://www.daptonerecords.com/penroserecords|access-date=2021-03-06|website=Daptone Records Presents: Penrose Records|language=en}}
• Wick, a subsidiary founded in the late 2010s with a roster of rock-leaning artists.{{Cite web|title=WICK RECORDS – Daptone Records|url=https://daptonerecords.com/wick-records/|access-date=2021-03-06|website=daptonerecords.com}}

Daptone built their studio, called Daptone's House of Soul, in a converted two-family home in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn on Troutman Street. It was very run down when they first rented it, and the neighborhood was not great. Daptone Records has its offices in the top floor, the studio is on the ground floor. The label built the studio from scratch, and made the decision to not have computers, but to rely completely on the more old-fashioned analog recording methods to make music. There are tape machines and a CD recorder, but no Pro Tools or digital reverbs.{{cite news |last1=Mao |first1=Jeff "Chairman" |last2=Roth |first2=Gabriel |title=Gabriel Roth, Daptone Records, New York |url=http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/gabriel-roth-the-mathematics-of-soul |work=Red Bull Music Academy 2010 |date=February 11, 2010 |location=London |format=Video interview (includes transcript)}}

The studio is where they have recorded most of their releases. Their distinctive sound is a product of the studio acoustics, recording only on analog tape (no digital), and mixing done by Roth. The recording studio and engineering personnel have been sought out by record producers such as Mark Ronson.{{cite news |last1=Daley |first1=Dan |title=Gabriel Roth: Recording For Daptone Records |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/people/gabriel-roth-recording-daptone-records |work=Sound on Sound |date=June 2008}}

In 2006, Amy Winehouse recorded parts of her Back to Black album at Daptone studios.{{Cite web |last=Kaplan |first=Michael |date=2024-05-11 |title=Amy Winehouse's friends reveal what her time in NYC was like |url=https://nypost.com/2024/05/11/entertainment/amy-winehouses-friends-reveal-what-her-time-in-nyc-was-like/ |access-date=2024-09-03 |language=en-US}}

In February 2009, Daptone's House of Soul was broken into and thieves made off with the better part of its equipment.{{cite news |last1=BrooklynVegan Staff |title=Daptone Records robbed… |url=http://www.brooklynvegan.com/daptone-records/ |work=BrooklynVegan |date=February 17, 2009}}{{cite news |last1=Warren |first1=Mathew R. |title=Brooklyn Music Studio Carries On After Burglary |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/nyregion/23daptone.html |work=The New York Times |date=February 22, 2009}}

• Adam Scone
• Antibalas
• Benjamin & the Right Direction
• Bob & Gene
• Charles Bradley
• Cochemea
• Lee Fields
• Joseph Henry
• Menahan Street Band
• Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens
• Orquesta Akokán
• Saun and Starr AKA "The Dap-ettes"
• Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
• The Budos Band
• The Como Mamas
• The Frightnrs
• The James Hunter Six
• The Mighty Imperials
• The Sugarman 3
• The Olympians
• The Sha La Das

• Charles Bradley

• Thee Sacred Souls
• The Altons

• The Ar-Kaics
• The Jay-Vons
• The Mystery Lights
• Michael Rault

{{inc-musong|date=October 2021}}

Grammy Awards

• 2021: Antibalas, Fu Chronicles – Best Global Music Album (nominated){{Cite web|date=2020-11-24|title=2021 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Nominees List|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2021-grammys-complete-nominees-list|access-date=2021-03-10|website=GRAMMY.com|language=en}}
• 2019: Orquesta Akokán, Orquesta Akokán – Best Tropical Latin Album (nominated)
• 2014: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Give The People What They Want – Best R&B Album (nominated)

A2IM Libera Awards

• 2021: Antibalas, Fu Chronicles – Best World Record{{Cite web|title=2021 Nominees|url=https://liberaawards.com/2021-nominees/|access-date=2021-06-14|website=Libera Awards|language=en-US|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614153150/https://www.liberaawards.com/2021-nominees/|url-status=dead}}
• 2021: Label of the Year (Small)
• 2019: Orquesta Akokán, Orquesta Akokán – Best Latin Album (nominated)
• 2019: Charles Bradley, Black Velvet – Best R&B Album (won)
• 2019: Charles Bradley, Black Velvet Deluxe – Creative Packaging (nominated)
• 2019: Label of the Year (Small) (won)
• 2018: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Soul of a Woman – Best R&B Album (won)
• 2018: Label of the Year (Small) (won)
• 2017: Charles Bradley, Changes – Best Blues/Jazz/R&B Album (won)
• 2017: Charles Bradley – Best Live Act (nominated)
• 2017: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Neal Sugarman) – Best Sync Usage (won)
• 2017: Label of the Year (Small) (won)
• 2017: Charles Bradley, Changes – Marketing Genius (nominated)
• 2016: Label of the Year (Small) (won)
• 2015: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Hardest Working Artist (won)
• 2015: Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens, Cold World – Best Heritage Album (nominated)
• 2015: Label of the Year (Small) (nominated)
• 2014: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, "Retreat" – Video of the Year (nominated)
• 2014: Charles Bradley – Hardest Working Artist (won)
• 2014: Charles Bradley – Best Live Act (nominated)
• 2014: Label of the Year (Small) (won)
• 2013: Antibalas, “Dirty Money” – Video of the Year (nominated)
• 2013: Label of the Year (Small) (nominated)
• 2012: Charles Bradley – Road Warrior of the Year (won)
• 2012: Label of the Year (Small) (won)

• Daptone Records artists
• Daptone Records albums
• Bosco Mann
• Sharon Jones
• Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
• Truth & Soul Records

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite news |last1=Mao |first1=Jeff "Chairman" |last2=Roth |first2=Gabriel |title=Gabriel Roth, Daptone Records, New York |url=http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/gabriel-roth-the-mathematics-of-soul |work=Red Bull Music Academy 2010 |date=February 11, 2010 |location=London |format=Video interview (includes transcript)}}
• Lipsky, Jessica, "[https://www.waxpoetics.com/article/creating-the-daptone-house-of-soul/ Dap-Dipping: Creating Daptone's House of Soul]" (September 14, 2021)

{{Commons category|Daptone Records}}

• {{Official website|http://daptonerecords.com}}
• [http://daptonerecords.com/labels/dunham-records/ Dunham Records]
• [http://daptonerecords.com/labels/ever-soul-records/ EVER-SOUL Records]

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Category:American independent record labels

Category:Soul music record labels

Category:2001 establishments in New York City

Category:Record labels established in 2001

Category:Companies based in Brooklyn