Fresh Records (US)
| Company type | Independent record label (division) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | William Socolov |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Fate | Closed; catalog acquired by Warlock Records and later Traffic Entertainment Group |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Hip hop, house music, electro music recordings |
| Parent | Sleeping Bag Records |
Fresh Records was an independent record label based in New York City that operated between 1985 and 1992 as a division of Sleeping Bag Records, focusing primarily on hip hop music. The label's lineup included notable artists such as EPMD, Nice & Smooth, Just-Ice, T La Rock, house music innovator Todd Terry, and electro performers Hanson & Davis alongside Chocolette.
A&R responsibilities for both Fresh Records and its parent company were managed by Kurtis Mantronik, who was part of the hip-hop group Mantronix signed under Sleeping Bag Records.
The group EPMD mentioned their experience signing with Fresh Records on the track "Please Listen to My Demo" from their 1989 album Unfinished Business, with the lyric "Signed on the dotted line, now we Fresh Records members."
Founder
William Socolov, one of the original founders of Sleeping Bag Records, established Fresh Records in 1985.
Re-releases
After Fresh Records and its parent label closed in 1992, their catalog remained dormant until 1996, when Warlock Records acquired the rights and began reissuing albums featuring both Fresh and Sleeping Bag branding alongside their own. The original office located at 1974 Broadway in Manhattan was demolished during the 1990s and replaced by luxury residential buildings. In 2006, Traffic Entertainment Group took control of the catalog, releasing new versions of classic Fresh Records albums while maintaining the original cover art. Nevertheless, rights to EPMD’s albums Strictly Business, Unfinished Business, and Nice & Smooth’s debut album were separately obtained by Priority/EMI Records following the shutdown of Sleeping Bag Records.