Laika Records

Laika Records is an independent record label based in Bremen, Germany. Founded in 1989 by fingerstyle guitarist Ulli Bögershausen, it was established alongside a music publishing company. The label’s stated focus is jazz and world music; its catalogue also includes folk. The official site presents its offering as jazz, world music and classical music, and showcases a wide range of artists and ensembles rather than a single flagship act. The label began with recordings by keyboardist Thomas Kessler. The official history says that releases by Daniel Guggenheim and pianist Christof Sänger followed, and notes that they received awards from the German Record Critics’ Award association. Bögershausen described his aim as building a label independent of short-term marketing strategies, with an emphasis on musical quality and seriousness. In 1996, concert agent and business graduate Peter Cronemeyer took over the label and its music publishing operation, allowing Bögershausen to devote more time to his guitar career. The supplied evidence identifies Laika as working from Bremen’s old town and describes it as having operated there since its founding. Its releases are offered in physical formats and digitally: the official homepage lists CD, LP and digital availability for selected releases. The homepage also states that Laika Records is distributed by Galileo Music GmbH. No current ownership details beyond the documented 1996 handover, or precise geographic breakdown of its sales markets, are established in the supplied material.

Laika Records was founded in Bremen in 1989 by fingerstyle guitarist Ulli Bögershausen, who also established the label’s associated music publishing company. According to the label’s official history, Bögershausen chose the name for phonetic reasons. He wanted to build a label that was not dependent on short-term marketing strategies and that instead maintained a focus on musical quality and seriousness. The label began with recordings by keyboardist Thomas Kessler. Releases by Daniel Guggenheim and pianist Christof Sänger followed. The official account notes that Guggenheim and Sänger received awards from the German Record Critics’ Award association. The catalogue subsequently came to encompass a broad range of jazz and world music artists and ensembles. Examples named in the supplied German-language Wikipedia entry include Deborah Henson-Conant, Richie Beirach and Gregor Hübner, Wayne Darling, Silvia Droste, Frank Wunsch, Norbert Scholly, Steffen Weber, Martin Wind, Rick Hollander, Lisa Wulff and Christof Sänger. It also identifies recordings by the Danish Klezmer Trio, Ensemble DRAj, the Swedish New Tango Orchestra, Ensemble Barbad and Paaz, a quintet associated with Iranian singer Maryam Akhondy. As the label’s administrative workload grew, Bögershausen found that it was taking time away from his own creative work. In 1996, concert agent and business graduate Peter Cronemeyer took over the label and its music publishing company. The official history describes the handover as friendly and says it enabled Bögershausen to concentrate more on his career as a guitarist. Laika Records is based in Bremen’s old town. The supplied official homepage presents the label’s repertoire as jazz, world music and classical music, while the German-language Wikipedia entry describes its specialisation as jazz, world music and folk. Its website lists releases in CD, LP and digital formats, and states that the label is distributed by Galileo Music GmbH. The available evidence establishes the label’s founding and the 1996 handover, but does not establish a later ownership change or provide a detailed account of its current management or international market reach.

• 1996

  Peter Cronemeyer takes over the label

• 1989

  Laika Records and its music publishing company founded in Bremen

An independent label emphasizing musical quality and seriousness, and seeking to operate outside short-term marketing strategies.

• Jazz recordings

  A core area of the label’s catalogue.

• World music recordings

  A core area of the label’s catalogue.

• Folk and classical recordings

  Genres included in descriptions of the label’s repertoire.

• 1996

  Transfer of the label and publishing companyOther

1. 1Laika Records official homepagelaika-records.com
2. 2Über Laika Recordslaika-records.com
3. 3Laika Records — German Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
4. 4Laika — Wikidatawikidata.org