Pace Presents

Pace Presents is an independent record label and multimedia imprint based in New York City. The imprint focuses on experimental electronic, ambient, and contemporary composition, and has released albums, singles, and collaborative projects that intersect with visual art, film, and performance. Its catalog encompasses collaborations with improvisers, producers, and sound artists, and it has mounted live events in gallery and festival contexts.

History

Pace Presents was founded in 2009 by Daniel Pace in Manhattan, emerging amid a milieu that included David Bowie, Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, Thom Yorke, Kraftwerk, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Merce Cunningham, Meredith Monk, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Sonic Youth, Swans, Animal Collective, Boards of Canada, Oneohtrix Point Never, Arca, Flying Lotus, Brian Wilson, Tyler, The Creator, Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, Bjork, Radiohead, Portishead, Massive Attack, Underworld, The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, Moby, Trent Reznor, Arvo Pärt, Krzysztof Penderecki, Gustav Mahler, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Edgard Varèse, Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Milton Babbitt, Steve Reich, Philip Glass Ensemble, Eno's Oblique Strategies, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Harold Budd, Brian Eno, John Adams, Max Richter, Nils Frahm, Ludovico Einaudi, Helios, Tim Hecker, Fennesz, Stars of the Lid, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Arvo Pärt Concerts, Glenn Gould, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Sun Ra, Can, Neu!, Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Giorgio Moroder, Ennio Morricone, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Clint Mansell, Ryuichi Sakamoto Concerts, Akira Kurosawa, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, and Wes Anderson as part of the broader cultural networks that influenced its formation. Early releases were championed in venues associated with MoMA PS1, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New Museum, and festivals like SXSW, Berlin Atonal, Mutek, Moogfest, and Pitchfork Music Festival.

Mission and Programming

Pace Presents articulates a mission to amplify experimental practice through interdisciplinary collaboration among artists linked to Tate Modern, Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, The Kitchen, BAM, Lincoln Center, and independent spaces. Programming includes archival reissues, limited-run vinyl, multimedia editions co-produced with galleries such as Gagosian Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner, and partnerships with academic institutions like Juilliard, Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University, Harvard University, Yale University, and CalArts. Educational initiatives have involved residencies with artists connected to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Goldsmiths, University of London, and collaborations citing practices associated with Fluxus, Dada, and Situationist International lineages. Regular series feature sound installations, film screenings, and curated performances alongside commissions inspired by figures such as John Cage, Brian Eno, Merce Cunningham, Marina Abramović, and Christian Marclay.

Featured Artists and Releases

The label's roster and catalogue include collaborations and releases by artists who sit in conversation with Oneohtrix Point Never, Arca, Arca Collaborations, Tim Hecker, Nicholas Jaar, Rival Consoles, Clark, Autechre, Squarepusher, Four Tet, Lorn, Clark, Clark Discography, Ben Frost, GAS (Wolfgang Voigt), Bohren & der Club of Gore, FKA Twigs, Sevdaliza, The Haxan Cloak, Chelsea Wolfe, Zola Jesus, Jenny Hval, Jlin, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Kelly Moran, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Murcof, Tim Hecker Albums, William Basinski, Grouper, Have a Nice Life, Caterina Barbieri, Maryanne Amacher, Eliane Radigue, and emerging composers tied to Bang on a Can and International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). Notable special editions paired soundworks with prints by Yayoi Kusama, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami, Gerhard Richter, Nan Goldin, and film contributors associated with Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry, Gaspar Noé, and Harmony Korine.

Production and Distribution

Pace Presents operates a hybrid production model combining in-house mastering with external plants that press vinyl used by labels like Warp Records, Ninja Tune, Ghostly International, 4AD, Domino Recording Company, XL Recordings, Sub Pop, Matador Records, Merge Records, Jagjaguwar, Kompakt, and Erased Tapes. Distribution partnerships include networks tied to The Orchard, Secretly Group, PIAS, ADA (Warner Music Group), Kobalt, and regional distributors active in Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, and Mexico. Production credits list engineers and studios associated with Abbey Road Studios, Electric Lady Studios, EastWest Studios, and mastering engineers who have worked with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift.

Reception and Impact

Critical reception has been recorded in outlets and contexts alongside reviews and features common to The New York Times, The Guardian, Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, The Wire (magazine), Rolling Stone, NME, Fact Magazine, The Quietus, Bandcamp Daily, Bandcamp, Dazed Digital, Artforum, Frieze (magazine), Vogue, ArtReview, and festival programming at Coachella, Glastonbury Festival, Primavera Sound, Sónar, Venice Biennale, Documenta, Frieze Art Fair, and Whitney Biennial. Academic citations reference scholarship at Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, MIT Press, and journals focused on sound studies and contemporary art. Artists associated with Pace Presents have received nominations and awards within circuits that include Mercury Prize, Grammy Awards, Turner Prize, Pulitzer Prize for Music, and grants from National Endowment for the Arts, Guggenheim Fellowship, and Radcliffe Institute. The imprint's intersectional approach influenced curators and programmers at institutions such as Serpentine Galleries, Centre Pompidou, Neue Nationalgalerie, Carnegie Hall, and independent festivals, contributing to renewed interest in interdisciplinary sound art and limited-edition physical media.

Category:American record labels