Info
Contact Details
Postal Address:
PO Box 1545 Darlinghurst NSW 1300
PH: 61 (0)2 9360 3921
FAX: 61 (0)2 9380 9866
matt(at)belowpar.org
jai(at)belowpar.org
mark(at)belowpar.org
hayley(at)belowpar.org
* WANT TO SEND US A DEMO?
- ONLY SEND YOUR BEST 3 SONGS, A PHOTO AND SHORT BIO TO:
Demo Department
c/- Below Par Records
PO Box 1545
Darlinghurst NSW 1300
Australia
__________________________________________________________
Below Par Records is an indie record label based in Sydney, Australia. Forming in 2000 by three 16 year old high school kids that grew up on 90's skate punk, Below Par Records is now one of the leading independent labels in Australia.
Below Par Records is distributed in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia by Virgin/EMI.
Distributed in the UK by Genepool/Universal
2000:
Jai Al-attas, Mark Catanzariti & Steven Chalker start Below Par Records in roll call one day. They are in Year 11 at Kingsgrove High School.
Matt Hawkes leaves Kingsgrove High School.
2001:
Steven Chalker departs and Matt Hawkes joins the label.
Caddy Of The Year 1 is released.
Triple J interview the boys and put the label on the national radar.
The Below Par Records launch is at Kingsgrove RSL and features Antiskeptic, Secondbest, Silencer 7 and Melack (to become Something With Numbers).
2002:
For Amusement Only, Something With Numbers and Last Years Hero join the label to release their debut EPs.
Below Par have a short lived radio show on 2SER (1 week).
Caddy Of The Year 2 is released.
Below Par Records win the Nescafe Big Break competition and take home $20,000.
2003:
Jai, Matt and Mark make their first overseas "business" trip to the USA. They come home signing Yellowcard and Brand New for Australia.
In The Grey & Kisschasy join the label.
Below Par Records go into a label development deal with Eleven: A Music Company owned by John Watson & Melissa Chenery.
Caddy Of The Year 3 is released and is the first to be a double disc set featuring bands like Sum 41, The Get Up Kids & Unwritten Law aswell as a disc soley for up and coming Australian bands.
2004:
Brand New and Yellowcard both make their first trips to Australia.
US bands Vaux & The Colour sign to Below Par Records for Australia.
Last Years Hero & Something With Numbers both release their debut albums.
Caddy Of The Year 4 is released.
2005:
Below Par storms the ARIA charts with Kisschasy "United Paper People" debuting at #15. While the album also had three top 50 singles.
Below Par also gets to attend the ARIA Awards legitimately for the first time ever with Kisschasy being nominated for 3 awards(Best Breakthrough Single, Best Artwork and Channel [V] Oz Artist Of The Year)
MC Lars and The Matches release their debut records on Below Par Records for Australia and then tour together with Something With Numbers.
Below Par start their imprint label, OK!Relax signing The Scare & Die!Die!Die!
2006:
Kisschasy perform at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas as do Die!Die!Die!
Kisschasy get nominated for an MTV Award for Best New Artist.
Something With Numbers record their sophomore album and tour the US with The Matches and MC Lars.
Something With Numbers new single "Apple Of The Eye" debuts at #34 on the ARIA Singles charts and comes in at 64 on the hottest 100. Their album debuts at 45 in the national ARIA charts.
Kisschasy's debut album "United Paper People" goes gold. This is the first gold record for the band and Below Par.
Dan Bombings leaves the hardcore scene and joins Below Par Records.
We sign Soft Tigers to OK!Relax/Below Par Records.
2007:
Kisschasy’s “Opinions won’t keep me warm at night” debuts at #10 and spent 4 months in ARIA Top 50.
Kisschasy release their second album “Hymns For The Non Believer” and it debuts at #5 on the ARIA Charts.
Kisschasy get nominated for an ARIA for Best Music Video for “Kisschasy: The Movie” as do Something with Numbers for Breakthrough Artist – Single for “Apple of the Eye (Lay Me Down)”.
Kisschasy and Something with Numbers both get selected as one of the Top 50 Nominees for Channel V Oz Artist of the Year Award. Kisschasy make it to the Top 4.
Something with Numbers announce they will play Big Day Out in 2008 – this is the first Below Par Artist ever to do so and we are stoked.
Soft Tigers release their debut album “Gospel Ambitions and announce they will hit the B.D.O. stage in 2008 too.
The Scare release their debut album “Chivalry” in Australia in Oct and the UK in Nov. They also play the Reading/Leeds Festival, Download Festival and also tour the US for the first time.
Kisschasy’s “Opinions won’t keep you warm at night”, “Spray on Pants” as well as S.W.N.’s “Mickey Finn” and “Chase the Chaser” all get nominated for Best Music Video at the “IF Awards”.
2008:
Kisschasy's second album "Hymns for the Non Believer" goes GOLD. This is the second gold record for the band and Below Par.
Kisschasy make it into the Triple J's Hottest 100 with "Spray on Pants" at #52 and "Opinions won't keep you warm at Night" at #32.
Jim Ward (At The Drive In and Sparta) releases his debut Acoustic EP "Quiet" through Below Par and makes his first solo trip to Australia to play at the Soundwave Festival and to support Incubus for their sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne.
Something with Numbers perform at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.
Something with Numbers release the first single "Stay with me Bright Eyes" from their third album on June 28th.
FAQ
Do you accept & listen to demos?
Yes we do. Please send your best 3 songs, biography and picture to:
Demo Submissions
Po Box 1545
Darlinghurst NSW 1300
Australia
We do our best to listen to all of the demos that get sent to us but we don't have the time to reply to everyone. If your band rules we will be in touch.
How old were you when you started Below Par Records?
16 years old. We are now currently 22(Jai), 22(Mark) and 24(Matt) respectively.
Do you offer work experience or internships?
We don't offer work experience much anymore, but sometimes we do. The best way to find out about it is by joining our street team, that is how we look for people to do extra work for us.
What does being part of the Below Par Street Team entail?
Members of the Below Par Street Team will get the opportunity to hang out with our artists, win exclusive signed memorabilia, meet and greets, find out news before anyone else and the feeling of helping great music be heard by more people.
Why on the back of your CD's are there always VIRGIN logos?
All of our releases are now distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Virgin/EMI. The artists are still signed to Below Par Records, but we co-release the records with Virgin.
Is Below Par Record genre specific?
No, we just like good music.
What other businesses do you run?
We have an artist management company called Sunnyvale Management, a publishing company Below Par Music and an imprint label, OK!Relax.
What happened to the Caddy Of The Year series?
Caddy Of The Year was the very first CD we ever released at Below Par. However after number 4 we didn't know how we could still keep it fresh or offer something new to the fans so we decided to put it on hold. The Caddy Of The Year series were lots of fun to put together and gave us the chance to put some of our favourite bands on these compilations like At The Drive In, Say Anything, The Get Up Kids and Unwritten Law among others.
