Genre Electronic | Country of origin United States of America | |
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Founder Barron Machat, Travis Woolsey and Don Andrews Distributor(s) Sony Genepool Universal and Redeye Location Los Angeles, Miami, NY and London, CA
New York, NY Albums Far Side Virtual, Exo, Sushi, LP, NYC, Hell 3:00 AM | ||
Hippos in Tanks is a record label founded in 2010 by Barron Machat and Travis Woolsey. The label specializes in electronic music, and was named the best label of 2011 by the website FACT. It was named after the novel by Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks .
Contents
History
In 2009, Machat and Woolsey—who met while working at an online company in Los Angeles—were asked to host a radio show on KXLU called Hippos in Tanks. After leaving the company to work on their label full-time, HIT released their first EP from Von Haze in June 2010. In 2011 Woolsey left the label with Machat staying on as CEO.
Barron Machat's grandfather, entertainment lawyer Martin J. Machat was a pioneer in the field of music law, having negotiated contracts for famous artists such as Phil Spector, Dinah Washington, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Bobby Vinton, Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons, Frank Sinatra, Chad and Jeremy, The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, middle-weight boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson, and New Edition.
Baron's father Steven Machat is a worldwide entertainment attorney, music publisher, manager of music talent and record label owner as well as film producer among other commercial endeavors. His clients have included Electric Light Orchestra, Ozzy Osbourne, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Leonard Cohen, Phil Spector, John Waite, Stacey Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Brown, Ready For The World, Manu DiBango and Rita Lee. Steven has ventured in the creative and business process in theatre, movies and movie soundtracks. Such as “Elvis” West London Production, “Private Lives” with Elizabeth Taylor, “Flashdance”, “Streetfighter”, “Judge Dredd”, Stan Lee Properties, “HOPE” an album with the Dali Lama dedicated to Peace and the award winning musical documentary “Bird on a Wire” about Leonard Cohen’s travels from Dublin Ireland to Tel Aviv Israel. Steven Machat announced his candidacy as Independent US Senate candidate for the state of Florida in Miami in September 2015.
It was confirmed Hippos In Tanks founder Barron Machat died in a car crash in Miami, Florida on April 8, 2015. The label continues under the leadership of his father Steven Machat.