Secret Records

Secret Records (not to be confused with the British label) is an independent record label based in Madison, Wisconsin. Operated by Vincent Presley, Secret Records has issued various limited edition vinyl releases by The Residents, Hardy Fox/Charles Bobuck, Snakefinger, Renaldo & The Loaf, Chrome, Norman Westberg, eX-Girl, and many other acts since 2008.
While typically issuing rarities compilations or vinyl releases of albums, Secret Records also release exclusive live albums such as In Between Dreams Live (At the time, The Residents' newest recording), Snakefinger Live in Melbourne, and Bunny Boy Live In Frankfurt. Secret Records have also also produced the group Vincent Presley & The Secret Creeps, which features Residents collaborators Brian Poole and Nolan Cook.
== Background ==
=== Origins (2008-2017) ===
The label was founded in 2008 as a way to release material by Vincent Presley's group Zebras. Whilst the label has expanded past just Presley projects, it still to this day outputs Presley material, most notably a recent collaboration with Nolan Cook and Brian Poole. In 2015, the label secured rights to a 34-year-old unreleased Snakefinger live album titled Snakefinger Live In Melbourne; the only show on Lithman's 1981 Australian tour, cut short by a sudden heart attack backstage. While The Residents were not directly involved in the album's production, Lithman's set consisted almost entirely of material the group co-wrote. Later-Resident collaborator Molly Harvey created the album' artwork.
Two years later, Secret Records re-issued the Snakefinger / Residents collaborative live album, The 13th Anniversary Show Live in Holland, on the 30th anniversary of its original release. That same year, they also released The Snakey Wake, a Residents album recorded to commemorate the death of Lithman. It had previously been released as a single in 1988 and as a digital album in 2010; though the digital album features a slightly different track listing. 
=== Residents Releases (2018-present) ===
These Snakefinger/Residents releases were a gateway to more Resident releases, and in 2019, the label issued The Residents' then-latest recording, In Between Dreams Live. This same year, it also began re-releasing Hardy Fox solo material. Secret Records also include Residents and Residents-related material on their bi-annual 'Secret Records Compilation' albums. 
In December of 2022, Secret Records issued 'Vincent Presley & The Secret Creeps Vol. 1,' a collaborative album that features Nolan Cook and Brian Poole.
=== Artwork ===
Instead of employing The Cryptic Corporation's art department, Pore No Graphics, Secret Records often commission surrealist artists to create work for their unique Residents releases; Molly Harvey, Steven Cerio, Steve Somers and most often, Casey Howard. Their work usually depicts a surrealistic environment, often with exposed eyeball imagery. Somen's artwork in particular often depicts The Singing Resident in some ominous and inhuman way.
When Secret Records' In Between Dreams album was re-issued by Cherry Red Records, Howards' artwork was replaced by a photo collage by Porno Graphics.
== Residents related Releases ==
* Live In Melbourne 1981 by Snakefinger (2015)
* 13th Anniversary Show - Live In Holland by The Residents with Snakefinger (2017)
* The Snakey Wake by The Residents (2017)
* Loss of the Lizard Lady by The Residents with Molly Harvey (2018)
* Hardy Fox by Hardy Fox (2019)
* In Between Dreams Live by The Residents (2019)
* Dreaming Of An Eyeball Beaming by The Residents (2019)
* Secret Records Compilation 2019 1/2 (2019)
*Nineteen-Sixty-Seven by Bobuck (2020)
*Who Do You Love (B-Sides & Rarities) by Snakefinger (2020)
*Bunny Boy Live In Frankfurt by The Residents (2021)
*Ozark by The Residents (2021)
*Secret Records Compilation 2021 1/2 (2021)
*Santa Dog 50th Anniversary Collection by The Residents (2022)
*Chewing Hides The Sound by Snakefinger (2022)
*Secret Records: 15 Years Old! 2023 Sampler (2023)
== External links and references ==
* Official website
* Secret Records on Bandcamp
* Secret Records at Discogs
Category:Record labels
Category:Secret Records