Post-punk act TRAITRS, one of the best up-and-coming Cold Wave bands in recent years, have signed a record deal with Freakwave, a label that was launched at the beginning of 2020. The band are the first to be announced on the new imprint, spearheaded by Eric Burton and Thomas Thyssen, as well as signing a publishing deal with Schubert Music Publishing (SMP).
TRAITRS’ Sean-Patrick Nolan and Shawn Tucker have developed a large international fan base the old-school way within the past four years: producing good music, playing live wherever and whenever possible, and then giving their best on every damned evening and – to put it bluntly – thereby winning over pretty much every single person in the room.
Songs like “Thin Flesh”, “Witch Trials”, “Youth Cults” and “The Lovely Wounded” have been essential parts of the setlists of Cool Goth DJs around the world when you actually still could go to clubs.
The Toronto based duo used the COVID-19 self-isolation downtime creatively to work diligently on new material, which will see the light of day in 2021. Official news on this will follow in the coming weeks and months.
As the rampant pandemic currently dictates, TRAITRS met in a video call with their new label partners in the form of Celsius Management + Hardbeat Promotion Managing Director and Freakwave Co-Labelhead Eric Burton and Schubert Music Managing Director / Head of Recorded Music and Freakwave co-label head Thomas Thyssen to toast the signing of the contracts and the future collaborative shenanigans.
Shawn Tucker (TRAITRS):
“It’s a huge honour for TRAITRS to be the first band announced on the Freakwave roster. It was crucial for us to find a new place to call home and we’ve found it with Freakwave. I couldn’t be happier to start the next phase of our career with this talented team led by Thomas Thyssen and Eric Burton. With the support of Freakwave, Sean and I can continue to develop and produce our art to the best of our abilities on a much larger scale.”
Sean-Patrick Nolan (TRAITRS):
“Our goal from day one was always to create music and art in the freest and purest manner possible in the hopes that one day we could potentially live off of our art. With Freakwave and Schubert, it appears this may in fact become a reality. This is an exciting time for us and an exciting time for our fans. 2020 absolutely fucking sucks, but Shawn and I and the entire Freakwave family have busted our asses to ensure next year is a much better one.”
Eric Burton (Celsius Management + Hardbeat Promotion, Managing Director + Freakwave, Co-Labelhead):
“Starting the machines of our Freakwave label with TRAITRS is great. The band is highly motivated and knows exactly where they want to go. I am very happy to be able to accompany TRAITRS on this new path.”
Thomas Thyssen (Schubert Music, Managing Director/Head of Recorded Music + Freakwave, Co-Labelhead):
“Since we have been working with TRAITRS on different levels for a longer time already, this next step and signing them to label- and publishing deals was ultimately only a logical consequence. In any case, we are immensely happy to welcome one of, what we believe, by far the most exciting and promising Post-Punk acts of the modern era as the first band to be signed to Freakwave.”
While we wait for new material from TRAITRS, you can find their back catalog on the duo’s Bandcamp page here.
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