Xemu Records

Xemu Records is a United States independent record label whose documented activities are closely associated with Cevin Soling, an artist, music producer, filmmaker, writer, and musician. Public reference material identifies Soling as the label's president, but does not establish a precise founding year, corporate ownership structure, headquarters address, distribution partner, or complete catalogue. The available record therefore supports describing Xemu as a small, independently operated music imprint rather than as a large commercial label or a subsidiary of a major entertainment group. The label's visible profile is connected to Soling's broad creative practice. His music work has included production, executive production, songwriting, and performance across projects that deliberately combine unusual concepts, unconventional covers, satire, and alternative or experimental sensibilities. Documented associated projects include work with Robert Church on the album Smile Zone, the band The Neanderthal Spongecake, the compilation When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear, and the band The Love Kills Theory. The sources do not consistently identify which of these releases were issued directly by Xemu Records, so they should be treated as part of the label's documented creative context rather than as a definitive catalogue. Soling's musical projects illustrate a distinctive positioning for the imprint. The Neanderthal Spongecake combined comic or provocative songwriting with rock performance; its 1998 album The Side Effects of Napalm received college and commercial radio exposure, while songs such as “This Thing” and an acoustic version of Quiet Riot's “Metal Health” attracted attention. When Pigs Fly, released in 2002 with Soling as executive producer, was built around improbable interpretations of familiar songs and featured artists including Ani DiFranco, Jackie Chan, Alex Chilton, the Box Tops, and Don Ho. The Love Kills Theory, for which Soling served as lead singer and songwriter, released Happy Suicide, Jim! in 2007 and received reported CMJ chart and radio exposure. Xemu Records sits within a wider network of Soling-led creative enterprises. Soling also runs Spectacle Films, a New York City-based production company, and has produced documentaries, animated shorts, feature-film projects, and other works of social or cultural critique. That broader activity helps explain why the label's public identity is less associated with a conventional genre roster than with creator-led, independently produced music and media. However, the available sources do not document a formal cross-media corporate relationship between Xemu Records and Spectacle Films. The label's current release schedule, artist roster, catalogue size, distribution arrangements, and commercial performance are not established by the supplied references. No reliable public information is provided about revenue, investment, valuation, stock-market status, or a parent company. Xemu Records is consequently best characterized as an active or apparently continuing independent imprint with a limited publicly documented corporate footprint and a strong association with Cevin Soling's music-production and performance work.

The publicly documented history of Xemu Records is limited, and the supplied references do not state when the label was founded or identify a complete legal or ownership history. The imprint is principally documented through its association with Cevin Soling, who is identified as its president. Soling's career spans music production, songwriting, performance, film production, writing, and visual media, giving Xemu a broader creative context than a conventional genre-specific record company. Soling's music-related work predates several of the releases most often connected with his public profile. In 1994, he worked with Robert Church to produce Church's Smile Zone album. In 1998, Soling's band The Neanderthal Spongecake released The Side Effects of Napalm. Soling and keyboardist Bill Brandau produced the album with assistance from the Buffalo-based band Scary Chicken. The record received attention on college and commercial radio, and songs associated with it included “This Thing,” an acoustic version of “Metal Health” featuring Quiet Riot vocalist Kevin DuBrow, “Tastes Like Chicken,” and “Buffalo.” The band performed in New York and was recognized by the Village Voice as one of the notable acts at the 1999 CMJ music conference. The Neanderthal Spongecake ended its group phase in 2001 after bassist Mark Tomase and drummer Martin Trum departed; later material credited to the name was described as solo work by Soling. In 2002, Soling served as executive producer of When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear, a collection based on the idea of artists recording songs outside their expected repertoires. The project followed his earlier collaboration with Kevin DuBrow on the mellow version of “Metal Health.” Its documented participants included Ani DiFranco and Jackie Chan, Alex Chilton and the Box Tops, and Don Ho. Soling co-produced some of the material and produced the Don Ho cover of “Shock the Monkey.” The project is relevant to Xemu's creative history because it reflects the unusual, independent, concept-driven approach associated with Soling, although the source material does not conclusively specify the label's release or distribution role. Soling later became the lead singer and songwriter of The Love Kills Theory. The group's album Happy Suicide, Jim! was released in January 2007, charted on CMJ's Top 200, and was reportedly played in rotation by more than 70 commercial radio stations. Again, the available sources establish the album and Soling's role but do not provide definitive label-credit information sufficient to construct a complete Xemu Records catalogue. The label's public identity is also shaped by Soling's parallel film and media work. He has run Spectacle Films in New York City and produced or directed documentaries, animated projects, and feature-film work. These projects include The War on Drugs, A Hole in the Head, The War on Kids, Ikland, and Mr. Cevin and the Cargo Cult. They are not automatically Xemu Records releases, but they demonstrate the interdisciplinary and independently produced environment in which the label operates. No supplied source documents a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, major corporate restructuring, public listing, or confirmed change in control involving Xemu Records. Its present catalogue, artist roster, distribution network, and release activity remain insufficiently documented in the available material.

• 2007

  Happy Suicide, Jim! is released

  [1]Cevin Solingen.wikipedia.org

  The Love Kills Theory, led by Soling as singer and songwriter, released Happy Suicide, Jim!, which received reported CMJ and radio exposure.

• 2002

  When Pigs Fly is released

  [1]Cevin Solingen.wikipedia.org

  Soling served as executive producer of the concept compilation When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear.

• 2001

  The Neanderthal Spongecake ends its group phase

  [1]Cevin Solingen.wikipedia.org

  The band broke up after the departure of bassist Mark Tomase and drummer Martin Trum; later recordings under the name were described as Soling solo recordings.

• 1999

  Recognition at the CMJ music conference

  [1]Cevin Solingen.wikipedia.org

  The Village Voice listed The Neanderthal Spongecake among the leading performers associated with the 1999 CMJ music conference.

• 1998

  The Neanderthal Spongecake releases The Side Effects of Napalm

  [1]Cevin Solingen.wikipedia.org

  Soling's band released its debut album, produced by Soling and Bill Brandau with assistance from Scary Chicken.

• 1994

  Soling produces Smile Zone

  [1]Cevin Solingen.wikipedia.org

  Cevin Soling worked with Robert Church to produce the album Smile Zone, an early documented example of Soling's music-production activity.

Creator-led independent music imprint focused on unconventional rock, alternative music, experimental concepts, and unusual reinterpretations of familiar songs.

• Album · 1998

  The Side Effects of Napalm

  The 1998 debut album by The Neanderthal Spongecake, produced by Cevin Soling and Bill Brandau with support from Scary Chicken. Its music combined alternative rock performance with comic, provocative, and unconventional songwriting. Songs associated with the album included “This Thing,” “Tastes Like Chicken,” “Buffalo,” and an acoustic version of “Metal Health” featuring Kevin DuBrow. The source material does not definitively establish Xemu Records as the album's label.

• Compilation album · 2002

  When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear

  A 2002 compilation executive-produced by Cevin Soling and built around unexpected artists performing songs outside their usual public styles. Documented participants included Ani DiFranco, Jackie Chan, Alex Chilton, the Box Tops, and Don Ho. Soling co-produced selected tracks, including a collaboration involving DiFranco, and produced Don Ho's version of “Shock the Monkey.”

• Album · 2007

  Happy Suicide, Jim!

  The January 2007 album by The Love Kills Theory, a band for which Cevin Soling served as lead singer and songwriter. The release was reported to have charted on CMJ's Top 200 and to have received rotation on more than 70 commercial radio stations. The available reference does not conclusively identify its label imprint.

1. 1Cevin Solingen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Xemu Records official websitexemu.com