| CandyRat Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Rob Poland |
| Genre | Fingerstyle, Percussive fingerstyle |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin[1] |
| Official website | candyrat |
CandyRat Records (also stylized as CANdYRAT) is an independent American record label and online music store located in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.[1] They primarily represent instrumental guitar artists, with a focus on acoustic guitar, but include electronic music, alternative rock, singer-songwriter, and progressive rock, with musicians coming from many countries.[2][3]
Rob Poland founded the label in 2004, first signing fingerstyle guitar talent Don Ross,[4] followed by Andy McKee,[5][6] Antoine Dufour, and three other artists before officially opening in 2005.[7] CandyRat Records has been called the "biggest acoustical guitar label in the world",[8] and the two-handed tapping technique of playing the guitar to produce bass, rhythm, melody and harmony, which is practised by many of its artists, has become known as the CandyRat style.[9] The label gained fame after videos on its official YouTube page, 'rpoland', gained viral success.[10] Recording sessions are filmed and uploaded, contributing to the success of the albums.[11][12] As of November 2014, the most popular video on the channel, a live recording of Andy Mckee's "Drifting",[13] garnered over 50 million views.[14][15] Their YouTube channel has over a half-million subscribers and almost four-hundred million views.[16]
CandyRat Guitar Night Tour features CandyRat Records' guitar virtuosos traveling the U.S. and the world.[9][17][18][19][20] For 2017, Antoine Dufour and Ian Ethan Case toured.[21] CandyRat is also a festival partner for the Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival, with Rob Poland and the CandyRat headliners as some of the judges for the fingerstyle competition.[22][23]
- ^ a b "CandyRat Records". AllRecordLabels.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
- ^ "Home | CandyRat Records". www.candyrat.com. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- ^ "Intervista a Rob Poland, fondatore dell'etichetta CandyRat Records - Fingerpicking.net". Fingerpicking.net (in Italian). April 7, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
- ^ "Don Ross & Calum Graham | Daily Hive Vancouver". dailyhive.com. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "Andy McKee – Biography | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- ^ Chen, Jeff Z. "INTERVIEW On YouTube, musicianship, and guitars – The Tech". tech.mit.edu. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- ^ "CANDYRAT Web Store Official Launch" (PDF). May 1, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 15, 2006. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "On this month's Acoustic Presents CD… | Acoustic Magazine". www.acousticmagazine.com. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- ^ a b ESTWICK, DOUGLAS (April 10, 2013). "No average joe strummer". South-West News. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Retrieved May 10, 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Q&A with Andy McKee". The Badger Herald. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ Ward, Nick (May 1, 2008). "Disconcerted by a bone-shaker". The Nelson Mail. p. 14. Retrieved May 10, 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Reich, Josh (February 12, 2009). "Power keeps blowing hot". The Nelson Mail. p. 11. Retrieved May 10, 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Condran, Ed (February 8, 2008). "Obscure no more. YouTube exposure does wonders for Andy McKee". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. p. 23, jersey alive!. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
- ^ Rao, Akshay (November 1, 2015). "Flying fingers: CANdYRAT Records". livemint.com/. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- ^ ""Drifting" Official Video". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021.
- ^ "Candyrat Records". YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- ^ Steinberg, David (March 23, 2012). "Guitarists' road shows a success so far". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. p. 3, Venue. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
- ^ "Tours | CandyRat Records". www.candyrat.com. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
- ^ "Playing beautiful music". Sunshine Coast Daily. September 22, 2017. p. 19. Retrieved May 10, 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "CANDYRAT GUITAR NIGHT – Apr 6 2013, 7:30PM". vanlarkins.com.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Guitar virtuosos Antoine Dufour & Ian Ethan Case to play Lakeward Spirits Event Center". Buffalo Rising. May 3, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
- ^ "Wilson Center Guitar Festival". Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
- ^ "2017 Guitar Fest Judges". Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.