A Guide To…Sonic Youth Records / SYR

SYR is a label that was created by the band Sonic Youth in 1996 in order to release records without pressures of  a major label.
Label’s latest release is a soundtrack to the French movie “Simon Werner a Disparu”, which is scheduled for February 2011 release.
Here’s an overview of label’s releases:
Sonic Youth – Helen Lundeberg / Eyeliner
Year Of Release: 2006
Notes: Second of three singles off of “Rather Ripped”.
Further Info: Discogs | Sonicyouth.com | Wikipedia
Reviews: Rate Your Music

Sonic Youth – SYR1: Anagrama
Year Of Release: 1997
Notes: The inaugural album sports a red houndstooth French language theme on the sleeve and contains 4 instrumentals. – Smells Like Records
Further Info: Discogs | Sonicyouth.com | Wikipedia
Reviews: Sputnikmusic
Sonic Youth – SYR2: Slaapkamers Met Slagroom
Year Of Release: 1997
Notes: SYR2 follows the band’s tradition of having the liner notes of SYR releases written in foreign languages, in this case Dutch. “Slaapkamers met slagroom” is Dutch for “bedrooms with whipped cream”. – Wikipedia
Further Info: Discogs | Sonicyouth.com | Wikipedia
Reviews: Sputnikmusic
Sonic Youth / Jim O’Rourke – SYR3: Invito Al Ĉielo
Year Of Release: 1998
Notes: SYR3 follows the band’s tradition of having the liner notes for SYR releases written in foreign languages, in this case using Esperanto. However the words that Kim Gordon is heard singing are in English. – Wikipedia
Further Info: Discogs | Sonicyouth.com | Wikipedia
Reviews: All Music Guide | Prindle Record Reviews

Sonic Youth / Misc. Collaborators – SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century
Year Of Release: 1999
Notes: SYR4: Goodbye 20^th Century is a double album of covers of Avant-garde recordings by Sonic Youth and collaborators.
SYR4 features works by avant-garde classical composers such as John Cage, Yoko Ono, Steve Reich, and Christian Wolff played by Sonic Youth along with several collaborators from the modern avant-garde music scene, such as Christian Marclay,William Winant, Wharton Tiers, Takehisa Kosugi and others.
Unlike in other SYR releases SYR4’s liner notes are written in English. – Wikipedia
Further Info: Discogs | Wikipedia
Reviews: All Music Guide | Pitchfork
Kim Gordon / Ikue Mori / DJ Olive – SYR5
Year Of Release: 2000
Notes: Following the tradition of having the liner notes of SYR releases written in foreign languages, SYR5 has them in Japanese. – Wikipedia
Further Info: Discogs | Wikipedia
Reviews: All Music Guide
Sonic Youth / Tim Barnes – SYR6: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui
Year Of Release: 2005
Notes: SYR6: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui is an EP by Sonic Youth. The sixth in a series of experimental releases put out on the band’s own SYR label, the album is a live recording from an April 13, 2003 benefit show for the Anthology Film Archives. The band, joined by percussionist Tim Barnes, played along with silent Stan Brakhage films.
SYR6 follows the tradition of having the liner notes in the SYR series written in foreign language titles, in this case in Lithuanian. The meaning of the title is “A Concert in Memory of Stan Brakhage”. The title and liner notes were translated by Lithuanian filmmaker Jonas Mekas.
It is the first in the SYR series to receive no release on vinyl. – Wikipedia
Further Info: Discogs | Wikipedia
Reviews: Pitchfork
Sonic Youth – SYR7: J’accuse Ted Hughes
Year Of Release: 2008
Notes: SYR7: J’Accuse Ted Hughes is the seventh release in American group Sonic Youth’s SYR series. It was released only on vinyl—the first in the series to receive no compact disc release—and features two songs: “J’Accuse Ted Hughes”, and “Agnès B. Musique”.
SYR7 follows the SYR series tradition of liner notes in foreign languages. The language used on the artwork is Arpitan. – Wikipedia
Further Info: Discogs | Wikipedia
Reviews: A.V. Club | Mark Prindle

Sonic Youth / Mats Gustaffson / Merzbow – SYR8: Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth
Year Of Release: 2008
Notes: The album was recorded on the first of July 2005 on the Roskilde Festival.
The album title is in Danish and means “Other sides of Sonic Youth”. – Wikipedia
Further Info: Discogs | Wikipedia
Reviews: Mark Prindle | Pitchfork
Sonic Youth – SYR9: Simon Werner a Disparu
Year Of Release: 2011
Notes: Soundtrack to the French film of the same name.
Further Info: Sonic Youth – Official Site | Sonic Youth – Facebook |Sonic Youth – Twitter | Slicing Up Eyeballs | Sonic Youth Gossip