Fabrica Records

Lore & Background

Joao Da Silva started Fabrica Records in 2010 out of his Gowanus, Brooklyn apartment, initially as a limited edition home-made cassette tape record label. Da Silva had been part of the Santiago, Chile hardcore punk scene from 1995 until 2004, when he moved to Washington, DC. There, he worked as a clerk at Smash! Records and helped the Amor y Lucha record label with distribution, advertising, and sales. He had been experimenting with treated guitar and noise music since the 1990s, and while in Washington began recording solo guitar-based noise music under the name The Black Light Collective. In June 2008, he moved to Brooklyn.

Reader's Guide

Fabrica Records' first official release was 'Life Passes Away Like Idle Chatter,' a 44-minute home-made cassette tape of Da Silva's new project Luciernaga, released in 2010 in an edition of one hundred copies with hand-painted labels, most of which were traded over the mail with other noise musicians. Over the next two years, the label released cassettes for local Brooklyn artists including STRNGLV, Adrian Varallyay, Earthmasters, Factions, and Lazurite. In 2012, Fabrica Records began releasing vinyl records, the first two being Insect Factory's 'Melodies From A Dead Radio' and a reissue on vinyl of Robert Turman's 'Beyond Painting' album, which had previously only been available on a limited edition CD-R. In 2013, 'Beyond Painting' was included in many year-end lists as one of the best reissue records of the year in British avant garde music magazine The Wire, AdHoc.fm, and the staff lists for New York's Other Music record store. Since 2010, Fabrica Records has continued to release limited edition cassettes, vinyl records, and compact discs by U.S.-based and international experimental music artists.

Did You Know?

• Fabrica Records was started in 2010 by Joao Da Silva out of his Gowanus, Brooklyn apartment.
• The label's first release was a 44-minute home-made cassette titled 'Life Passes Away Like Idle Chatter' by Luciernaga, limited to 100 copies.
• In 2012, Fabrica Records released its first vinyl records: Insect Factory's 'Melodies From A Dead Radio' and a reissue of Robert Turman's 'Beyond Painting'.
• Robert Turman's 'Beyond Painting' reissue was named one of the best reissue records of 2013 by The Wire magazine, AdHoc.fm, and Other Music record store.

Origins: From Chilean Punk to a Brooklyn Apartment

Fabrica Records traces its roots to the musical journey of Joao Da Silva, a figure whose path wound through several distinct scenes before settling in Brooklyn. From 1995 to 2004, Da Silva was deeply embedded in Santiago, Chile's hardcore punk community, an experience that clearly shaped his later aesthetic sensibilities. After relocating to Washington, DC, he found himself working as a clerk at Smash! Records while simultaneously lending his hands to the distribution, advertising, and sales operations of the Amor y Lucha label. Throughout this period, he had been quietly experimenting with treated guitar and noise-based compositions since the 1990s, eventually channeling those explorations into a solo project called The Black Light Collective. In June 2008, Da Silva made the move to Brooklyn, New York, and from his Gowanus apartment, he began what would become Fabrica Records in 2010—initially conceived as a small, home-made cassette tape operation releasing limited-edition recordings.

The First Cassette and the DIY Ethos

The label's inaugural release, 'Life Passes Away Like Idle Chatter,' carried a certain DIY intimacy that would define Fabrica's early identity. This 44-minute home-made cassette featured music from Da Silva's project Luciernaga and was pressed in an edition of just one hundred copies, each bearing hand-painted labels. Rather than being sold through conventional retail channels, most of those copies were exchanged by mail with fellow noise musicians—a practice that embedded the release within a tight-knit network of like-minded artists. Over the following two years, Fabrica expanded its cassette output to include recordings by local Brooklyn acts such as STRNGLV, Adrian Varallyay, Earthmasters, Factions, and Lazurite, building a small but distinctive catalog rooted in the neighborhood's experimental scene. This period established the label's core philosophy: small pressings, personal curation, and a commitment to artists working at the margins of conventional music.

Going to Vinyl and Earning Critical Attention

In 2012, Fabrica Records took a significant step beyond the cassette format by entering vinyl production. The first two LPs marked this expansion: Insect Factory's 'Melodies From A Dead Radio' and a long-awaited vinyl reissue of Robert Turman's 'Beyond Painting,' an album that had previously existed only as a limited-edition CD-R. That Turman reissue went on to earn substantial critical attention. In 2013, it was named among the best reissue records of the year by The Wire, the respected British avant-garde music publication, as well as by AdHoc.fm and the staff selection list at New York's Other Music record store. This recognition signaled that a label operating out of a Brooklyn apartment, releasing small pressings of noise and experimental work, had found a place in the broader conversation about contemporary avant-garde music. The vinyl era also broadened the label's reach, making previously obscure recordings accessible to a wider audience of collectors and listeners.

A Roster Spanning Genres and Borders

Since its founding in 2010, Fabrica Records has maintained a deliberately eclectic roster spanning multiple genres and geographies. The label's catalog encompasses experimental music, contemporary compositions, drone, and noise, with artists ranging from U.S.-based acts to international musicians. Notable names on the roster include Insect Factory, Robert Turman, Rambutan, Lazurite, Hakobune, Derek Rogers, Unicorn, Public Speaking, and The Tobacconists—each representing a different facet of the broader avant-garde and experimental landscape. The label has consistently released music across three physical formats: limited-edition cassettes, vinyl records, and compact discs, giving collectors multiple ways to engage with the material. This multi-format, multi-genre approach reflects Da Silva's own musical history, which spans hardcore punk, treated guitar, and noise, and suggests a curatorial philosophy that values sonic boundary-pushing over genre purity. The Brooklyn base has served as both a creative hub and a practical anchor for this ongoing project.

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