Which label is putting out the best music lately?

With the constant bombardment of music I willingly subject myself to on a daily basis, I decided today to study which labels I listen to most, based on the quality and originality of their roster.

Paper Bag Records (Canada)

Why not start with Canadian underdogs Paper Bag Records, which have been pushing Canada's best for years, but seem to have taken a more important role recently. For me, Amon Tobin and Joe 'Double Click' Chapman's Two Fingers project has been heavy on rotation, especially the instrumentals EP that was issued September 8th. Dope dub d&b fused hip hop breaks. More recently, Montreal's CFCF is issuing his hotly anticipated debut LP Continent on October 27th. This one promises to be jammed packed with psychedelic space disco jams that would make The Junior Boys bow in shame. Otherwise recently, the label also issued the new You Say Party! We Say Die! album, XXXX, and is also charged of taking care of Sweden's italo disco Queen Sally Shapiro in Canada. Other honorable Paper Bag roster members include Woodhands, Stars, Fembots, The Acorn, Winter Gloves, Rock Plaza Central and Slim Twig!

Moshi Moshi Music (UK)

The U.K. is home of some of the most cutting edge music in all fields. Moshi Moshi embodies the above statement in all aspects of the artists they sign. This summer I was lucky enough to catch the 10th Year Anniversary tour of Moshi Moshi Records in Montreal at the Sala Rosa. Incidentally, they had three of my favorite summer of 2009 Moshi Moshi bands performing. First up we had The Wave Pictures, a rock 3 piece featuring David Tattersall's low frequency falsetto, giving it somewhat of a trademark sound. Second was my favorite two piece band so far this year (with their album Yeah So released in June), Slow Club, a husband/wife creative duo singing about a variety of love related topics over his reverb infested accoustic guitar and her stand-up drum percussion madness(a recipe for something beautiful). Last but not least, Norwegian party music specialists, Casiokids, put up a solid closing performance. By that point I was pretty drunk and dancing to these clowns and their electro funk, with guitars, synths and high pitched vocals. I left the venue that night with a Casiokids T-Shirt on my back. There were only about 40 people at the show, clearly because no one distributes these bands in Canada yet, meaning that there is no press or marketing on them in the region.

Those are but a sample of the great depth featured on the Moshi Moshi roster. James Yuill's album last year, for example, was one of my favorites, featuring electro acoustic pop that rivaled Jose Gonzales and Fink. Otherwise, other bands worth mentioning from the Moshi Moshi roster are... Late of the Pier, Kate Nash, Au Revoir Simone, Fanfarlo, Hot Chip, Friendly Fires, Florence and the Machine and Architecture in Helsinki!

Labrador Records (Sweden)

Indie-pop is not better represented in the world than by Labarador Records. Through their solid roster of varied sounds, they've established themselves as a house hold name in quality. This year, important releases by The Legends, The Radio Dept. and The Sound of Arrows only reinforced that fact. Not to mention the signing of Little Big Adventure 2010 looks promising as twee pop veterans Club 8 are set for a release in April and a The Radio Dept. LP to follow this year's EP.

So there you have it. Notice I ignored American based labels? That's because they all get enough press already. Keep reading pitchfork media to stay in that mold...