Shame Destroyer is a new record label founded in June 2020, stemming from the collective songwriting and noise-making of a group of musicians whose friendships began in the early 90’s. They were part of the most enduring line-up of Toronto musical project Passion d’Flower: Sameer Gidwani, Daniel Dutnoff, Vince “Vaslav” Strnad, Neil Leyton and Devin Barker Stoneham. Fast forward.
As a new music label – with some old noise to be re-issued too – fueled by the desire to crank out and share music that is necessarily independent, founder Neil Leyton and his multiple bandmates and friends will release and share new music that comes from the heart, without much regard for industry trends or any other obstacles that may prevent one from releasing their music. Having a storied past and a look to some kind of future, we feel that if it is worth writing and recording it is worth releasing. From a desire to play, to experiment, to sing, in and out of key, to make something that matters (at least to ourselves), and maybe just to chase immortality through noise, Shame Destroyer Records is here.
Music matters – it moves us, it brings us together (and separates us, which we don’t like), sometimes it even saves us (maybe that’s always what it does). Rather than tell you more about what music is to us, this is what Shame Destroyer is: Bands and/or solo artists who love to make music, alone or together, so long as it is unique and as honest as they know how to be. Whatever we achieve, and whichever band or artist from the label you are listening to, you can know that there was nothing left inside when the song was put to tape, cloud, or airwaves.
No shame. Just love.