HAKATAK International

HAKATAK International was founded in early 1996 by Paul Robb of the recording act Information Society. Paul left that group in 1993 and concentrated for the next several years on music for film and television. Among other projects Paul scored the international versions of the MTV programs The Real World and Road Rules.

While in Information Society, Paul wrote and/or produced seven Billboard Hot 100 hits including the #1 smash “What’s On Your Mind”. He has also produced projects for other artists, among them Red Flag, Noel, Kon Kan, the Ramones and India.

In 1990, Paul composed and produced two tracks that were intended for the Information Society album Hack, called “Hack 1″ and “A Knife and A Fork”. The tracks met with such positive response that it was decided to release them on their own, on the then-fictitious HAKATTAK label, under the Think Tank moniker. The tracks went on to become underground smashes both in the U.S. and abroad, most notably in Japan and the U.K. It is no surprise then that when Paul began entertaining the idea of starting a new label devoted to electronic dance music, the HAKATAK name came to mind.

Today HAKATAK is a thriving indie label with national distribution through IODA (Independent Onllne Distribution Alliance). The first release, Think Tank’s Skullbuggery appeared in September 1996 and proceeded to move up club and college charts nationwide, spending four weeks in the Top Ten of CMJ’s RPM chart. Mandroid, an EP consisting of Think Tank remixes and rarities, followed soon after. The HAKATAK roster also includes Brother Sun Sister Moon, a trip hop project featuring the incredible Barbara Cohen (whom the Saint Paul Pioneer Press described as “dark, melodramatic, intense, desire filled and dangerous”) on vocals; Dissonance, a pop-industrial group from Texas; Friendship 7, an electro/guitar pop duo; Metrognome:Falcotronik, a Glitch-Hop duo based in Tucson; and Information Society.

HAKATAK’s mission is to explore all avenues of electronic music from the harsh noises of industrial to the lulling funkiness of trip hop and the grinding beats of techno and house. It is our belief that the future of pop music lies within these styles, and we are resolved to nurture the artists who will bring that future to pass.