ROIR Information

ROIR (pronounced “roar”), or Reach Out International Records, is a New York City-based record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper. ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and the label initially distributed on cassette exclusively. Much of the label’s catalog is now available in CD and LP formats. ROIR put out its first release in 1981, by James Chance and the Contortions. In 1982 ROIR released the compilation album New York Thrash, documenting the hardcore punk scene in the New York metropolitan area. It has since become a definitive album in the genre. Most of ROIR’s early catalog consists of punk rock and No Wave releases by artists such as Suicide, Glenn Branca, and Lydia Lunch. The label later branched out into other genres including hardcore punk, reggae, ska and dub. ROIR released early recordings by Bad Brains (Bad Brains), Beastie Boys, Einstürzende Neubauten (2X4), Flipper (Blow’n Chunks), MC5, New York Dolls, Television, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, and The Skatalites (Stretching Out).