Dorado Records

Ollie Buckwell established Dorado Records in Soho, London, in 1992. Its early roster featured D*Note, Outside, Jhelisa and Brooklyn Funk Essentials, with releases connected to London’s Acid Jazz, UK Street Soul and Trip Hop scenes. The label’s music spans soul, jazz, trip hop, drum and bass and UK garage. Among its early albums were D*Note’s Babel, released in 1993, and Brooklyn Funk Essentials’ Cool & Steady & Easy, from 1994. Dorado also put out Outside’s The Plan and To Forgive But Not Forget, along with Jhelisa’s Friendly Pressure and Whirl Keeps Turning.

In 1995, Dorado started Filter as an electronic-dance imprint. Three years later, it launched an online service that streamed its recordings in full. The label licensed its music to iTunes in 2003 and opened a US office in 2004. Natalie Walker’s first album for Dorado, Urban Angel, appeared in 2006; later releases included With You in 2008, Spark in 2011 and Strange Bird in 2015. Jhelisa returned with the double album 7 Keys in 2021, while NIN3S joined the label that year and issued Hopeyard in 2022. Outside came back with Almost Out in 2023.