Lovitt Records began in 1995 as a mailorder distro run by Brian Lowit while attending college in North Carolina, putting out releases from his hometown of Washington, D.C. Upon moving back to DC, he joined forces with Frodus singer/guitarist Shelby Cinca, who had early releases on Lovitt, and the two went full steam into releasing bands like Engine Down, Sleepytime Trio, and Four Hundred Years.
By the turn of the millennium, Shelby stepped back to focus on his bands and graphic design, staying on for occasional artwork but leaving the day-to-day. Lovitt kept documenting the DC area and expanded outward to other cities and bands abroad.
The label's logo was designed by Shelby Cinca and Steve Kille (Dead Meadow, The Impossible Five), originally inspired by Cinca's love of Japanese kawaii culture and Baba Yaga's Hut: a cute cartoon record with chicken legs. The legs were eventually dropped from the main logo, though they resurface occasionally in posters and art. What remained was a grinning vinyl record, its expression drawn from the positive demeanor of Lovitt's founder, Brian Lowit.
After two decades attending Iceland Airwaves, Lovitt started releasing Icelandic artists, making Reykjavik a de facto second home for the label. Years later, Shelby rejoined as co-owner and brought Sweden's Carcrash Records into the fold. Now a new era begins.
