Influential British record label Young Turks is changing its name. On Tuesday, the label announced the change in a lengthy Instagram post. The term Young Turks has been connotated with a group that carried out the Armenian Genocide in 1915.
Founder Caius Pawson said that he had been “unaware of the deeper history of the term” and said that the original name was taken from a Rod Stewart song when it was founded in 2005.
Additionally, the label, now known as Young, said it made a donation to the London branch of the Armenian Institute.
You can read the full statement below:
Today we’re changing our name to Young.
Explaining the change of name, Young Turks / Young founder Caius Pawson says:
From today, Young Turks will become Young. The name change follows a long period of reflection and I wanted to explain the origins of the Young Turks name and the reasons for the change.
We originally named Young Turks after the Rod Stewart song of the same name. When I first heard the song, it took a week of 2005-era internet searches to find out what it was and even longer to understand its meaning. The name intrigued me, evoking the solidarity of youth. In 2005, it seemed to perfectly sum up what we were: teenagers, wanting and waiting to do something, anything.
However, we were unaware of the deeper history of the term and, specifically, that the Young Turks were a group who carried out the Armenian Genocide from 1915 onwards. Through ongoing conversations and messages that have developed our own knowledge around the subject, it’s become apparent that the name is a source of hurt and confusion for people. We loved the name for what it meant to us, but in retrospect should have listened more carefully to other voices and acted more quickly. We have always tried to affect positive change and knowing what we do now, it’s only right that we change our name
April 24 is the day of commemoration of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. In memory of those who were killed and those who survived, we have made a donation to the @armenianinstitute, London, a cultural charity that explores contemporary Armenian diasporan life in all its global diversity through research and the arts.
Artists who have released music on the label include FKA twigs, The xx, Sampha, Kamasi Washington and Arlo Parks.
