K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the band Dub Narcotic Sound System. Inspired by Sun, SST, Rough Trade, CJ Records, Bomp!, Dischord, and many others, Johnson started the label originally with the simple intention of making his friends' music available to the world, but over time its reputation grew.
The K motto is "exploding the teenage underground into passionate revolt against the corporate ogre since 1982." The label has been so influential in anti-corporate independent music and underground DIY punk culture, particularly in the Olympia music scene, that it was the subject of a documentary directed by Heather Rose Dominic entitled The Shield Around the K, with a tagline of "Do It Yourself".
