Varla Records

Varla Records was a small, short-lived record label founded by Lori Montana, under the pseudonym "Dyxploitation", who was named Techno Dyke's dyke of the month in June 2001, and her partner Danie Johnson. Varla was founded with the intention of showcasing some of the bands that were coming out of the artistically vibrant East Village in the mid-1980s. Only two recordings were released by Varla, and one of these recordings was the Frieda single Disco Lover / Plastic Rap. The single, released in 1987, features John Flansburgh on guitar. Though it was rumored that Frieda was dropped by Varla after it was discovered that she was a toy doll and not a person, Varla's dissolution was actually the result of a steam pipe malfunction which caused the destruction of a majority of the label's stock, a significant financial setback. Despite this, Montana and Johnson remained very active in the visual and performance art scene of the East Village.