SST Records is a record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by Greg Ginn. It was originally an electronics company called SST Electronics (one of the employees was Black Flag bassist Chuck Dukowski); Ginn converted it to a record label so he could release Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown EP. The label was a prominent figure in the L.A. punk scene around 1980 and 1981, releasing more albums by Black Flag as well as The Minutemen, The Descendents, and The Stains, and has since remained a major symbol of the city's underground culture. SST quickly branched out in its early years to release albums by bands outside of the southern California area, notably Soundgarden, Meat Puppets, Husker Du, Bad Brains, and others.
