Fanta Records is a non-profit record label supported by The Pat Placzek Legacy Fund

Working with select community partners, CiTR & Discorder Magazine will be supporting the release of two albums per year via Fanta Records with funding from the Pat Placzek Legacy Fund (PPLF). Fanta Records will also provide learning opportunities for CiTR & Discorder Magazine volunteers who want experience working in the music industry. And the label’s second release will be awarded to the winner of Shindig 2020, CiTR & Discorder Magazine’s annual battle-of-the-bands.

Starting with the release of Zach Fanta’s I Ain’t Tha 1

On June 16th, 2015, Pat Placzek passed away from cancer-related causes at the age of 34. He was diagnosed with epithelial sarcoma in 2012, and mere months after completing treatment was again diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Pat’s best chance at recovery was CAR T-Cell therapy, an experimental procedure that came with a high cost – an estimated $530,000. Undaunted, Pat’s community rallied around him, launching the crowdfunding campaign Pat of Hearts which successfully raised over $220,000 to support his entry into this new form of treatment. Sadly, he passed away before he was able to participate.

To celebrate Pat’s life, his friends and family established the Pat Placzek Legacy Fund in partnership with CiTR & Discorder Magazine. Pat was a UBC alumnus and an active member of both Vancouver and CiTR’s music communities. The $50,000 fund is intended to establish a positive and long-lasting legacy in Pat’s name in these communities that were so important to him.

Over the years Pat performed with many different bands, and even as those bands took breaks or broke up, he never stopped. Towards the end of his life, he was determined to share his passion and creativity any way he could. With that in mind, he used his drive and DIY-spirit to focus his energy on something that was purely Pat Placzek: Zach Fanta. Zach Fanta is Pat at his most confident, unapologetic, and vulnerable, revealing a side of him rarely heard of in his previous musical projects. I Ain’t Tha 1, his posthumous debut EP, is a collection of songs about growing up, self-reflection, humiliation, and heartache.

And now, with the support of the PPLF, CiTR & Discorder Magazine are proud to announce the launch of Fanta Records and it’s inaugural release, Zach Fanta’s I Ain’t Tha 1. The album will be available on cassette and digital download through Zach Fanta’s Bandcamp page.