Category: Label Profile

Source: The Wire.

Brooklyn based 577 Records was born out of the friendship between Daniel Carter and Federico Ughi, and its eclectic tapestry of dissonance – whether it comes in the thrust of free jazz and whirling guitars or the pulse of drum machines and synths – adds weight to Ughi’s claim that musicians survive when they nourish friendship. “Everybody should put out a label with your friends,” Ughi gleefully remarks. “People are the key to this, more than a [singular] genre.” With a history which spans over 20 years, many editions of its Forward Festival, and a new music residency Sounds Of Freedom, 577 exemplifies what can happen when the scene creates conditions for the old and new generations of improvisors to play together. Therefore, let this list of tracks serve as an invitation to listen to what friendships built on dissonance can offer.

Source: Pitchfork.

The label, based in Lima, Peru, specializes in Latin American experimental music, and while its catalog features plenty of contemporary artists from across the region—and the globe—it maintains a strong focus on unearthing overlooked classics and unknown gems that reassert Latin America’s place in avant-garde history.

Source: Bandcamp Daily.

Stollman shuttered ESP in 1975 when it finally became financially untenable even for his shoestring budget. But he renewed his passion project in 2005 after retiring from his job as an Assistant Attorney General for New York State. “As he pointed out,” Holtje says, “it sounds really impressive except there are literally hundreds of [Assistant Attorneys General].”

Since ESP’s revival, the label has pushed Stollman’s original agenda forward, filling the void with new, uncompromising artists. “I like to think that some of the people on the label now will be thought of in much the same way 30, 40 years down the road that we now think of, say, [avant-jazz heroes] Milford Graves or Henry Grimes or Ronnie Boykins,” says Holtje.

Source: Bandcamp Daily.

Since 2005, Dragon’s Eye has been helmed by Yann Novak. But the label was actually founded by his father Paul—a bohemian baker who moonlighted as a radio DJ—in ‘80s Madison, Wisconsin as a vehicle for releasing the aforementioned endeavor. Fast forward 26 years, and the younger Novak is following in his father’s footsteps. After cutting his teeth partying in the ‘90s Midwest rave scene, he felt inspired to pursue a career as a musician as his tastes slowly began skewing more experimental. When Novak needed a home for a dance piece he’d scored for a friend, he realized that he had no strong connections in the music world—so he decided that it would be fun to resurrect his father’s old passion project. Slowly but surely, his work on this new iteration of Dragon’s Eye led to a treasure trove of groundbreaking music from artists all over the world.

Source: Bandcamp Daily.

As anyone in his orbit will probably tell you, Relative Pitch label owner Kevin Reilly is, above all, a music fan. Over the last 12 years, that fandom has been the driving force behind Relative Pitch, which focuses on improvisational music, free jazz, avant-garde, and other experimental subgenres. Reilly is uninterested in trends or hype. Raised in New Jersey by working-class parents with a suspicion of art, he’s always been wary of charlatans. As a result, his approach to the music world is remarkably no-nonsense. He’s unsnobby and unimpressed by gimmicks, but he’s always listening—always searching for the sublime, the transcendent, the transformative.

Source: I Care If You Listen.

This year marks the 40th anniversary for innova Recordings – a record label that has gone through many phases as their focus has expanded to embrace a dynamic range of artists, genres, and styles.

Recently, record labels, streaming platforms, live tours, and the music industry as a whole have been under fire for being unaccommodating to artists at all levels; failing to treat them holistically and instead engaging in predatory and capitalistic ventures that ultimately cause financial (and creative) harm. innova seeks to combat this exploitative field by “offering artistic and technical guidance throughout the recording and publication process,” helping artists bring forth their visions as authentically as possible, while also implementing wide-reaching distribution and marketing practices that bring work to global audiences.

Source: Clotmag.

A Line, a succession of points, a fine line, a route; or many, like when talking about LINE as a label, house, family and source of inspiration founded by sound artist Richard Chartier 22 years ago. Sometimes conceptual, sometimes abstract, sometimes somewhere between the two, or just out of any category, the works published by this label condense a vast and exotic catalogue of sound art, initially created as a division of the mythical 12k, to later become independent in its own search, permeated by a marked but broad vision of sonic minimalism.