Kranky Records
Encyclopedia
Kranky is an independent record label
, located in Chicago
, Illinois
. It was started in 1993
by Bruce Adams and Joel Leoschke.
The bands it houses are noted for combining experimental
and often electronic
influences with elements of more traditional rock
structures, and many of the artists on Kranky are inspired by or revolve around ambient
, psychedelic
, and experimental music
.
Their first release was the debut album, Prazision LP, by Labradford
in 1993
.
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, located in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. It was started in 1993
1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
by Bruce Adams and Joel Leoschke.
The bands it houses are noted for combining experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
and often electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
influences with elements of more traditional rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
structures, and many of the artists on Kranky are inspired by or revolve around ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, psychedelic
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
, and experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
.
Their first release was the debut album, Prazision LP, by Labradford
Labradford
Labradford is a U.S. post-rock musical group from Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1991. They have released six full albums from 1993 to 2001. Though not officially disbanded, its members have since been active with separate projects.-Biography:...
in 1993
1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
.
Current artists
- Autistic Daughters
- Andrew Pekler
- Atlas SoundAtlas SoundBradford James Cox is an American musician best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Atlanta, Georgia-based psychedelic and ambient band Deerhunter. He also pursues a solo career under the moniker Atlas Sound. Cox formed Deerhunter with drummer Moses Archuleta in 2001. The band has released...
- Benoit PioulardBenoit PioulardThomas Meluch is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, writer, and photographer, best known by his pseudonym Benoît Pioulard.- Biography :...
- BelongBelong (band)Belong is an American experimental music duo composed of Turk Dietrich and Michael Jones. The group formed in New Orleans in 2002. Their debut album, October Language, was recorded in 2004 and released in 2006. The duo's sound blends ambient and glitch styles, with a focus on guitar textures...
- Bird Show
- Boduf Songs
- Brent Gutzeit
- Brian McBrideBrian McBride (artist)Brian Edward McBride is a musician best known as one half of the duo Stars of the Lid. He has also released two solo albums, When The Detail Lost Its Freedom and The Effective Disconnect on Kranky Records using his own name. McBride moved to Austin, Texas in 1990 where he met Adam Wiltzie, forming...
- CharalambidesCharalambidesCharalambides is an avant garde musical group originally from Houston, Texas, USA and lately of Austin, Texas. Formed in 1991 by Tom Carter, Christina Carter and Kyle Silfer, they have followed in the footsteps of other Texas psychedelic music artists such as the 13th Floor Elevators, Red Crayola,...
- Chihei HatakeyamaChihei Hatakeyamais an electronic music artist from Tokyo, Japan. He released his first full-length album, Minima Moralia on Kranky Records in 2006. Hatakeyama's music is characteristically very slow, composed by repeatedly processing guitars, pianos, and vibraphones on a laptop. The result is a mix of droning...
- Christopher Bissonnette
- Chris Herbert
- Clear Horizon
- Cloudland Canyon
- Dean RobertsDean RobertsDean Roberts is a musician from New Zealand. During the mid 1990s he was a member of the trio Thela with Rosy Parlane and Dion Workman. After Thela disbanded, Roberts recorded 3 solo albums under the name White Winged Moth, followed by a series of releases under his own name.Along with Martin...
- DeerhunterDeerhunterDeerhunter is an American four-piece indie rock group originating from Atlanta, Georgia. The band, consisting of Bradford Cox, Moses Archuleta, Josh Fauver, and Lockett Pundt, have described themselves as "ambient punk," though they incorporate a wide range of genres, including noise rock, art...
- DisappearsDisappearsDisappears is a rock band from Chicago formed in 2008. The band plays a mixture of shoegaze, krautrock and garage rock.The band was formed by Brian Case and Graeme Gibson and fleshed out with guitarist Jonathan Van Herik and bassist Damon Carruesco. They played Pitchfork Music Festival in 2009.In...
- Dawn Smithson
- Ethernet
- FelixFelix (band)Felix are a British musical group whose current band members include Lucinda Chua, Chris Summerlin and Elv Beetham. In 2009, Felix signed to Chicago based label Kranky Records following support from Ambient Music band Stars of the Lid...
- Fontanelle
- Greg DavisGreg Davis (musician)Greg Davis is an American electronic musician who has recorded albums drawing from a wide variety of sources, including guitar, field recording, various world / ethnic / traditional instruments, percussion, and voice, all delicately processed through digital manipulation...
- Gregg Kowalsky
- GrowingGrowing (band)Growing is a drone music/ambient music/noise music band formed in Olympia, Washington, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The group was founded in 2001 by Kevin Doria , Joe Denardo , and Zack Carlson...
- Jessica BailiffJessica BailiffJessica Bailiff is an American singer-songwriter from Toledo, Ohio. Her music is largely classified as slowcore, although it contains elements of post-rock and shoegaze. Bailiff was discovered by Low's Alan Sparhawk, who recommended her earlier demos to Kranky Records, the label on which Bailiff...
- Jonas ReinhardtJonas ReinhardtJonas Reinhardt is a four-piece American electronic music group from San Francisco, California, signed to Kranky Records. The band's sound is influenced by electronic music of the 1970s, particularly in the use of analog synthesizers and keyboards. A debut full-length was released in 2008, with a...
- Keith Fullerton WhitmanKeith Fullerton WhitmanKeith Fullerton Whitman is an American electronic musician who has recorded albums influenced by many genres, including ambient music, drill and bass, and krautrock. He records and performs using many aliases, of which the most familiar is Hrvatski...
- Ken Camden
- LabradfordLabradfordLabradford is a U.S. post-rock musical group from Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1991. They have released six full albums from 1993 to 2001. Though not officially disbanded, its members have since been active with separate projects.-Biography:...
- LichensLichens (musician)Lichens is the name of Robert A.A. Lowe's musical project, created for performance and recording solo and with collaborators.Lowe was previously a member of 90 Day Men before beginning his solo project. In live performances, Lichens commonly features looping wordless vocals, acoustic and electric...
- LoscilLoscilLoscil is the electronic/ambient music project of Scott Morgan, from Vancouver, BC. The name Loscil is taken from the "looping oscillator" function in Csound...
- Lotus PlazaLotus PlazaLotus Plaza is the solo project of American musician Lockett Pundt, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist of Atlanta-based ambient group Deerhunter. Pundt joined Deerhunter in 2005 as a guitarist. He is also the best friend of Deerhunter vocalist Bradford Cox. His debut album as Lotus Plaza, The...
- Nudge
- Pan•American
- Raglani
- Stars of the LidStars of the LidStars of the Lid is a duo specializing in drone-based ambient music. They list among their influences minimalist and electronic composers such as Arvo Pärt, Zbigniew Preisner, Gavin Bryars, and Henryk Górecki, as well as Talk Talk , post-rock artists Labradford, and ambient innovator Brian...
- Strategy
- The Dead TexanThe Dead TexanThe Dead Texan is an audio-visual musical duo comprising Adam Wiltzie and Greek video artist Christina Vantzou. Wiltzie is better known as one half of the ambient project Stars of the Lid...
- Tim HeckerTim HeckerTim Hecker is an electronic musician and sound artist based in Montreal, Canada. Hecker previously recorded under the moniker Jetone, but has become better known internationally for his ambient recordings released through Kranky, Mille Plateaux, Alien8, Force Inc, Staalplaat, and Fat Cat under his...
- To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie
- Valet (Honey Owens)
- White RainbowAdam ForknerAdam Forkner is a musician from Portland, Oregon who, since 2003, has performed as White Rainbow.-as White Rainbow:*"Humidifier Plaza" digital, self-released via whiterainbowpizza.bandcamp.com 2011...
- Windy & CarlWindy & Carl-Overview:Cited as "A leading light of the Michigan space-rock scene" by Allmusic, the minimalist group formed in 1993 around the core husband-and-wife duo of guitarist Carl Hultgren and bassist/singer Windy Weber...
Former artists
- Aix Em Klemm
- AmpAmp (band)Amp is an electronic space rock band formed in London by Richard F. Walker in 1992, after collaborating with David Pearce on the The Secret Garden and the Distance projects...
- Bowery ElectricBowery ElectricBowery Electric was an American indie band formed in New York's East Village in 1992 by Lawrence Chandler and Martha Schwendener.-Music:Bowery Electric's music defies easy classification...
- Christmas Decorations
- DadamahDadamahDadamah were a band from New Zealand, active during the early 1990s. The band consisted of Kim Pieters, Peter Stapleton, Roy Montgomery, and Janine Stagg. After the band broke up, the members went on to numerous other music projects, including Flies Inside The Sun, Doramaar, Dissolve, and...
- Dissolve
- Doldrums
- Flies Inside The SunFlies Inside The SunFlies Inside the Sun were a band from New Zealand. They formed in 1993, and consisted of Kim Pieters, Peter Stapleton, Danny Butt, and Brian Crook. They were part of a prominent improvisation / noise scene which was active in New Zealand at the time, documented in magazines such as Opprobrium and...
- Godspeed You! Black EmperorGodspeed You! Black EmperorGodspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994...
- James PlotkinJames PlotkinJames Plotkin is an American guitarist and producer, famous for his role in bands such as Khanate and OLD, but with an extensive catalogue outside these bands. He has performed guitar duties for bands Phantomsmasher and Scorn and continues to remix tracks for bands such as KK Null, Nadja, Sunn...
- JessamineJessamine (band)Jessamine was a band that recorded three albums for Kranky records between 1994 and 1998 and a number of singles for other record labels. These singles were later collected by the band on a self-released compilation album....
- LowLow (band)Low is an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993. As of 2010, the group is composed of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker , both founding members, and Steve Garrington ....
- MagnogMagnogMagnog were a U.S. space-rock/post-rock band, initially active in the mid to late 1990s, then returning to live performances in 2011.-Biography:...
- Out HudOut HudOut Hud was an electronic band formed in 1996 in the Bay Area of California and later based in New York City. The band consisted of guitarist Nic Offer, bassist Tyler Pope, cellist Molly Schnick, vocalist/drummer Phyllis Forbes and mixer Justin Van Der Volgen. Pope, Offer, and Van Der Volgen are...
- Philosopher's Stone
- Roy MontgomeryRoy MontgomeryRoy Montgomery is a guitarist from Christchurch, New Zealand.He has played in several New Zealand bands, including Compulsory Fun, Murder Strikes Pink, The Pin Group, The Shallows, Dadamah and Dissolve...
- Spiny Anteaters
- Tomorrowland