Astral Spirits Records is an independent

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

specializing in

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

, improvisation, and experimental music. Based in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, the label was founded in 2014 by musician Nathan Cross, who started Astral Spirits as a platform for "the new wave of heavy free jazz"; as the breadth of the label's offerings expanded, imprint Astral Editions became the home for its more experimental releases. Astral Spirits has been featured in ''

Bandcamp Daily Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

'', ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'', the '' Chicago Reader'', '' DownBeat'', and the ''Free Jazz Collective''; ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' has called the label "crucial" and "enormously prolific"; and in 2019, ''

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...

'' included Astral Spirits among their favorite labels of the decade.

History

In the early 2010s, Cross began to consider starting a record label or a live-recorded series as a way to stay involved in music without touring extensively. He spoke with Morgan Coy of Monofonus Press while in the early planning stages, and Coy encouraged him to start a label under the Monofonus umbrella. Cross named the label after a recurring song title in

Joe McPhee Joe McPhee (born November 3, 1939) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist born in Miami, Florida, a player of tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone. McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is ...

's work: the first "Astral Spirits" track appeared on McPhee's ''

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

'', recorded in 1971, and he continued to use the name on later releases (e.g., '' Oleo'' and '' In the Spirit''). Astral Spirits began as a cassette-based label, but later expanded to include vinyl and CDs. All albums are also available as digital releases, but the catalogue is not available through low-revenue streaming services such as Spotify. Since the label's inception, Cross has handled most logistics––aside from artwork and layout––himself, including curation, press, and shipping.

Astral Editions

Cross launched Astral Editions in 2019, initially intending to make it a digital-only offshoot. The imprint began carrying physical products in 2020, distinguishing itself instead by a greater emphasis on experimentalism outside of the jazz continuum. The Astral Editions Bandcamp carries the tagline, "a primer on some of the best unheard experimental music being made today by names you don't know yet, but should".

Art and design

The Astral Spirits logo was designed by Mason McFee, who also chose the label's signature Cooper Black font; for the first two years, McFee created all tape and LP artwork. Jaime Zuverza later took over design, eventually developing a template for the label's distinctive visual aesthetic; he listens to, and creates artwork specifically for, the majority of Astral Spirits releases.

Roster

References

{{reflist Experimental music record labels American jazz record labels Jazz record labels American independent record labels American record labels Record labels based in Texas Noise music record labels