Joyful Noise Recordings is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

from

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. The label was founded in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an active roster of over 30 bands playing various musical styles, though according to the label, each artist "in one way or another bridges the gap between pop and

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

History

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Joyful Noise began focusing largely on limited edition specialty releases which are generally released on

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

formats packaged with

music downloads A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. This ...

. In addition to releases on

vinyl records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...

, the label has gained notoriety for being at the forefront of the resurgence of

cassette tapes The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

and flexi-discs, as reported by

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

, Under The Radar, and others. Joyful Noise has released single-album cassettes from Akron/Family,

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ( ...

Deerhoof Deerhoof are an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They currently consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noi ...

, of Montreal,

Here We Go Magic Here We Go Magic is an American indie rock band based in Brooklyn, New York. It was formed by core members Luke Temple, Michael Bloch and Peter Hale, in late 2008. The band signed to Western Vinyl in 2008, followed by the five-piece group's signi ...

, and others, and has released multi-album Cassette Box Sets from Dinosaur Jr., of Montreal, and

Joan Of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

. In 2012 Joyful Noise released their first album to chart on Billboard:

Kishi Bashi Kaoru Ishibashi (born November 4, 1975), who performs as Kishi Bashi, is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter currently based in Athens, Georgia. He was a founding member of Jupiter One and, for a few years, was a member of t ...

"151a" (debuting at #6 on the "Heatseekers" chart). Since that time, new music on Joyful Noise from artists such as

Sebadoh Sebadoh () is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for his ...

Dumb Numbers Dumb Numbers is the musical project of Adam Harding. Harding selects musicians for each Dumb Numbers project from a large group of friends and collaborators.” Lou Barlow, Dale Crover, Bobb Bruno (of Best Coast) and others contributed to the ...

David Yow David Yow (born August 2, 1960) is an American musician and actor born in Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and the Jesus Lizard. Yow's debut solo album, '' Tonight You Look Like a Spider'', w ...

Son Lux Son Lux is an American experimental band. Originally the solo project and moniker of founding member Ryan Lott, the band's first three albums, '' At War with Walls & Mazes'', ''We Are Rising'' and ''Lanterns'', shaped the band's unique sound th ...

Swamp Dogg Jerry Williams Jr. (born July 12, 1942), generally credited under the pseudonym Swamp Dogg after 1970, is an American soul and R&B singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. Williams has been described as "one of the great cult figures of ...

Tropical Fuck Storm Tropical Fuck Storm are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed by Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin from The Drones. Lauren Hammel, from the band High Tension, plays drums, and Erica Dunn, from the bands Mod Con, Harmony, an ...

, Why? and others have all charted. From 2012 to 2016, in the spirit of continuing to explore musical community-building through the release of cult artists in obsolete audio-reproduction formats, Joyful Noise offered its monthly

Flexi-Disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntabl ...

singles series. Each disc in the series is of peculiar and notable value as a rarity but some particularly memorable entries include Son Lux's cover of Jean Ritchie's "Black Waters", several

Melvins Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appeare ...

& Joan of Arc-related tracks, a duet by

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...

Stranger Cat Stranger Cat is the electronic music project of Cat Martino on the Indianapolis independent label, Joyful Noise Recordings. Martino has established herself by touring with many artists such as Sharon Van Etten, as well as long-time friend Sufjan S ...

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

Don Caballero Don Caballero (often shortened by members as 'Don Cab') was an American instrumental rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although the band has had numerous lineup changes with co-founder Damon Che (drums and percussion) being the only con ...

and

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded a ...

. The Flexi-Disc's brief renaissance was the second wave of obsolete-format-driven record sales originally conceived of and innovated by Joyful Noise (after cassette-tapes), later to be duplicated by other labels in the independent music world. JNR is also known for producing lathe-cut records, twelve-sided records, records-that-are-also-musical-instruments and a number of other more bizarre and bespoke musical artifacts. In 2013, JNR released the first 7" in their Cause & Effect series—an ongoing project pairing JNR artists (appearing on the A-Side) with artists who have influenced them (appearing on the b-side). In 2014, Joyful Noise started their annual Artist-In-Residence program: working with seasoned cult artists to release the "pure-gold material they've got in the cans that's never found a venue for release" and to continue to support their ongoing work. JNR Artists-In-Residence have included: Tim Kinsella (

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

Cap'n Jazz Cap'n Jazz (sometimes stylised as caP'n Jazz) was an American emo band formed in Chicago in 1989 by brothers Tim and Mike Kinsella, who were joined by Sam Zurick and Victor Villarreal. After a number of name changes and the addition of guitaris ...

et al.),

Rob Crow Robertdale Rulon Crow Jr. (born February 21, 1971) is an American singer and musician from San Diego, California, known for his involvement with the bands Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, Physics, Optiganally Yours and Thingy. He has also led the band ...

(

Pinback Pinback is an American indie rock band from San Diego, California. The band was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow, who have been its two consistent members. They have rele ...

Goblin Cock Goblin Cock is an American heavy metal band from San Diego, California, United States, started by Rob Crow of the band Pinback. Musically, they play a form of doom metal/drone metal with rather unusual lyrical subjects, including pop culture so ...

, Optiganally Yours, et al.),

Jad Fair Jad Fair (born June 9, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese. Biography Fair was born in Coldwater, Michigan. In 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi ...

( Half-Japanese),

Thor Harris Thor Harris (born February 7, 1965) is an artist, sculptor, musician, painter, carpenter and handyman. He was the percussionist for Swans (2010–2016). He has performed with Shearwater (2001–2010), Bill Callahan, The Angels of Light, Lisa ...

(

Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

), and Kramer ( Shimmy-Disc),

, and

Yonatan Gat Yonatan Gat is an Israeli producer, guitarist, and composer based in New York City. His cross-genre work has been called "a vital new music form" by a "legendary live performer" by ''Magnet'' magazine, "melding punk, improvisation, world music ...

+ Stone Tapes. In 2017, Joyful Noise began releasing their White Label series: undiscovered records selected by renowned musicians either represented or friendly with the label.

Yoni Wolf Jonathan Avram "Yoni" Wolf (born April 30, 1979) is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock musician and co-founder of the record label Anticon. From 1997 until 2004, Wolf released music under the stage name Why?. In 2004 he transferred t ...

of Why? selected ''Creature Native'' by The Ophelias as the first-entry in the White Label Series and the band was ultimately drafted to become part of the label's roster. Other curators of the White Label series include Devendra Barnhart,

Janet Weiss Janet Lee Weiss (born September 24, 1965) is an American rock drummer, best known as a former member of Sleater-Kinney and a current member of Quasi. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album ''Mirror Traffic' ...

(

Sleater Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member J ...

Kelley Deal Kelley Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American musician and singer. She has been lead guitarist and co-vocalist of the alternative rock band The Breeders since 1992, and has formed her own side-projects with bands such as R. Ring and The Kelle ...

(

The Breeders The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson ...

Mirah Mirah (born Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn) is an American musician and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. After getting her start in the music scene of Olympia, Washington in the late 1990s, she released a number of well-received solo albums on K ...

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerge ...

Alex Somers Alex Somers (born March 7, 1984) is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland, who attended Berklee College of Music and Listaháskóli Íslands. Somers lives and works in Los Angeles. Previously he ran a recording studi ...

Blanck Mass Blanck Mass is a British electronic solo project by Ivor Novello Award-winning composer Benjamin J Power. He is a founding member of Fuck Buttons. In 2022 Power announced he joined Editors as a full-time member. Career His track "Sundowner" w ...

, Kid Millions,

Meredith Graves Meredith Graves (born September 5, 1987) is an American musician. They fronted the punk rock band Perfect Pussy. In addition to making their own music, they run independent music label Honor Press and serve as director of music for the crowdfund ...

, Make Watt,

Serengeti The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game reserves. The Serengeti ...

tUNE-yARDs Tune-Yards (stylized as tUnE-yArDs) is the American, Oakland, California–based music project of Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner. Garbus's music draws from an eclectic variety of sources and utilizes elements such as loop pedals, ukulele, voca ...

, Astronautilus,

Cate Le Bon Cate Le Bon (born Cate Timothy on 4 March 1983) is a Welsh musician and record producer. She sings in both English and Welsh. She has released six solo studio albums, three EPs and a number of singles. Le Bon has toured with artists such as St. ...

, Circuit des Yeux,

Julianna Barwick Julianna Barwick is an American musician who composes using electronic loops. Her first album, '' The Magic Place'', was released in 2011. Music career Barwick has said that her music is influenced by her participation in church choir while gro ...

Sondre Lerche Sondre Lerche (; born 5 September 1982) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist, now based in Los Angeles, California. He has released nine studio albums. Early life Growing up in a suburb of Bergen, Lerche was heavily influenced by 1980s ...

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...

and others. A

poster and (fellow

Joyful Noise Recordings Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an a ...

artist)

No Joy No Joy are a Canadian shoegaze band from Montreal formed in late 2009 by Jasamine White-Gluz and former member Laura Lloyd. Biography No Joy's first show was with Grant Hart of Husker Du on December 15, 2009. The band continued to play locally, ...

LP made a brief cameo appearance in the 2022 Jordan Peele film, '' Nope.''

Radical projects & experiments

The label is known for candid identification with and support of radical and revolutionary politics. They released collaborations between

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

, done fundraising to oppose the

Trump Administration Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...

through the release of Anal Trump records and stood in solidarity with

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

during the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

. In 2020, JNR founded the

Church of Noise "Church of Noise" is a song by rock band Therapy?, released as a single on A&M Records on 2 March 1998. It is taken from the ''Semi-Detached'' album. This single reached number 29 in the UK Singles Chart. The single was released on CD, red 7" v ...

to build and perpetuate musically empowered community during the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

and through the longtail of its fallout. In 2021, the label was featured in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

as the only independent label interviewed in pursuit of a solution to the vinyl manufacturing slowdown (by doing lathe cut previews of vinyl albums that might take a six months to a year to make it through the manufacturing queue). As the major focus of 2022 artist in residence Joyful Noise Recordings devoted resources to launching the sub-label Stone Tapes, an " End of World Music" imprint, devoted to exploring multicultural styles of sound in combination with state-of-the-art production, and reinforced by personnel from the outer-limits of "radically experimental" independent music, to

who serves as producer, curator, guitarist or otherwise general collaborator on Stone Tapes releases. This project was inspired by the eponymous debut album of the Stone Tapes imprint

Medicine Singers Medicine Singers is a group of Native American ritual performance artists who began performing at pow wows and in other contexts, singing in an Eastern Algonquian dialect under their original moniker, Eastern Medicine Singers. In 2017, they beg ...

, one of the emergent acts in the evolving post-genre(s) Scorched Earth Music or End of World Music.

Bands

Current roster

Big Business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly kn ...

* Busman's Holiday * CJ Boyd * Cedric Noel *

Dale Crover Dale Crover (born October 23, 1967) is an American rock musician. Crover is best known as the drummer for Melvins and has also been the drummer for Men of Porn, Shrinebuilder, Crystal Fairy and, for a brief time, Nirvana. He is also guitarist an ...

Divorcee Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

* Eerie Wanda *

El Ten Eleven El Ten Eleven is an American, Los Angeles-based, post-rock duo, known for combining guitar/bass doubleneck or fretless bass, with heavy looping, or vamping, and the use of an effects pedal, over acoustic or electric drumming. They have releas ...

Half Japanese Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair around 1975, sometime after the family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playi ...

Helvetia Helvetia () is the female national personification of Switzerland, officially ''Confoederatio Helvetica,'' the Swiss Confederation. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing gown, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Swiss fla ...

* Hew Time * J Fernandez *

Jason Loewenstein Jason Loewenstein (born July 20, 1971) is an American alternative rock singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and a member of the indie-rock bands Sebadoh, The Fiery Furnaces, and Circle of Buzzards. He grew up in Northampton, Mass ...

*Jess Joy *

* Kidbug *

* KO * Kramer *

Lil Bub Lil Bub, officially Lil BUB (June 21, 2011 – December 1, 2019), was an American celebrity cat known for her unique physical appearance. Her photos were first posted to Tumblr in November 2011, before being taken off after being featured on the ...

Lou Barlow Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock mus ...

The Low Anthem The Low Anthem is a band from Providence, Rhode Island formed in 2006 by friends Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky. The current lineup consists of Knox Miller (vocals, guitars, trumpets, saws), Prystowsky (vocals, drums, double basses, synths), ...

Magic Sword In mythology, legend or fiction, a magic sword is a sword with magical powers or other supernatural qualities. Renowned swords appear in the folklore of every nation that used swords.Josepha Sherman, ''Once upon a Galaxy'' p 113 In some tra ...

* Memory Map * Mike Adams At His Honest Weight * Mythless *

OHMME Finom (formerly known as OHMME, and Homme) is a rock band from Chicago, which singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist duo Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart formed in 2014. Since 2016, Matt Carroll has been FINOM's drummer. Background Both Cun ...

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

* The Ophelias * Psychic Temple *

Rafter A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members such as wooden beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof shingles, roof deck and its associated ...

Reptar Reptar is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''Rugrats''. It is a green '' T. rex'' (and sometimes appears in red-violet and lilac) with rounded, blue spike-like appendages on his back, which intentionally causes ...

* Richard Edwards * Sedcairn Archives *

Sisyphus In Greek mythology, Sisyphus or Sisyphos (; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος ''Sísyphos'') was the founder and king of Ancient Corinth, Ephyra (now known as Corinth). Hades punished him for cheating death twice by forcing him to roll an immense bo ...

* Sleep Party People *

Sound of Ceres Sound of Ceres is an American dream pop collaboration with K and Ryan Hover of Candy Claws at the band's core. After releasing three albums under the moniker Candy Claws, K and Ryan Hover decided to develop a new sound with a new band, founding S ...

* Suuns *

* Tall Tall Trees * Tim Kinsella *

Toshi Kasai Toshi Kasai is a Japanense record producer, engineer, mixer and musician. He is most well known for his strong vocal production work with hard rock and metal groups such as his long standing relationship with The Melvins and his work with Tool. ...

Victor Villarreal Victor Villarreal is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his role as guitarist in Cap'n Jazz, Owls and Joan of Arc. His music incorporates elements of classical, indie and emo, and contains surreal guitar solos and instrumen ...

* WHY? *

* Yoni & Geti

"Open Relationships"

* Akron/Family *Anal Trump *

Ava Luna Ava Luna is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, United States. Reviews Ice Level was reviewed in Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pi ...

Birthmark A birthmark is a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth—usually in the first month. They can occur anywhere on the skin. Birthmarks are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocy ...

Born Ruffians Born Ruffians are a Canadian indie rock band based in Toronto. Officially founded in 2004 in the Georgian Bay town of Midland, Ontario, the band is composed of frontman Luke Lalonde, bassist Mitch DeRosier, and drummer Steve Hamelin. During the ...

* Brian Marella * Built to Spill * Childbite *

Chris Cohen Christopher David Cohen (born 5 March 1987) is an English former professional footballer and is currently assistant manager at Southampton. Primarily a midfielder, he was able to operate equally in the centre or on the left, but was also emplo ...

Cloud Nothings Cloud Nothings is an American indie rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States, founded by singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi. It currently consists of lead singer and guitarist Dylan Baldi, drummer Jayson Gerycz, bassist Noah Depew, and guitarist ...

Danielson Danielson is an American rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey, that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates. Smith has also released solo work as Bro ...

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

Dead Rider Dead Rider, formerly known as D. Rider, is an American experimental rock band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was created by former U.S. Maple guitarist Todd Rittman, including Rittman as guitar and lead vocalist, Andrea Faught on trump ...

* Divorcée *

DM Stith David Michael Stith is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who released his first album ''Heavy Ghost'' in 2009 on the Asthmatic Kitty label. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. David Stith comes from a musical family: his fa ...

Eric Gaffney Eric Gaffney (born December 25, 1967, in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American songwriter and recording artist, and has been home recording on cassette since 1981. An active participant in the Western Mass hardcore scene, in 1983 he founded ...

Fang Island Fang Island was an American indie rock band formed in Providence, Rhode Island, and based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. The group consisted of the guitarists Jason Bartell and Chris Georges, the bass guitarist Brock Hengin and the drummer ...

* Father Murphy *

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation, an independent record label also located i ...

Hella ''Hella'' is an American slang term that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is used as an intensifying adverb such as in "hella bad" or "hella good" and was eventually added to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' in 2002. It is possibl ...

* Jad Fair & Norman Blake *

Japandroids Japandroids are a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting of Brian King (guitar, vocals) and David Prowse (drums, vocals).Lindsay, Ca"No Fun City Rockers" ''Exclaim!'', May 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. Formed in 2006 ...

* The Jesus Lizard * Jorma Whittaker *

King Buzzo Roger "Buzz" Osborne (born March 25, 1964), also known as King Buzzo, is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is a founding member of the rock band Melvins, as well as Fantômas and Venomous Concept. Biography Born in Morton, Wa ...

* KO * Le Butcherettes *

Lee Ranaldo Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, writer, visual artist and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth (guitar and vocals). In 2004, ''Rolling ...

Make Believe Make believe, also known as pretend play, is a loosely structured form of play that generally includes role-play, object substitution and nonliteral behavior. What separates play from other daily activities is its fun and creative aspect rather t ...

Marmoset The marmosets (), also known as zaris or sagoin, are 22 New World monkey species of the genera ''Callithrix'', ''Cebuella'', ''Callibella'', and ''Mico''. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term "marmoset" is ...

Marnie Stern Marnie Stern (born March 18, 1976) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and guitarist. She has garnered acclaim for her technical skill and tapping style of guitar play. Stern is also a current member of The 8G Band from the show ''Late Ni ...

Monotonix Monotonix were a garage rock band from Tel Aviv, Israel. The group—singer Ami Shalev, guitarist Yonatan Gat, and drummer Ran Shimoni (later replaced by Haggai Fershtman)—released their debut EP in 2008 and toured mostly in the United States ...

Mount Eerie Mount Eerie is the musical project of American songwriter and producer Phil Elverum. Elverum (also of The Microphones) is the principal member of the band, but has collaborated with many other musicians on his records and in live performances. ...

* Natural Dreamers * of Montreal *

Ought ''Ought'' may refer to: *One of the English modal verbs *One of the names for the number 0 in English *Ought (band), a Montreal post-punk band on the Canadian Constellation Records See also *Is–ought problem *Categorical imperative The cate ...

Owls Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vi ...

* Pattern is Movement *

Prince Rama Prince Rama (previously Prince Rama of Ayodhya) was a two-piece "now age" psych- dance band based in Brooklyn, New York, founded by sisters Taraka Larson and Nimai Larson. Discovered by Animal Collective's Avey Tare in a Texas dive bar in 201 ...

Protomartyr A protomartyr (Koine Greek, ''πρότος'' ''prótos'' "first" + ''μάρτυρας'' ''mártyras'' "martyr") is the first Christian martyr in a country or among a particular group, such as a religious order. Similarly, the phrase the Protom ...

* Qui *

Racebannon Racebannon was an American noise punk band from Bloomington, Indiana. The band, formed in September 1996, have cited influence ranging from Antioch Arrow to the Melvins, and have also stated that they're heavily influenced by hardcore, hip-hop, ...

* Richard Swift *

The Sea and Cake The Sea and Cake is an American indie rock band with a jazz influence, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The group formed in the mid-1990s from members of The Coctails (Archer Prewitt), Shrimp Boat (Sam Prekop and Eric Claridge), an ...

* S.M. Wolf *

* Sonny & The Sunsets *

* Swaps * Swirlies * Talk Normal *

Tera Melos Tera Melos is an American math rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 2004. They incorporate many styles of rock, ambient electronics and unconventional song structures. They are currently a three-piece, consisting of guitarist/keyboard ...

Thee Oh Sees Osees are an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1997, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band currently consists of primary songwriter and core member John Dwyer (vocals, guitar), Tim Hellman (bass), Dan Rincon (d ...

* Thom Fekete *

* The Unspeakable Practices *

Wye Oak The Wye Oak was the largest white oak tree in the United States and the State Tree of Maryland from 1941 until its demise in 2002. Wye Oak State Park preserves the site where the revered tree stood for more than 400 years in the town of Wye M ...

* Yip Deceiver

Past roster

* Abner Trio * Berry * Big Bear * Bizzart * Crosss * The Delicious * Hermit Thrushes * Hi Red Center * I Love You (Yah Tibyah La Blu) * Jookabox * Lafcadio * Man at Arms * Manners for Husbands * Melk the g6-49 * Prizzy Prizzy Please * Push-Pull * Receptor Sight * Richard Edwards *

* Solos * Stationary Odyssey *

Surfer Blood Surfer Blood is an American indie rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, currently signed to Kanine Records, formerly signed to Joyful Noise Recordings and Warner Bros. Records. The band has four members: John Paul Pitts (lead vo ...

* Valina

Subscriptions and series

Artist in Residence

Starting in 2014, Joyful Noise began hosting artists for year-long residencies in which they release new music exclusively on the label. *

& Stone Tapes 2022 * Kramer 2020 *

2019 *

2018 *

2017 * Tim Kinsella 2015 *

2014

Flexi Disc Series

In late 2011 Joyful Noise announced thei
2012 Flexi Disc Series
which featured singles from

, of Montreal, and others. Each artist contributed a single song which is not available anywhere else. Each

Flexi Disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...

was limited to 500 copies, and were sold as a monthly subscription. Now in its fourth year, the Flexi Disc series has upped their distribution to 1000 copies of each single and grown to include acts such as

, Sonny & the Sunsets,

and

2012 Artists

* of Montreal *

* Akron/Family * Richard Swift

2013 Artists

* Built to Spill &

* Mike Adams At His Honest Weight *

and Cat Martino *

* WHY?

2014 Artists

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's Margot & the Nuclear So and So's is an American rock band from Indianapolis, Indiana. Between 2006 and 2014, the band released 6 full-length albums. History The band's founding members, Richard Edwards and Andy Fry, met while teens. Eventuall ...

*Yip Deceiver

2015 Artists

*Arousal *

and Celestial Shore *

* Pattern is Movement *

* Sonny & the Sunsets *

Discography

2020's

2010's

2000's

References

External links

Official Website

Discogs

Secretly Distribution
{{Authority control Record labels established in 2003 American independent record labels Indie rock record labels Experimental music record labels Mass media in Indianapolis