Kranky (record label)
| Kranky | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Bruce Adams Joel Leoschke |
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Chicago |
| Official website | kranky |
Kranky (stylized as kranky) is an American independent record label based in Chicago.[1] It was founded in 1993 by Joel Leoschke and Bruce Adams, who both had backgrounds in the music industry. The label releases experimental music, such as ambient and post-rock.
History and operation
Kranky was founded in the spring of 1993 by Joel Leoschke and Bruce Adams in Chicago.[2] They created Kranky with the intent of releasing Prazision LP by Labradford, which was the first release of the label.[3] Adams first moved to Chicago from Ann Arbor in 1987. In Chicago, he worked at Kaleidoscope, a music distributor in Des Plaines; Touch & Go Records, after quitting work at Kaleidoscope in a year of working for it; and Cargo Music Distribution, which he started working for in the spring of 1991.[4] Adams and Leoschke were still working for Cargo when forming Kranky.[1] The label's second release was This Is Not a Dream in 1995, a compilation album by Dadamah.[1] In 2006, Adams left Kranky and founded label Flingco Sound. In 2005, Brian Foote joined Kranky to co-operate it.[1][5]
Kranky releases ambient, drone, post-rock, techno, and Krautrock music from musicians and bands such as Stars of the Lid, Loscil, Tim Hecker, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.[6][5] According to Resident Advisor, "[Kranky] let[s] artists do whatever they want without interfering", and that Kranky rarely runs advertisements.[6]
Artists
Adapted from Kranky's official website in 2021.[7]
Current
- Anjou
- Atlas Sound
- Autistic Daughters
- A Winged Victory for the Sullen
- Jessica Bailiff
- Belong
- Benoit Pioulard
- Bird Show
- Christopher Bissonnette
- Boduf Songs
- Ken Camden
- Christina Carter
- Tom Carter
- Charalambides
- Clear Horizon
- Cloudland Canyon
- Greg Davis
- The Dead Texan
- Dedekind Cut
- Deerhunter
- Demen
- Disappears
- Dreamscape
- Earthen Sea
- Ethernet
- Felix
- Forma
- Grouper
- Brent Gutzeit
- Chihei Hatakeyama
- Steve Hauschildt
- Tim Hecker
- Chris Herbert
- High Plains
- Implodes
- Gregg Kowalsky
- Labradford
- Less Bells
- Lichens
- Loscil
- Lotus Plaza
- Brian McBride
- Mirrorring
- MJ Guider
- Nudge
- Tara Jane O'Neil
- Pan American
- Andrew Pekler
- Raglani
- Jonas Reinhardt
- Dean Roberts
- Saloli
- Dawn Smithson
- Stars of the Lid
- Strategy
- To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie
- Valet
- Christina Vantzou
- Justin Walter
- Keith Fullerton Whitman
- White Rainbow
- Windy & Carl
Former
- Aix Em Klemm
- Amp
- Bowery Electric
- Christmas Decorations
- Dadamah
- Doldrums
- Flies Inside the Sun
- Fontanelle
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- Growing
- Jessamine
- Low
- Magnog
- Roy Montgomery
- Out Hud
- Philosopher's Stone
- James Plotkin
- Spiny Anteaters
- Mark Spybey
- Tomorrowland
References
- ^ a b c d Masters, Marc (January 11, 2009). "Kranky". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ "KRANKY". Remix. Vol. 7, no. 6. June 2005. p. 18. ISSN 1532-1347.
- ^ Margasak, Peter (September 12, 2013). "Kranky's 20 uncompromising years". Chicago Reader. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ Adams, Bruce (2022). "Hey Chicago". You're with Stupid: kranky, Chicago, and the Reinvention of Indie Music. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. pp. 1–8. doi:10.7560/321201. ISBN 978-1-4773-2616-9. LCCN 2021060197.
- ^ a b Masters, Marc (November 15, 2018). "Kranky Celebrates 25 Years of Independence—and Patient Listening". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ a b Ryce, Andrew (October 30, 2018). "Label of the month: Kranky". Resident Advisor. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
- ^ "Kranky Artists". Kranky. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2026.