American independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana
Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label with headquarters in 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.[1] Joyful Noise maintains an active roster of over 30 bands playing various musical styles,[2] though according to the label, each artist "in one way or another bridges the gap between pop and noise."[1]
History
In 2010 Joyful Noise began focusing largely on limited-edition specialty releases which are generally released on analog formats packaged with music downloads. In addition to releases on vinyl records, the label has gained notoriety for being at the forefront of the resurgence of cassette tapes and flexi discs, as reported by The Washington Post, Pitchfork Media, Under The Radar, and others.[3][4][5][6][7]
Joyful Noise has released single-album cassettes from Akron/Family, Dinosaur Jr., Deerhoof, of Montreal, Here We Go Magic, and others, and has released multi-album cassette box sets from Dinosaur Jr., of Montreal, and Joan Of Arc.[1]
In 2012 Joyful Noise released their first album to chart on Billboard: Kishi Bashi's 151a (debuting at #6 on the Heatseekers chart).[8] Since that time, new music on Joyful Noise from artists such as Sebadoh, Dumb Numbers, David Yow,[9] Son Lux, Swamp Dogg, Tropical Fuck Storm, Deerhoof, 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 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 and Joan of Arc–related tracks, a duet by Sufjan Stevens and Stranger Cat, Tortoise, Don Caballero and Daniel Johnston.[10][11][12]
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),[13] later to be duplicated by other labels in the independent music world.[11] JNR is also known for producing lathe-cut records, twelve-sided records,[14] records-that-are-also-musical-instruments[15] 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:[16] 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, Cap'n Jazz et al.),[17] Rob Crow (Pinback, Goblin Cock, Optiganally Yours, et al.),[18] Jad Fair (Half-Japanese),[19] Thor Harris (Swans),[20] and Kramer (Shimmy-Disc), Deerhoof, and Yonatan Gat + Stone Tapes.[21]
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 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.[22] Other curators of the White Label series include Devendra Banhart, Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney), Kelley Deal (The Breeders), Mirah, Aesop Rock, Alex Somers, Blanck Mass, Kid Millions, Meredith Graves, Mike Watt, Serengeti, tUNE-yARDs, Astronautilus, Cate Le Bon, Circuit des Yeux, Julianna Barwick, Sondre Lerche, St. Vincent, and Thurston Moore.
A Tropical Fuck Storm poster and (fellow Joyful Noise Recordings artist) No Joy LP made a cameo appearance in the 2022 Jordan Peele film, Nope.[23]
Radical projects & experiments
The label is known for candid identification with and support of radical and revolutionary politics. They released collaborations between Bernie Sanders and Thurston Moore,[24] did fundraising to oppose the Trump Administration through the release of Anal Trump records[25] and stood in solidarity with Black Lives Matter during the George Floyd protests.[26]
In 2020, JNR founded the Church of Noise to build and perpetuate musically empowered community during the COVID-19 pandemic and through the long tail of its fallout. In 2021, the label was featured in the New York Times 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 six months to a year to make it through the manufacturing queue).[27]
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 Yonatan Gat, who serves as producer, curator, guitarist or otherwise general collaborator on Stone Tapes releases.[28][29] This project was inspired by the eponymous debut album of the Stone Tapes imprint Medicine Singers, one of the emergent acts in the evolving post-genre(s) Scorched Earth Music or End of World Music.[30][31][28][32]
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.
Flexi-disc series
In late 2011 Joyful Noise announced their 2012 Flexi Disc Series, which featured singles from Deerhoof, Jad Fair, Lou Barlow, of Montreal, and others.[35] Each artist contributed a single song which is not available anywhere else. Each flexi disc was limited to 500 copies, and were sold as a monthly subscription. Now in its fourth year, the flexi-disc series has upped its distribution to 1000 copies of each single and grown to include acts such as Cloud Nothings, Sonny & the Sunsets, Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore and Sufjan Stevens.[36]
Holiday series
Every year Joyful Noise invites commissions some of its bands to contribute to a Holiday album. Contributors to the album submit a video, all of which are compiled into a movie that is shown at the annual Holiday party when the bands are flown in to celebrate.[37][38][39] Lathe-cuts of snowflake or spiderweb-shaped records are a frequent artifact of these gatherings, distributed to members and supporters of Joyful Noise projects who have supported the label throughout the year.[40]
