About

Aerophonic Records is a 100% artist-run label.  It was founded in the winter of 2013 by well-known Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis (Rempis Percussion Quartet, Ballister, Kuzu, The Engines, Vandermark Five) to document his ongoing work, since many of the non artist-run labels in the world of jazz and improvised music at that time seemed to be giving up a collective last gasp.  Today it remains a 100% artist-run entity.

Rempis’ intent with the label is to continue the overall trend of artist control and responsibility that has characterized his own career, and that of jazz artists in the 21st century generally.   It gives him more direct contact with his audience, more control over how his work is presented, and more synchronicity between touring schedules and recorded output.

Aerophonic purposely doesn’t distribute through Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, or any of the other major corporate music aggregators that feed on artists of all sizes, taking a gross cut of their revenues with little rewards.   As a fan and customer of Aerophonic Records, 100% of your purchases go directly to an artist to support their creative output in an ongoing way.

If you choose not to buy artist-direct, that’s ok too!  Aerophonic partners with many of the small independent brick-and-mortar and online retailers who distribute jazz and improvised music in North America, Europe, and Japan, including Catalytic Sound, Squidco, Dusty Groove, and Downtown Music Gallery in the US, No Man’s Land and Open Door in Germany, DistriJazz in Spain and Portugal, SoundOhm in Italy,  Multi-Kulti in Poland, Disk Union in Japan, and Birdland Records in Australia.   Find our releases there, and support your local record store.