Erototox Decodings

Erototox Decodings is an independent record label operating in the experimental, electronic and avant-garde music worlds. According to the label's own account, it was originally started by Chandra Shukla and Carl Abrahamsson as an excuse to release their own projects — namely XAMBUCA, Cotton Ferox and White Stains — before growing into a wider network of friends and allies across eclectic, experimental and often electronic sound. The label describes itself as "a label beyond music" and as "a safe harbor where sounds are released on the basis of trust by those who were disenfranchised victims of the ever exclusive and scrutinizing music industry." The label's catalogue is built around collaborations and solo works by a broad international roster of experimental musicians. Its homepage lists releases pairing or featuring artists such as John Lee Bird with Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo, Lydia Lunch with Marc Hurtado, Larsen, The Children..., CM von Hausswolff, Marc Hurtado with John Duncan, Ayako Kanda & Elliott Sharp, Lucio Capece, France Jobin, David J Haskins, krautfuzz, Kaori Suzuki, John Krausbauer, Chaos Shrine, Golden Vampire Experience, Runar Magnusson, John Duncan, Minus X (Elliott Sharp, Brandon Lopez, Henry Kaiser, Scott Amendola), faust, Paul Beauchamp, Gillian Leigh Bowling with John Duncan and Elena M. Rosa Lavita, Jochen Arbeit & Sonja Kosche, Whalewiper & XAMBUCA, Tetuzi Akiyama & John Krausbauer, Elliott Sharp, die Angel, Franck Vigroux, Thomas Dimuzio, Ruisch (Frans de Waard), Schneider TM & Jochen Arbeit, Ilpo Väisänen, Plume Varia, Kristof Hahn, Andrew Liles, Cotton Ferox, Earthmonkey, Elisa Faires, Helena Espvall & Ernesto Diaz-Infante, [ówt krì], RK Faulhaber & XAMBUCA, Roedelius & Friends and Steven Severin, among others. Erototox Decodings positions itself deliberately outside the mainstream music industry. It states that it has "managed to survive in obscurity since 2005 with no formal distribution or consideration as worthy," maintaining itself as a strong music arm releasing work that ranges "from the mediocre and absurd to the ever mind altering and essential." The label is run by musicians for musicians and for listeners who care, and it operates in an era where physical copies of music have become a burden and cost that few want to bear. Its output is typically released in small, collector-oriented editions for the experimental music audience. The label is based in the United States and its website is erototox.com. It is a private, independent operation rather than a subsidiary of a major group, and it has no formal distribution arrangement according to its own description. Its identity is closely tied to the personal networks of its founders and to the international community of noise, drone, industrial and free-improvisation artists with whom they collaborate.

Erototox Decodings was founded in 2005 by Chandra Shukla and Carl Abrahamsson. According to the label's own about page, it was originally started as an excuse for a label to release their own projects — specifically XAMBUCA, Cotton Ferox and White Stains. From that initial purpose it grew into a broader network of friends and allies in the eclectic, experimental and more often electronic sound worlds, becoming a vehicle for their own releases and re-releases. The label describes itself as "a safe harbor where sounds are released on the basis of trust by those who were disenfranchised victims of the ever exclusive and scrutinizing music industry." It presents itself as "a label run by musicians for musicians and those who care to listen," and notes that it exists in an era where hard copies of music have slowly become a burden and cost that no one wants to suffer the damages of anymore. Despite operating without formal distribution, Erototox Decodings states that it has "managed to survive in obscurity since 2005" and has maintained itself as a strong music arm. Its catalogue spans a wide range of experimental and electronic artists, often in collaborative pairings. The label's homepage lists releases involving John Lee Bird with Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo, Lydia Lunch with Marc Hurtado, Larsen, The Children..., CM von Hausswolff, Marc Hurtado with John Duncan, Ayako Kanda & Elliott Sharp, Lucio Capece, France Jobin, David J Haskins, krautfuzz, Kaori Suzuki, John Krausbauer, Chaos Shrine, Golden Vampire Experience, Runar Magnusson, John Duncan, Minus X (Elliott Sharp, Brandon Lopez, Henry Kaiser, Scott Amendola), faust, Paul Beauchamp, Gillian Leigh Bowling with John Duncan and Elena M. Rosa Lavita, Jochen Arbeit & Sonja Kosche, Whalewiper & XAMBUCA, Tetuzi Akiyama & John Krausbauer, Elliott Sharp, die Angel, Franck Vigroux, Thomas Dimuzio, Ruisch (Frans de Waard), Schneider TM & Jochen Arbeit, Ilpo Väisänen, Plume Varia, Kristof Hahn, Andrew Liles, Cotton Ferox, Earthmonkey, Elisa Faires, Helena Espvall & Ernesto Diaz-Infante, [ówt krì], RK Faulhaber & XAMBUCA, Roedelius & Friends and Steven Severin, among others. The label's output is characterized by its range, which it describes as scaling "from the mediocre and absurd to the ever mind altering and essential." It remains an independent, private operation based in the United States, with its website at erototox.com.

• 2005

  Erototox Decodings founded by Chandra Shukla and Carl Abrahamsson.

• Label grows from releasing founders' own projects (XAMBUCA, Cotton Ferox, White Stains) into a wider network of experimental and electronic artists.

Independent, artist-run experimental and electronic music label operating outside the mainstream industry, releasing trust-based, collector-oriented editions.

• XAMBUCA releases

• Cotton Ferox releases

• White Stains releases

• Collaboration releases with Lydia Lunch, Marc Hurtado, faust, Elliott Sharp, John Duncan, etc.

1. 1Erototox Decodings official websiteerototox.com
2. 2About — Erototox Decodingserototox.com
3. 3Erototox Decodings on Wikidatawikidata.org