Asphodel Ltd ( Asphodel Records) was a San Francisco-based independent record label founded by musician Mitzi Johnson and Naut Humon in 1992. The label is named after the mythological flower that grows along the banks of the River Styx in Hades. The label had shut down as of January 2011.Definition of Asphodel's name
Asphodel has a diverse catalog of releases with a prominent experimental thread in the genres of turntablism, electronica, ambient, illbient, electroacoustic, trip hop, spoken word, noise, techno, and lounge.
History
The label's first release was the self-titled debut by Johnson's band, Blue Rubies. In 1995, Asphodel released the second volume of the Incredibly Strange Music compilation, a companion to the counterculture zine RE/Search (edited by V. Vale, a friend of Naut Humon and Mitzi Johnson). In 1996, the label released the Excursions In Illbient compilation, which was partly responsible in naming this genre.
Naut Humon became the official Asphodel head of A&R in 1994. Erik Gilbert served as the label's General Manager,Erik Gilbert profile at IODA before becoming the Vice President of Content at the Independent Online Distribution Alliance before Sony restructured it to become The Orchard.
Asphodel was named one of the "top 10 independent labels in the world" by Rolling Stone magazine in 1998.
Speaking on the legacy of Asphodel, [Erik] Gilbert underlined its uncompromising stance and approach: "Incredible artists, incredible albums. I am honoured and proud to have been involved with them. Nothing has since come close." For [Gregor] Asch, without Naut there would be no DJ Olive as we knew him and perhaps no illbient. "The label is Naut’s legacy really," he admits. "Quality sampling from emerging sounds on the meridian between the underground and the popular. A world class grasp of production and mastering while always pushing the boundaries of a surround performance experience."
Between 2002 and 2007, the number of releases decreased. As of January 2011, a message on the asphodel.com last snapshot reads, "Asphodel is now closed. Thank you for the love and support. Mitzi Johnson, San Francisco January, 2011".
Artists
AGF.3 + SUE.C Alexander Rishaug Ann Magnuson antimatter Badawi Biosphere Blue Rubies Broker/Dealer Byzar Christian Marclay Curtis Roads Daniel Menche David Darling Diamanda Galas DJ Spooky Fe-Mail Fires Were Shot Gregory Lenczycki Iannis Xenakis Invisibl Skratch Piklz Iso Orchestra Janek Schaefer Jeff Greinke John Cage John Ward Ken Nordine KK Null Laminar Li Alin Martin Ng, Oren Ambarchi, Tina Frank, Robin Fox Maryanne Amacher Mix Master Mike Naut Humon Otomo Yoshihide Phil Crumar Ray Guillette Reinhold Friedl Rhythm & Sound Richard Devine Robert Rich Ryuichi Sakamoto Single Cell Orchestra Steve Roach Sub Dub The-Allies Thomas Dimuzio Tipsy Ulf Langheinrich Vidna Obmana We™ World Standard X-Ecutioners Yasunao Tone zeitkratzer [The User]
See also Naut Humon List of record labels
References
External links Last snapshot of Asphodel.com Asphodel's MySpace Page Asphodel on YouTube