Since 1998, Crouton has released creative ideas via sound and material in small editions, featuring the work of: Aranos, Keith Berry, Richard Chartier, The Hafler Trio, Robert Hampson, Steven Hess, Jarboe, Jason Kahn, John Kannenberg, Lionel Marchetti, Jon Mueller, Bhob Rainey, Hal Rammel, Willem de Ridder, Chris Rosenau, Jim Schoenecker, Kevin Shea, Adam Sonderberg, Asmus Tietchens, Matt Turner, Matthew Waldron, Dan Warburton, Thomas Wincek, Achim Wollscheid, and more. Each of these people came forward with ideas - not just “records†- implying that in many cases, the sound is only a part of the picture. Crouton’s goal has always been to provide a platform for ideas and present them in the most appropriate way for the idea. Subsequently, recordings have played a strong role in that, but in no way undermine the text and design that might go into each project.
Live performance is another example of presenting ideas. We have hosted a number of concerts in Milwaukee and Chicago, including Phill Niblock, Daniel Menche, Z’EV, Peter Brotzmann, Olivia Block, Ken Vandermark, Konk Pack, Jason Kahn, Greg Davis, and many others.
Here’s some kind words about our work from other folks:
“Crouton’s releases are always assembled in gorgeous, unique hand crafted packaging and are generally pressed in very limited editions. Highly recommended.†- Discogs
“The Crouton label’s commitment to releasing art as music is remarkable; …they’ve released original music with beautiful packaging, continually proposing challenging ideas to their artists. But the medium is the message, and the fine folks at Crouton, clearly, understand that better than almost any other label.†- Fakejazz
“Crouton has met the download controversy head on and found a simple answer: Make something people will want.†- Signal To Noise
Promo clip from the DVD "Nodes and Anti-Nodes" by Jeph Jerman and Jon Mueller.
