Shattered Music is a small, strongly independent rock/blues rock record label based in California.  When we first started out, our mission was to find and produce artists who exhibited musicianship, passion, and a distinct point-of-view within their respective genres.  Shattered Music has always produced albums by groups that we encounter who we feel have deep-rooted musical passion and a more timeless sound, rather than what we consider to be the current passing trends.

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In the beginning, Shattered Music was based in Los Angeles and primarily focused on talented local groups and soloists, with a few heavy hitters thrown in.  Shattered Music saw our acts catch their shares of successes (awards, "major" record deals) and tragedies (band break-ups, members passing away unexpectedly) and through thick and thin we have striven to bring work by unique and skilled musicians to an appreciative audience.  Our 1995 release, Mick Taylor's Coastin Home, was one of the first albums ever to be marketed via webcasts. 

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Shattered Music took over a decade off from producing and releasing albums, becoming jaded by the status of the record industry in the late 1990s.  However, the love of music at Shattered Music had never faded, and once we found a project that we felt passionate about we jumped right back in.  That project went by the name of Nymbus, and was recorded over 4 decades ago in 1970.  A brilliant east bay psych/acid rock power trio, Nymbus was together some 3 years until splitting shortly after the tapes were recorded in March of 1970. 

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A masterful performance, the Nymbus tapes were unearthed from a vault in 2011 and the decision was immediately made to restore the tapes and release this forgotten, previously unreleased band.  Their heavy, insightful lyrics combined with trippy bass and guitar solos and long, free-form power-psych tracks are a welcome kick to a music industry (including many indie companies) which in 2012 spits out tired, easily-digested, noise pollution as often as it does any recordings of substance.

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When Shattered Music began producing albums again in late 2011, we were extremely aware of one large difference in the record industry, and the manufacturing industry as a whole; the environmental resource costs.  Furthermore, emissions and toxicology studies and testing have shown just how chemically toxic CD/LP manufacturing can be.  There is more research available than ever before about hazardous toxins in plastics and other petroleum products; hazardous not only to people but to the planet's depleting ozone layer.

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Knowing how unhealthy some petroleum-based plastics and glues can be, Shattered Music has decided to release all new projects in the most environmentally friendly manner possible.  Starting with the Nymbus LP, which features a 100% recycled paper download card printed with natural ink and embedded with wildflower seeds so that it can be planted instead of trashed, Shattered Music has committed ourselves to sustainable and marketable releases.  We continued this environmentally friendly philosophy with the Nymbus CD production, which features minimal plastics, industry-lowest levels of toxic Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), 100% recycled post consumer/industrial scrap stock, and natural ink printing.  For as long as we are a company, Shattered Music will put responsible media production ahead of cheap media production.

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Here is the independent industry toxicology report compiled for the RIAA in 2009, one of the factors in our choice for ecologically forward packaging.  Our manufacturer is one of the few noted by this report in setting the standard in cleanliness and resource responsibility, including shipping and carbon footprint management.

 

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