Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise currently has a roster of 20+ bands of various musical styles, though according to the label, each artist "in one way or another bridges this gap between pop and noise." Along with housing offices and the warehouse of the label, their Fountain Square location hosts live shows and a small record store.
In 2010 Joyful Noise began focusing largely on limited edition specialty releases which are generally released on analog formats packaged with music downloads. In addition to releases on vinyl records, the label has gained notoriety for being at the forefront of the resurgence of cassette tapes and flexi-discs, as reported by The Washington Post, Pitchfork Media, Under The Radar, and others.
Joyful Noise has released single-album cassettes from Akron/Family, Dinosaur Jr., Deerhoof, of Montreal, Here We Go Magic, and others, and has released multi-album Cassette Box Sets from Dinosaur Jr., of Montreal, and Joan Of Arc.
In 2012 Joyful Noise released their first album to chart on Billboard: Kishi Bashi "151a" (debuting at #6 on the "Heatseekers" chart). Since that time, new music on Joyful Noise from artists such as Sebadoh, Dumb Numbers, David Yow, and Son Lux have all charted.
Busman's Holiday
CJ Boyd
David Yow
Divorcee
Dumb Numbers
Half Japanese
Helvetia
Hew Time
J Fernandez
Jad Fair
Kishi Bashi
KO
Lou Barlow
Memory Map
Mike Adams at His Honest Weight
Reptar
Sebadoh
Serengeti
Sleep Party People
Sleeping Bag
Solos
Son Lux
Stranger Cat
Surfer Blood
Tim Kinsella
Victor Villarreal
WHY?
Yonatan Gat
Abner Trio
Berry
Big Bear
Bizzart
The Delicious
Grampall Jookabox
Hermit Thrushes
Hi Red Center
I Love You (Yah Tibyah La Blu)
Jookabox
Lafcadio
Man at Arms
Manners for Husbands
Melk the g6-49
Prizzy Prizzy Please
Push-Pull
Receptor Sight
Stationary Odyssey
Valina
Starting in 2014, JNR began hosting artists for year-long residencies in which they release new music exclusively on the label.
Tim Kinsella 2015
Jad Fair 2014
In late 2011 Joyful Noise announced their 2012 Flexi Disc Series, which featured singles from Deerhoof, Jad Fair, Lou Barlow, of Montreal, and others. Each artist contributed a single song which is not available anywhere else. Each Flexi Disc was limited to 500 copies, and were sold as a monthly subscription. Now in its fourth year, the Flexi Disc series has upped their distribution to 1000 copies of each single and grown to include acts such as Cloud Nothings, Sonny & the Sunsets, Lee Ranaldo, Thurston Moore and Sufjan Stevens.
Arousal
Cloud Nothings
Deerhoof and Celestial Shore
Goblin Cock
King Buzzo
Lee Ranaldo
Oneida
Pattern is Movement
Protomartyr
Sonny & the Sunsets
Tera Melos
Wye Oak
Big Business
Born Ruffians
Daniel Johnston
DM Stith
Fang Island
Half Japanese
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
Mount Eerie
Owls
Serengeti
Yip Deceiver
Birthmark
Built to Spill & Helvetia
Hella
Here We Go Magic
Melvins
Mike Adams at His Honest Weight
Monotonix
Rob Crow
Son Lux
Sufjan Stevens and Cat Martino
The Sea and Cake
WHY?
Lou Barlow
Make Believe
Jad Fair
Danielson
Deerhoof
Deadrider
Rafter
of Montreal
Tortoise
Racebannon
Akron/Family
Richard Swift
Reptar "Lurid Glow" (JNR 160)
Yonatan Gat "Director" (JNR 161)
Stranger Cat "In the Wilderness" (JNR 163)
J Fernandez "Many Levels of Laughter" (JNR 164)
Surfer Blood "1000 Palms" (JNR 165)
Lil Bub Science & Magic (JNR 184)
Kishi Bashi "Live On Valentines" LP (JNR 130)
CJ Boyd "The Space Between Us" (JNR 131)
Sisyphus "Sisyphus" (JNR 132)
Hew Time "Hew Time" (JNR 134)
Busman's Holiday "A Long Goodbye" (JNR 135)
Mike Adams At His Honest Weight "Best of Boiler Room Classics" (JNR 136)
Son Lux "Alternate Worlds" (JNR 139)
Sleeping Bag "Deep Sleep" (JNR 141)
Divorcee "Snakes and Oyster" (JNR 144)
Victor Villarreal "Sleep Talk" (JNR 145)
Yonatan Gat "Iberian Passage" (JNR 148)
Kishi Bashi "Lighght" (JNR 149)
Half Japanese "Overjoyed" (JNR 151)
Ko "KO EP" (JNR 152)
Serengeti "Kenny Dennis III" (JNR 153)
"Tim Kinsella sings the songs of Marvin Tate by LeRoy Bach featuring Angel Olsen" LP
Sebadoh "Defend Yourself" LP
Son Lux "Lanterns" LP
David Yow "Tonight You look Like a Spider" LP (JNR116)
DMA "Pheel Phree" LP (JNR 119)
Sebadoh "Secret EP" EP (JNR114)
Son Lux "Tear" 7" (JNR121)
Joan of Arc "Testimonium Songs" CS (JNR103)
Dumb Numbers, Self-Titled LP (JNR 115)
of Montreal, CS "Lousy with Sylvanbriar" CS (JNR 123)
WHY?, Golden Tickets EP (JNR 117)
Cause & Effect (vol. 1), 7" trilogy (JNR113)
featuring Thurston Moore, Lou Barlow & David Yow with B-Sides by Talk Normal, Dumb Numbers, and Child Bite
Kishi Bashi "Room for Dream" LP (JNR98)
Here We Go Magic "A Different Ship" CS (JNR95)
Victor Villarreal "Victor Villarreal / m0ck" Split 7" (JNR96)
CJ Boyd "West Coasting Vol. 1 - Dreams Like This Must Die (Seattle circa 91)" LP/CS (JNR91)
Joan of Arc "Joan of Arc Presents: Joan of Arc" LP (JNR88)
Kishi Bashi "151a" CD/LP (JNR92)
Child Bite "Monomania" LP (JNR87)
of Montreal "Paralytic Stalks" CS (JNR90)
Victor Villarreal "Invisible Cinema" LP (JNR84)
Jad Fair + Hifiklub + kptmichigan "Bird House" LP (JNR85)
Dinosaur Jr. "Cassette Trilogy" CS (JNR86)
of Montreal "Cassette Box Set" CS (JNR69)
SWAPS "SWAPS" LP (JNR81)
Marmoset "Today It's You" LP (JNR82)
Marmoset "Vinyl Box Set" LP (JNR83)
Sleeping Bag "Sleeping Bag" CD/LP/Sleeping Bag (JNR80)
DMA "Drem Beb" CS (JNR76)
Dinosaur Jr. "Bug" CS (JNR79)
Joan Of Arc "Life Like" CS (JNR77)
Memory Map "Holiday Band" CD/LP (JNR75)
Jookabox "The Eyes Of The Fly" CD/LP (JNR74)
Joan Of Arc "The Joan of Arc Lightbox Orchestra Conducted by Fred Lonberg-Holm" MP3 (JNR78)
Danielson "Best of Gloucester County" CS (JNR72)
Joan Of Arc "Oh Brother" LP (JNR66)
Akron/Family "S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT" CS (JNR73)
Deerhoof "Deerhoof vs. Evil" CS (JNR68)
Big Bear "See Out" MP3 (JNR71)
Big Bear "Under The Beach" MP3 (JNR70)
Hermit Thrushes "Wooded Blankets" CS (JNR67)
of Montreal "False Priest" CS (JNR65)
Joan Of Arc "Flowers" CS (JNR64)
Joan Of Arc "Boo Human" CS (JNR63)
Joan Of Arc "Eventually, All At Once" CS (JNR62)
Joan Of Arc "Joan Of Arc, Dick Cheney, Mark Twain" CS (JNR61)
Joan Of Arc "In Rape Fantasy and Terror Sex We Trust" CS (JNR60)
Joan Of Arc "So Much Staying Alive and Lovelessness" CS (JNR59)
Joan Of Arc "The Gap" CS (JNR58)
Joan Of Arc "Live In Chicago, 1999" CS (JNR57)
Joan Of Arc "How Memory Works" CS (JNR56)
Joan Of Arc "A Portable Model Of" CS (JNR55)
Joan Of Arc "Cassette Box Set" CS (JNR50)
Abner Trio "The Giant Crushes You" LP/CS (JNR42)
Marmoset "Doo Wop b/w She's Wearing Rings" CS (JNR52)
Child Bite "The Living Breathing Organ Summer" CD/LP/CS (JNR54)
Racebannon "Wrap the Body" LP (JNR45)
Abner Trio "The Giant Crushes You" LP/CS (JNR42)
Berry "Blue Sky, Raging Sun" LP/CS (JNR49)
Prizzy Prizzy Please "Chroma Cannon" CD/LP/CS (JNR47)
CJ Boyd "Alternate Roots" MP3 (JNR53)
Prizzy Prizzy Please "Prizzy Prizzy Please" MP3 (JNR48)
Jookabox/Kid Primitive Family "Split" CS (JNR46)
Stationary Odyssey "Johnfriend EP" MP3 (JNR44)
Stationary Odyssey "Sons of Boy" CD (JNR43)
CJ Boyd "Aerial Roots" CD/LP (JNR41)
I Love You "Bell Ord Forrest" CD/CS (JNR38)
Child Bite / Big Bear "Split" 7" (JNR37)
Jookabox "Dead Zone Boys" CD/LP (JNR40)
Marmoset "Lemon Meringue Live" MP3 (JNR39)
Marmoset "Tea Tornado" CD (JNR35)
Hermit Thrushes "Slight Fountain" CD (JNR36)
Push-Pull "Between Noise and the Indians" CD (JNR33)
Valina "A Tempo! A Tempo!" CD (JNR34)
Bizzart "Future Stars And Small Wonders" CD (JNR32)
Hi Red Center "Assemble" CD/LP (JNR29)
The Delicious "The Delicious The Delicious" CD (JNR31)
Various Artists "Joyful Noise 2009 Digital Sampler" MP3 (JNR28)
Push-Pull / Prizzy Prizzy Please "PPPPPEP" 7" (JNR30)
Man At Arms "A Waste Of Time And Space" CD (JNR27)
Grampall Jookabox "Ropechain" CD/LP (JNR25)
Grampall Jookabox "Rill Bruh" MP3 (JNR26)
Marmoset "Record In Red" LP (JNR24)
The Delicious "Postcard To My Sewing Circle" CD EP (JNR22)
Various Artists "Defunct Indiana" CD (JNR23)
Lafcadio "Kibosh" CD (JNR21)
Push-Pull "3" CD EP (JNR19)
Child Bite "Gold Thriller" CD EP (JNR18)
Child Bite "I Like Friends" MP3 Single (JNR20)
Marmoset "Florist Fired" LP (JNR17)
Grampall Jookabox "Scientific Cricket" CD (JNR16)
Child Bite / Stationary Odyssey "Physical Education" CD EP (JNR15)
Stationary Odyssey "Terror on The Hell Loop" MP3 EP (JNR14)
Abner Trio / Man At Arms CD (JNR13)
Stationary Odyssey "Head! Foot! And The Pink Axe" CD (JNR12)
Melk The G6-49 "Mene Mene Tekel Parsin" CD (JNR11)
LAFCADIO "Sham Duvet" CD (JNR10)
Manners For Husbands "Sickly Love Sadness" MP3 (JNR09)
Abner Trio "Distant Thunder of the Sacred Force" CD (JNR08)
Various Artists "Strata: A Young Person's Guide to Experimental Music" CD (JNR07)
Gogglesphere / The Nancy School Split 7" (JNR06)
Receptor Sight "Cycles and Connections" CD (JNR05)
Gogglesphere "Babies In Hell..." CD (JNR04)
Melk The G6-49 "Glossolalia" CD (JNR03)
Manners For Husbands / Melk The G6-49 Split 7" (JNR02)
Melk The G6-49 "S/T" CD (JNR01)
