A 100% artist-run music label elevating sounds that signify the dynamic history & multiplicitous present of the Chicago creative music community.
About
Founded in 2021 by Chicago saxophonist Hunter Diamond, this label documents his ongoing creative and collaborative projects. Following the DIY spirit of Chicago independent music culture, Curio serves as a direct and personal connection between artist and audience.
Fitting in with the nexus of artist-run venues, radio stations, festivals, and record labels, Curio exists within a broad spectrum of independent business models designed to increase creative control and financial independence from larger corporate entities.
Newest Release
Earnest Earth
Hunter Diamond | Saxophone, clarinet, percussion, electronics
Justin Peake | Drums, percussion, electronics
The sound: Entrancing durational minimalism quilted into realtime dialogues between artist and environment that animates the coexistence of urban and agricultural landscapes within a sprawling Chicago neighborhood.
Metal and Wood Series
The Metal and Wood project is a series of live improvisations between woodwind artist Hunter Diamond and various drummers living in the United States. Captured in different locations in Chicago and New Orleans, these recordings document Diamond’s ongoing interest in the saxophone-drums duo pairing made historic by legendary collaborations between John Coltrane & Rashied Ali, Archie Shepp & Max Roach, Dewey Redman & Ed Blackwell, Charles Lloyd & Billy Higgins, Joe McPhee & Hamid Drake, and many others.
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We Stand
Charles Rumback + Hunter Diamond
An affirmation as much as an exploration: as improvisors with strong sensitivity to melodicism, Diamond and Rumback individually and collectively…
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Nilia
Mike Reed + Hunter Diamond
Captured just days after the national lockdown announcements in March 2020, NILIA (an invented word referring…
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Bywater
Justin Peake + Hunter Diamond
Captured in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans, this recording simultaneously animates the creative and aesthetic spirits…
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Perigee
Lucas Gillan + Hunter Diamond
With close connective listening, they swerve nimbly between metered groove and non-pulsed sound canvases. This document shows…
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Core-Distal
Quin Kirchner + Hunter Diamond
Specters of narrative sneak in and around the duo’s coalesced imagination: Unlocked drum grooves dancing along with sampled…
