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

March 21, 2025

Flesh of Fruit

Hunter Diamond | woodwinds, drums, percussion, sampler, electronics

Allen Moore | hand-casted records, turntable, electronics

Flesh of Fruit is the debut collaboration from Chicago sound artists Hunter Diamond and Allen Moore. Free improvisation and experimental electronics engage reflective nostalgia, creating a sound collage equally at home in a free jazz club, art gallery, or underground noise show.

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.

  • 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…

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