Where does the name “Misra” come from? Just Ask The man who picked it, Phil Waldorf!

In his thirst for all things musical, Waldorf initially came across the word, which denotes one of the rhythm cycles in classical Indian music, while studying Sufi scholar Hazrat Inayat Khan's seminal work, The Mysticism of Sound and Music. To Waldorf, “Misra” (with its etymological roots on the other side of the world) represented his “big tent” phiilosophy of running a record label: everyone would be welcomed.

Misra Records was formed in 1999 by Washington, DC-based brothers Michael and Timothy Bracy. With the help of their friend Phil serving as label manager, they launched Misra’s first release, In a Different City by Bablicon, that same year. “Tim and Phil both went to the University of Georgia, so the label’s first releases are tied to that area and that scene in Athens, with bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, and Apples in Stereo,” musician and historian Leo DeLuca would later explain. “Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes went on to form Bablicon, and that’s how the first release came about.”

Thanks to Waldorf’s management, Misra has spent over 20 years overseeing the releases of now-classic albums by Destroyer (Streethawk: A Seduction), Phosphorescent (Aw Come Aw Wry), Great Lake Swimmers, Shearwater, Jenny Toomey, Centro-matic, Summer Hymns, Marshmallow Coast, and more. Of course, people may also recognize Phil Waldorf as the man responsible for seminal releases by artists such as Bright Eyes, Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski, Japanese Breakfast, Strand of Oaks, Kevin Morby, Wednesday, Califone, and so many others.

Proving that Misra is, was, and always would be a record label for artists created by artists, Timothy Bracy would also release his own material as a musician on the label, being a founding member of the bands The Mendoza Line, Slow Dazzle, and The Paranoid Style. Michael Bracy, for his part, would be inspired to become involved in artist advocacy, founding the Future of Music Coalition as well as Music Policy Forum, in addition to advising and representing public and non-profit organizations including NPR, American Ballet Theatre, International Documentary Association, NEA, Colorado Creative Industries, Youth on Record, and many others.

In 2015, Jeff Betten, who was working at Wild Kindness Records, was hired at Misra, under an arrangement which saw Wild Kindness become a subsidiary of Misra Records. Since then, Betten has also persuaded a number of others to join the Misra Label Group including Keeled Scales, Crafted Sounds, Dadstache Records, WormHoleDeath, Epictronic, DI Records, Epifo Music, and Driving While Black Records, with more labels continually joining the fold.

Misra Records has continued to evolve as well - a label traditionally known for existing under the hazy umbrella of fuzzy indie rock has recently begun signing its first hip-hop artists in the form of Benji., Jonny Goood, and Mars Jackson. Misra has also extended its geographic reach to every corner of the globe, from down south in Auckland, New Zealand for Anthonie Tonnon to all the way up north in Oslo, Norway for Mathias Tjønn, aka Racing Heart.

With fresh and exciting artists such as Buffalo Rose, Malena Cadiz, Knowlton Bourne, and Julian Jasper proudly carrying the Misra sonic legacy into a new decade, while at the same time paying homage to the label’s past by continuing to work with Will Johnson of both Centro-matic and South San Gabriel, as well as Emily Rodgers, Hallelujah the Hills, William Matheny of Southeast Engine, and many other luminaries, the future could not be brighter for Misra Records. If proof were needed, one could simply look at Misra’s latest venture - Hellbender Vinyl!

Now having survived and thrived for over 20 years, Misra has its eye on the next 20 years and beyond. Misra Records has always been a record label with a knack for finding diamonds in the rough, a company consistently able to identify and develop artists that have gone on to wild success. This was as true at its inception as it is today, and this singular characteristic will guide the label into the future as well. Misra will always invest in individuals and groups that build upon its long and still-growing history of quality and excellence, storytellers with vision who can bring audiences together.