Hypnos (record label)

Hypnos is an independent record label, located in Portland, Oregon. It was started in 1996 by M. Griffin to release his own recordings, both solo and for his collaborative project, Viridian Sun, and has since expanded into one of the best and well-known ambient-oriented record labels in the U.S. as well as globally.

The musicians, since most ambient artists tend to work solo, tend to be noted for a more dark ambient and/or drone style of music, although there are certain exceptions. Viridian Sun and Rod Modell & Michael Mantra are duos, and "Hypnos" also focuses on releasing guitar-only ambient music, a genre it has become well-established in, with such artists as David Tollefson, Jeff Pearce (American artist), and Markus Reuter. Undeniably, though, most of the music on Hypnos is primarily electronic.

Their first release was the CD "Washed in Mercury" by Saul Stokes in 1997. More than 50 CDs have been released by Hypnos and Binary over the years. Their most recent release is again by Griffin, entitled I Am Breathing Dreams Out Of The Air.

Side labels

Over the years, M. Griffin has also started several side-labels with collaborators to focus on different genres of music. These currently include the Binary and Hypnos Secret Sounds sub-labels.

Hypnos Releases

* Saul Stokes - Washed in Mercury (hyp1602)
* Viridian Sun - Solar Noise (hyp1703
* M. Griffin - Sudden Dark (hyp1701)
* Various - The Other World (2cd) (hyp1804)
* Jeff Greinke - Places of Motility (hyp1809)
* Richard Bone - Spectral Ships (hyp1808)
* David Tollefson - New Eyes on the Universe (hyp1805)
* Saul Stokes - Zo Pilots (hyp1807)
* Modell/Mantra - Sonic Continuum (hyp1811)
* Vidna Obmana - Landscape in Obscurity (hyp1914)
* Viridian Sun - Perihelion (hyp1910)
* Various - Weightless, Effortless (hyp1912)
* Robert Rich - Inner Landscapes (hyp1915)
* Jeff Greinke - Lost Terrain (hyp1916)
* Richard Bone - Ether Dome (hyp1917)
* A Produce/M Griffin - Altara (hyp1918)
* David Tollefson - Near and Far (hyp1919)
* Robert Rich - Humidity (3cd) (hyp2020)
* Jeff Pearce - To the Shores of Heaven (hyp2022)
* Saul Stokes - Outfolding (hyp2023)
* James Johnson - Entering Twilight (hyp2024)
* M Griffin/D Fulton - The Most Distant Point Known (hyp2025)
* Robert Rich - Sunyata (hyp2026)
* Vidna Obmana - The Contemporary Nocturne (hyp2027)
* Markus Reuter - Digitalis (hyp2128)
* Robert Rich - Somnium (DVD) (hyp2131)
* A Produce - Smile on the Void (hyp2129)
* Jeff Pearce - The Light Beyond (hyp2132)
* Sola Translatio - Mother Sunrise (hyp2130)
* Paul Vnuk Jr. - Silence Speaks in Shadows (hyp2134)
* Tom Heasley - Where the Earth Meets the Sky (hyp2135)
* Vidna Obmana - Soundtrack for Aquarium (2cd) (hyp2133)
* Ma Ja Le/James Johnson - Seed (hyp2138)
* Oöphoi - Athlit (hyp2236)
* James Johnson - The Butterfly Chamber (hyp2237)
* Jeff Greinke - Wide View (hyp2240)
* Vidna Obmana - An Opera for Four Fusion Works, Act 1 (hyp2239)
* Jeff Pearce - Bleed (hyp2241)
* Griffin/Fulton - Imprint (hyp2242)
* Vidna Obmana - An Opera for Four Fusion Works, Act 2 (hyp2239b)
* Numina - Sanctuary of Dreams (hyp2445)
* Chad Hoefler - Twilight in the Offing (hyp2446)
* Robert Scott Thompson - At the Still Point of the Turning World (hyp2547)
* Vidna Obmana - An Opera for Four Fusion Works, Act 3 (hyp2239c)
* Numina - Eye of the Nautilus (hyp2548)
* Paul Vnuk Jr. & Oophoi - Distance to Zero (hyp2649)
* Numina - Shift to the Ghost (hyp2650)
* Vidna Obmana - An Opera for Four Fusion Works, Act 4 (hyp2239d)

Hypnos Secret Sounds Releases

* M Griffin - Sounds are Hidden Inside Objects (hss01)
* Viridian Sun - Live Paris Theater (hss02)
* Stephen Philips - Dagboken (hss03)
* M Griffin - I Am Breathing Dreams Out of the Air (hss04)
* M Griffin - The Pulse Meditations (hss05)
* M Griffin - Speaking from the Dream (single) (hss07)
* Darren Rogers - The Alternate Realms (hss11)
* Justin Vanderberg - In Waking Moments (hss12)

Binary Releases

* Dweller at the Threshold - Ouroborus (HYBY0101)
* Paul Ellis - Into the Liquid Unknown (HYBY0102)
* Vir Unis/Saul Stokes - Thermal Transfer (HYBY0203)
* Synthetic Block - Sonic Approach (HYBY0204)
* Saul Stokes - Fields (HYBY0205)
* John Duval - Hell's Canyon (HYBY0306)

Current bands

* A Produce
* Alio Die
* Chad Hoefler
* Dave Fulton
* David Tollefson
* James Johnson
* Jeff Greinke
* Jeff Pearce (American artist)
* Justin Vanderberg
* M. Griffin
* Ma Ja Le
* Markus Reuter
* Numina
* Oöphoi
* Paul Vnuk Jr.
* Richard Bone
* Robert Rich
* Robert Scott Thompson
* Rod Modell & Michael Mantra
* Saul Stokes
* Sola Translatio (Alio Die & Opium)
* Stephen Philips
* Tom Heasley
* Vidna Obmana
* Viridian Sun

See also

* List of record labels

External links

* [http://www.hypnos.com Official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/hypnosrecordings Hypnos on myspace.com]