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About Us

Redtone Records was created to preserve and strengthen arts, culture and community. Over the years, we have built a collective of cultural artists and allies seeking a more just, sustainable and enjoyable Bay Area. We define cultural artists as artists who represent cultures and communities facing injustice, displacement, underrepresentation and other threats to their sustainability. 

Throughout this region, Artists & Communities of Color are being displaced by an out-of-control real estate market. The Bay Area is on track to become a cultural desert in which BIPOC communities simply no longer exist and the arts are relegated to a virtual world. We are committed to preserving and strengthening real-life community through a thriving arts & culture scene rooted in racial justice and equity.

As we produce and develop artists in our studio, we are also working with local government officials, developers, foundations and corporations to prioritize large-scale investment in arts, culture and community preservation. These proposed investments include subsidized housing for artists, cultural leaders, and local business owners; cultural arts districts around the Bay Area; paths to home/land/business ownership for BIPOC artists and communities. 

The artists we support are culture bearers. They carry the power of their communities in their artistic expression. They stand out as examples of positivity amidst an entertainment industry that elevates and glorifies negativity, controversy, misogyny, violence, greed and jealousy. We believe the arts should connect us with the roots of our humanity & spirituality, preserve cultural traditions, build community, and advance justice & healing.

We know that the arts are an immeasurably powerful tool in affecting societal and systemic change. Artists take and shape the pulse of the people, impacting our collective social conscience, impacting our attitudes, our voting, our policies and our priorities. At the same time, a thriving arts scene brings people together, helps us cross barriers, infuses joy and energy into community life, and boosts the local economy. Investing in cultural artists is investing in a better future for the Bay Area and the world. 

"Redtone" is a term we coined to describe the gritty sound achieved by overdriving audio signals on vintage recording equipment. Pushing the volume into the red creates a unique tonal quality and feel that can only be achieved with analog circuitry. That sound is a connection to the musical roots that have shaped us. It's an organic sound, a contrast to the purely digital, auto-tuned, commercial feel of so much current music. The red also symbolizes the musical bloodline we aim to honor and preserve.

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