While our releases cover a variety of styles (outsider folk, avant-indie-rock, sound collages), they all share the spirit of discovery and experimentation. The label is based out of Columbus, Ohio, through which the Scioto River flows. It’s a pretty common name in the area… everything from urology centers to country clubs are named after the river. The name was picked because of it’s strong local
identity. Even though Scioto Records doesn’t limit itself to music from Ohio artists, we support local businesses. We press records at Columbus and Cleveland pressing plants, we print our covers in Worthington, and even bank at a non-corporate local bank. Keith Hanlon, founder of Scioto Records, is a member of The Black Swans, and has toured and recorded with Parker Paul and Nad Navillus. The first record he ever bought was the Rhythm Heritage’s “Keep Your Eyes on the Sparrow (Theme from Baretta)” at the age of seven. Since then, he has collected records and studied audio production. He started Scioto to discover new and interesting music. Inspiration
When Hanlon started Scioto Records, he drew drew upon inspiration from a variety of labels: the creative sounds of Brian Eno’s 1970s label Obscure Records, the credo of ESP-Disk (“The artists alone decide what you will hear on their ESP-Disk.”) and the DIY “anybody can do this” attitude of Simple Machines (Hanlon devoured the Mechanic’s Guide back in the early 90s). Distribution
We work with a number of North American distributors on a non-exclusive basis. Our releases are available through Revolver/Midheaven, and select titles are available through Drag City and Dischord Records. If you work at a distro and want to carry our releases, send us an email via our website.
