Kranky (stylized as kranky) is an American independent record label based in Chicago. They created Kranky with the intent of releasing Prazision LP by Labradford, which was the first release of the label. Adams first moved to Chicago from Ann Arbor in 1987. In Chicago, he worked at Kaleidoscope, a music distributor in Des Plaines; Touch & Go Records, after quitting work at Kaleidoscope in a year of working for it; and Cargo Music Distribution, which he started working for in the spring of 1991. Adams and Leoschke were still working for Cargo when forming Kranky. According to Resident Advisor, "[Kranky] let[s] artists do whatever they want without interfering", and that Kranky rarely runs advertisements.
Current
- Anjou
- Atlas Sound
- Autistic Daughters
- A Winged Victory for the Sullen
- Jessica Bailiff
- Belong
- Benoit Pioulard
- Bird Show
- Christopher Bissonnette
- Boduf Songs
- Ken Camden
- Christina Carter
- Tom Carter
- Charalambides
- Clear Horizon
- Cloudland Canyon
- Greg Davis
- The Dead Texan
- Dedekind Cut
- Deerhunter
- Demen
- Disappears
- Dreamscape
- Earthen Sea
- Ethernet
- Felix
- Forma
- Grouper
- Brent Gutzeit
- Chihei Hatakeyama
- Steve Hauschildt
- Tim Hecker
- Chris Herbert
- High Plains
- Implodes
- Gregg Kowalsky
- Labradford
- Less Bells
- Lichens
- Loscil
- Lotus Plaza
- Brian McBride
- Mirrorring
- MJ Guider
- Nudge
- Tara Jane O'Neil
- Pan American
- Andrew Pekler
- Raglani
- Jonas Reinhardt
- Dean Roberts
- Saloli
- Dawn Smithson
- Stars of the Lid
- Strategy
- To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie
- Valet
- Christina Vantzou
- Justin Walter
- Keith Fullerton Whitman
- White Rainbow
- Windy & Carl
Former
- Aix Em Klemm
- Amp
- Bowery Electric
- Christmas Decorations
- Dadamah
- Doldrums
- Flies Inside the Sun
- Fontanelle
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- Growing
- Jessamine
- Low
- Magnog
- Roy Montgomery
- Out Hud
- Philosopher's Stone
- James Plotkin
- Spiny Anteaters
- Mark Spybey
- Tomorrowland