Illuminated Paths

Despite its drawbacks and its issues with Saint Pepsi and Luxury Elite, Illuminated Paths is one of my favourite Bandcamp labels.
This label is a mine full of obscure gems, many of which ed my personal classics. Seriously, each time I go to their page, I always find interesting albums and sometimes I even come across true masterpieces.
I also love the general lo-fi and underground aesthetics it has, and I’m amazed they managed to keep such a unique and coherent identity and yet promote so many different music genres at the same time.

Besides, as an artist, I was really pleased to release albums via IP. They have always been kind and encouraging, and they are definitely ionate about underground music.
They can’t be blamed for not paying the artists since they don’t make a lot of profit and yet produce many artists. I find it fair that the small amount of money they earn goes to the albums promotion and cassettes conception.

For all these reasons I definitely recommend IP to all the music diggers who enjoy rare and obscure experimental stuff and to all the producers looking for an interesting label.

Just biking in here to reiterate what a couple other people have mentioned, that IP's whole "thing" is the embrace of the lo-fi, DIY and low-resolution with regard to music. That's why artists like myself continue to work with them, because it's very much in touch with reconciling niche electronic music and bedroom producers with the same xerox-quality handmade catalogs that the punk and noise subcultures have enjoyed for decades now. It increases the feeling of a unique artifact being the physical side of the listening ritual, and refuses the gloss and perfection of mass-produced inundations from more "successful" and "professional" record labels. Illuminated Paths get it, they are a boutique experience for people who never grew out of home taping and sound collages, and their reach extends from electronic music to outsider stuff, hip hop, drone, alternative rock bands, stoner music, plunderphonics and all kinds of interesting things that blur genre lines and question the boundaries of artistic license and illegal sound appropriation.

That said, it is also not for everyone. If you're looking to get factory-pressed releases sent in the mail, then perhaps look elsewhere. If you want a finger on the pulse of underground and experimental audio, in the charming vehicle of a back-of-the-video-rental-store bootlegging operation, then look no further.

For what it is worth:

I’ve had an album released on tape, VHS, and DVD via Illuminated Paths and my experience in dealing with the label was nothing but positive. Very encouraging, ive, excited to release my work, and I was happy with the end results.

I can understand how the quality of tapes aren’t up to the standards of some...but I always found that to be the charm of the label. It’s a cassette...not a vinyl record! It doesn’t need to be perfect. If your tape doesn’t work...sure, that is a problem. If you just don’t like that the J cards are printed at home and that they throw lots of funny ads and stickers and pogs in with the tapes, then simply don’t order. IP always link you to the artists so you can them directly.

Despite what anyone might feel about the label - everyone should give the music a thorough listen. I own many IP tapes, and absolutely love some of the music. A highly underrated album released on IP is ATNR’s Reality In The 21st Century. It is wonderful Japanese ambience! Or Jordan Anderson’s Hypomania - a rewarding exercise in classic Aphex Twin / IDM / Rephlex worship.

PSA: This label engages in really shady practices that rip off both the consumer and artist.

Artists have reported not receiving any royalties for the work that this label presses.

They their cassettes (especially the Saint Pepsi cassette) as being "limited to 25/30/50," but after the run sells out they wait a few weeks and sell another batch of the same color limited to the same quantity. It's false advertising yet they keep selling out of Saint Pepsi cassettes--my estimate is that they've sold at least 1000 "limited to 25" cassettes.

Also, the quality is really shoddy--cassette labels look like they came from a printer running low on ink.