About us

A letter from the CEO of Koolarrow Records

With worldwide communication more accesible than ever, the concept of ” The Global Village” has now become an accepted fact of life. What is generally known as “world” music is a misnomer. Somehow, this category has become associated with a nostalgic, romanticized, and sometimes even condescending view of other (non-US) cultures. To me, the real “world” music is made by modern people, who make today’s music IN THEIR OWN CONTEXT, and with their own identity.

In the 21st Century, we have the power to cross-pollinate cultures and ideas more freely than ever. Or, at least, we do in theory. Yet, thanks to the inevitability of big business marketing, that doesn’t happen and everything we hear seems to be a derivative of the USA or the UK. And let’s face it, we all suffer when this happens.

Remember, just because you haven’t heard about it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, and this is what KOOLARROW Records is all about: bringing light and ears to a diverse range of music previously denied any semblance of mass attention.

KOOLARROW wants to provide access to bands from all over who are happy to remain brilliantly talented by being themselves, regardless of their country of origin, and who aren’t merely interested in replicating Billboard’s top 40.

We at KOOLARROW resent being told how we should live, what we should listen to, and what we need to do to “fit in”. And we know that we’re not the only ones.

KOOLARROW is different, whether you believe it or not. A company run by musicians for musicians; it will be our bands that make the label, not the other way around.

Call KOOLARROW an indie if you want, but know that KOOLARROW will be the forerunner of how it has to be, a label that allows all varieties of people to give of themselves without being taken. And to feel proud, rather than ashamed, in being themselves and in their personal and musical backgrounds.

This is what Koolarrow means to me….what does Koolarrow mean to you?

Billy Gould
CEO