Astralwerks was founded in New York City in July 1993 by Brian Long as an electronic and dance imprint of
Caroline Records. Long had previously helped curate an electronic music compilation that was released on Caroline called
Excursions in Ambience. The first album released on Astralwerks was
Tales of Ephidrina by Amorphous Androgynous, an alter ego of
The Future Sound of London. In 1994, Peter Wohelski was brought on as the head of
A&R. Wohelski is credited with discovering the Chemical Brothers and bringing them into the Astralwerks fold. Their 1995 debut studio album,
Exit Planet Dust, sold 750,000 copies in the United States. 1999 saw the releases of
Basement Jaxx's
Remedy and was replaced by Errol Kolosine. In the early 2000s, Astralwerks releases included
Air's 2001 album,
10 000 Hz Legend (which reached number 88 on the
Billboard 200) and the 2003 re-issue of
Motorbass'
Pansoul. In 2009, the label released
David Guetta's
One Love. The lead single off that album, "
When Love Takes Over," would go on to win a
Grammy Award. In 2012, the label released
Swedish House Mafia's
Until Now which featured the single "
Don't You Worry Child." The album reached number 14 on the
Billboard 200 while the single made it to number 6 on the
Billboard Hot 100. As part of the corporate restructuring, Astralwerks became an imprint under the Capitol Music Group. In 2013, the label signed both Porter Robinson and
Deadmau5 (along with his
Mau5trap imprint). The following year, Astralwerks signed singer Halsey to a record deal. Also that year, Robinson released his debut studio album,
Worlds and Deadmau5 also released his Astralwerks debut,
While(1<2). Halsey's debut studio album,
Badlands, came in 2015 and peaked at number 2 on the
Billboard 200. Her 2017 follow-up,
Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, would top the chart.
2018–present: Relaunch and relocation In 2018, it was announced that Astralwerks would move from New York City to its current home base of Los Angeles. and was replaced by Toby Andrews. In September 2018, the label announced that it had "relaunched" with a spate of new signings and a new staff at their Los Angeles offices. The new signings included
Axwell & Ingrosso and
Illenium.
Marshmello, another recent Astralwerks signee, released the song "
Happier" featuring
Bastille which reached number 2 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and topped several
Billboard charts. In October 2018, the label partnered with gaming personality
Ninja on a compilation album that was released in December and featured original songs from
Tycho,
Alesso, and
3lau, among others. In 2021, Astralwerks and
Blue Note Records collaborated on a series of jazz/electronica albums titled
Bluewerks. In 2023, it was announced that AstralWerks would enter into a partnership with SIZE Records, distributing all of the label's future recordings in addition to handling its back catalog prior to the distribution deal. ==Discography==