Jessa Graves resurrected her Mom's record label on Mother's Day this year. In the early 90s Annie Graves started Illumin Records to independently release her own music. Twenty-six years later, her daughter Jessa Graves (Portland-based front woman of J. Graves and entrepreneur) resurrects Illumin Records with a revitalized mission at the intersection of music, tech, and advocacy.
Portland post-punk band J. Graves will be the first act to release on the structurally innovative label, following an artist accelerator framework called “WTR RISE”, developed in partnership with Women That Rock’s founder, Andie Aronow, adjunct professor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU. The strategic partnership between Illumin and Women That Rock will grant the Illumin roster direct access to high-level artist management, development, marketing, mentorship and support through all channels of WTR, the music discovery platform dedicated to supporting the best up-and-coming womxn in music, with live event production, marketing and promotion, digital media, presented tours, and a new licensing division. Illumin will be working with two additional pilot artists in late 2020, Van Mary (Austin) and Egg Drop Soup (LA). Also of note, J Graves upcoming EP was engineered entirely by women (engineered and mixed by Elly Swope at Destination Universe! and mastered by Amy Dragon at Telegraph Audio).
