About

Creative Sources Recordings is an independent label dedicated to free music, improvisation, experimental and contemporary music.

Founded in Lisbon in 2000 by violist and improviser Ernesto Rodrigues, Creative Sources grew out of a simple need: to document music that was being created outside the usual structures of the record industry. What began within the Portuguese improvised and experimental music scene soon opened outward, becoming a meeting point for musicians from different generations, countries and artistic backgrounds.

From the beginning, Creative Sources developed as an open platform rather than around a fixed aesthetic. Free improvisation, electroacoustic music, contemporary composition, noise, silence, abstraction and new approaches to sound could all coexist within the same catalogue. What connected the releases was not a single style, but a shared sense of curiosity, risk and artistic independence.

As the catalogue expanded, Creative Sources became increasingly international. First encounters, long-term collaborations, solo projects and unexpected combinations of musicians gradually formed a broad network of creative music extending far beyond Lisbon. At the same time, the label remained closely connected to the development of Portuguese improvised music, documenting a scene while placing it in dialogue with artists from across Europe and beyond.

Over more than two decades, Creative Sources has built an extensive archive of musical relationships and ideas. Many of its releases capture situations that might otherwise have disappeared: a particular meeting, a fragile improvisation, an unusual ensemble, a moment of experimentation preserved in sound.

Throughout its history, Creative Sources has remained musician-run and artist-focused, guided more by artistic curiosity than by trends or commercial expectations. This independence has allowed the label to support projects that move freely between genres and approaches, while preserving the distinct identity of each recording.

Creative Sources is not simply a record label. It is a living document of musicians, encounters and ideas — music being created, explored and shared across borders.