Gearbox Records is an independent record label founded in 2009 and based in London and Tokyo.
With a commitment to the highest quality pressings, Gearbox by extension also includes an analogue studio situated in King’s Cross. In the early days of Gearbox and under the mentorship of famed engineer Sean Davies, founder Darrel Sheinman was inspired to build an all-analogue cutting and mastering studio based around vintage vacuum tube tape machines and a 1967 Haeco Scully lathe, to which one can attribute the signature “Gearbox sound.” With the guiding ethic of “future analogue”, label and third-party releases are cut and mastered for analogue and digital using the best combination of rare vintage and modern equipment inside the London studio.
The label’s dual output includes previously-unreleased historic recordings and genre-breaking new music by contemporary artists; you will come across music by Thelonious Monk, Don Cherry, and Nico as well Binker and Moses, Sarathy Korwar, Chihei Hatakeyama and Abdullah Ibrahim. The label is also responsible for the one-off, beautifully-designed Gearbox Automatic Mkii turntable, custom built by Pro-ject.