Arctic Sounds is a media label for podcasts, music, comedy, and live performance. We strive to lift up independent artists and work in a DIY fashion – all of our projects are self-produced and are largely home-made.

 

Arctic Sounds began in a makeshift music studio on the second floor of a storefront in Flint, Michigan. Matt Coggins and Aaron Kolb, cousins and lifelong best friends, wanted to try their hand at music production as means of promoting their own projects, as well as assisting other local and independent artists. Countless hours and late nights were spent building, decorating, and recording, but in the spring of 2012, Arctic Sounds Studio was busy with activity.

 

The first creative project undertaken by the studio was Arctic Sounds Radio (later, simply Arctic Sounds), the brainchild of Matt and Bethany Hickey – a podcast profiling local music, enthralling discussions, stories, and live on-air performances. By summer, the studio was forced to close, but Arctic Sounds continued on the airwaves of WKUF 94.3FM from Kettering University. Here, Arctic Sounds began to thrive as it hosted a weekly live performance and became a fan-favorite in the Flint music scene. From 2012 to 2015, Arctic Sounds hosted over 30 live performances from some of the best acts in Michigan.

 

When Arctic Sounds Radio moved back to a podcast format in 2015, Matt began looking for ways to branch out the Arctic Sounds name. The first full studio release from Arctic Sounds came in February 2016 – Space Macs’ first LP “Space Jams Volume I: The Jammening,” followed just a few months later by Earl Grey’s “When People Assume the Importance of Their Lives.” Both projects were helmed, produced, and mastered by Matt Coggins.

 

Inspired by the 2016 Presidential election, Matt also branched out into a different variety of podcasts. “Let Me Be Clear” came in summer 2016 to poke fun at the state of politics. At first an occasional episode helped chronical the big election moments, but now Let Me Be Clear is updated every week. Beginning in 2017 we added “List-O-Mania” to the podcast repertoire and have plans to bring back classic episodes from Arctic Sounds Radio.

 

The label continues to grow and branch out into other fields; plans are underway to begin producing live theatrical performances and comedy events, as well as new podcasts and music. We hope you will join us along the way.

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