MASS MoCA Records Launches & Signs The Kasambwe Brothers

MASS MoCA and Hen House Studios are proud to announce the formation of a new record label, MASS MoCA Records. By establishing a new framework for record making that centers artistic creativity, museum residencies and live music making, it will provide an alternative to the current commercial record label model for how independent music is heard, developed and shared.

MASS MoCA Records is uniquely designed to build on the museum’s international reach and entrusted relationships with performing artists — musicians, stage-based storytellers, and sound and sonic installation creators — by marrying the expertise of Harlan Steinberger of Hen House Studios (Sunny War, Willie Nelson, Particle Kid), who is best known for his uncommonly attuned ear as a recording engineer and producer specializing in live, studio recordings. Artists selected for the new label will be an extension of the museum’s curatorial ethos, and the label will not have a scheduled application process. Launched as a three-year pilot, a limited number of albums will be released each year and produced at various recording studios in the Berkshires and throughout the world.

Kristy Edmunds, Director of MASS MoCA, comments:

“MASS MoCA Records is a recording and distribution collaboration born out of our shared love of music and the artists who make it. We have a long-standing, live presenting program at the museum featuring musicians, performers and sound artists, and have supported the creation of new works and ambitious ideas since our inception. By joining forces with Hen House Studios and being able to tap into the remarkable number of music studios and intimate venues in the local area, the ingredients for a hand-made record label were all around us. I see this label as an extension of how we innovate to support the mobility of artists’ ideas and connect audiences the world over.”

The first band to sign with MASS MoCA Records is The Kasambwe Brothers, a multi-generational band that has been making music together for almost 40 years and is grounded in the rich musical heritage of Malawi, Africa. Through an initial collaboration between the museum and Hen House Studios in 2024, The Kasambwe Brothers travelled from Malawi to the United States for the first time to be in residence at MASS MoCA, which included extended rehearsal opportunities, a performance with a live audience, and time at Studio 9 in North Adams, MA to record their first full-length album with Steinberger.

The first three songs from their self-titled album, to be released on October 24th, are out now, a preview of their vision of Malawian roots music. The first two songs, “Mtima Wanga” meaning “My Heart” and “Getu” meaning “Gertrude” are love songs, sung in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi. The third song, “Ahedi,” meaning “Head Teacher,” tells the story of a student speaking out about teachers who abuse women, and how the act of speaking up puts their studies at risk. Rooted in musical tradition, The Kasambwe Brothers are well-loved on Malawian airwaves for their unflinching and courageous take on injustices facing their community every day.

More releases will follow in 2026 from MASS MoCA Records, recording predominantly in-person in the Berkshires under Steinberger’s stewardship, including cutting-edge Los Angeles jazz artists Black Nile (release date TBA). Originating from the red-hot Compton jazz scene that’s fed into artists like Kendrick Lamar and Kamasi Washington, Black Nile completed a residency in June 2025 at MASS MoCA, including both recording locally at Studio 9 and performing at the museum.

Steinberger comments:

“Hen House Studios has been producing, releasing, and marketing contemporary artists since 2001, with a shared artist-centered ethos with MASS MoCA. By working together, the label will help artists reach a larger audience. Though technology today can work wonders, the digital world has dehumanized us. I believe in an older-world method that emphasizes the magic of a band making music together in one room, playing off the creativity of the moment. The humanistic approach creates a deeper emotional listener experience that can not only be heard, but also felt.”