// about //
media
other times it's noise"
what this is
Magmacrunch media is a creative collective that produces music, film, video games, web tools, writing, and more. Based across the United States in Pennsylvania, California, and New Hampshire, magmacrunch was founded in 2023 as an independent record label for releasing a back catalog of home-recorded music. The label began distributing music new and old to streaming platforms and online stores in 2024, ranging from post-rock to inde folk to riot-grrrl punk. After magmacrunch music was established as a publishing entity in 2025, early development of this website led to the creation of the magmacrunch arcade as well as a historical archive. In August 2026, magmacrunch media became a limited liability company. The collective continues to branch out into other areas of art and technology, with future plans for constructing hardware, making documentaries, and more.
What started as a way to put records out has since spread a good deal further. The arcade now holds a couple of dozen browser games, most of them built on engines we wrote ourselves rather than on anything off the shelf, and a few of those games have been ported back onto real Nintendo Wii hardware and onto the iPhone. The ware section collects what fell out of making all of it: a handful of creative utilities for anyone to use in a browser, alongside the programming language, the game engines and the course on how computer memory works that we built for ourselves first. The press section is where the writing goes, and visual is where the films, collage and photography live.
how it works
What makes magmacrunch media different from a traditional label is the relationship between the people involved. Rather than having signed contracts giving advances that need to be repaid, the collective works with a rotating cast of producers and musicians on home recording, audio production, and more. Collaborators and contributors are friends or family, and always retain ownership of their recordings and songwriting. More broadly, magmacrunch media aims to support artists and creators who value authenticity but might not have the means to buy time in a recording studio at high costs. An affinity for retro technology also inspires releases on physical or otherwise obscure media formats, as well as the development of video games reminiscent of decades past.
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who we are
McCoy brothers Jake, James, and Jon grew up playing music at Frogwood Manor in a forested neighborhood of New Hampshire. C.P. Rutledge grew up playing music at Spirit Castle, across the street. With other musicians living on the same block, this micro-scene was home to host of bands and music projects over the years; these include Vinny Bobarino, Juanito Thompson, The Four B's, and Bottle Boys, in addition to solo material by C.P., and Jon/Woah. Moving around for school and work briefly brought Jake and Jon to Iowa City, where they played in Texas Hold'Em Lava Dome, and recorded music at The Tuna Can. This slowly-growing musical output was in need of a home and there were plans to continue making even more. For this reason, magmacrunch media was founded in 2023 by Jake in Pennsylvania, C.P. in New Hampshire, and Jon in California. The label catalog has since seen new releases by long-time members of the collective, in addition to newer acts such as Dag Henderson and most recently, Sex Van Floor Plan of Pennsylvania.