How it started
Nathan Etes started making music after watching Billie Eilish's documentary, The World's a Little Blurry. His first tracks were GarageBand loops on an iPad. He saved for a MacBook by doing jobs for neighbors and putting away gift money, then taught himself Logic Pro.
He wrote, produced, and recorded his first EP, CTY-S, over one summer at his family's lake house in northern Wisconsin. It came out in December 2022. Singles followed, including "Keys to My Heart" in 2023.
The business started after a music production and industry leadership program at UCLA. He spent a week there in the Sproul Hall dorms, working in a group to write, produce, record, and mix a song. He produced his single "MOVED ON FIRST" on the flight to Los Angeles and recorded its vocals in the dorm. He formed Etes Entertainment LLC in 2024, with A1 Records (previously Etes Records) as its label.
The program also showed him how the industry works for artists. Under a typical label deal, an artist keeps a small share of what their music earns, and most only see real income once they are filling stadiums on tour. Streaming pays very little per play, which makes it hard for independent artists to make a living. He started the company to release his music without signing to an outside label, and to learn every part of the business himself.
He works out of his own home studio, where he writes, produces, records, mixes, and masters each release himself. The setup is built around Universal Audio and Focusrite interfaces, Neumann and AKG microphones, Fender and Epiphone guitars, and analog synthesizers. He also directs the visual side of each project, including the cover art.
The company handles each step of putting out his work: production, mixing and mastering, distribution, and registering the catalog with BMI, The MLC, and SoundExchange. Every release carries an A1 Records catalog number under the prefix A1R-NE and is distributed worldwide. All music, lyrics, and art released by the company are human-made.
His debut album, juniper, came out in May 2025, followed that year by the singles "CERULEAN," "SUMMER'S OVER," and "LIKE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO." "DELOREAN" came out in March 2026 and the EP pose® boy songz in November 2026, with the single "THE GANZFELD EFFECT" out November 11, 2026. Alongside the label, he has studied audio through Berklee Online and continues to learn through mentorship and collaboration with creatives in Los Angeles.
