Jefre Cantu-Ledesma is a multi-instrumentalist and an ambient/experimental musician from the United States. He co-founded the drone and ambient label Root Strata.

Biography

Cantu-Ledesma was born and raised in Texas, United States, and studied sculpture and visual arts in San Francisco. Cantu-Ledesma got his start in the band Tarentel. He was one of the founding members and is still a primary figure in the band's line-up. Cantu-Ledesma continued to be involved with many musical projects, including experimental rock band The Alps, the solo project Colopho, and the duo Raum (with Grouper). His solo debut album, Love Is a Stream, came in 2010 and was released under Type Records. Cantu-Ledesma continued to release many solo and collaborative projects, including A Year with 13 Moons in 2015, On the Echoing Green in 2017, and You Can See Your Own Way Out in 2021 with Ilyas Ahmed. His label, Root Strata, has an extensive catalog that includes artists such as Tarentel, Grouper, Yellow Swans, Charalambides, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Oneohtrix Point Never, Barn Owl, Starving Weirdos, Gregg Kowalsky, and more.

Discography (by project)

Tarentel

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma

Primary solo project, primarily ambient/drone music

Colophon

Ambient solo project

The Holy See

Harsh noise project of Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Jim Redd

Sea Zombies

Project of Brad Rose (The North Sea, Ajilvsga, Ossining, Digitalis Records) and John Twells (Xela, Type Records) with contributions by Gregg Kowalsky, Jed Bindeman, and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma

The Alps

Kraut/psych rock band

Moholy-Nagy

A heavily synthesizer based and largely improvisational group featuring Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Danny Paul Grody, and Trevor Montgomery

Isidore Ducasse

Collaborative project between Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Trevor Montgomery

Josephine

Collaborative project between Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Tony Cross

Raum

Collaborative project between Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Liz Harris (Grouper)

Félicia Atkinson and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma

Collaborative project between Félicia Atkinson and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma