Gradation Music

About Us

Gradation Music is a small music production company and label established in 2014 to support Houston-based musical artist FERNI. In 2024, the roster was expanded to support his band WE ARE STORIES. 

Looking ahead, Gradation Music plans to expand its reach by partnering with additional independent artists to help them record, produce, and release their music to audiences around the world. 

The company’s long-term vision is to build a collaborative and supportive creative community where artists can bring their ideas to life, maintain their artistic independence, and share their work with listeners on an international stage.

Artists

Celebrating new music for today, while preserving the stories that came before.

FERNI is a Houston-based singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer whose musical journey began in his early years, writing lyrics in notebooks and capturing song ideas on a cassette recorder. Over the years, he has developed a distinctive sound that blends elements of rock, new wave, blues, and Americana, paired with thoughtful and introspective songwriting. 

WE ARE STORIES features Ferni, alongside Brandon Hatcher on lead guitar, Mike Acosta on drums and Mark Rutledge on bass. Together, the band draws on a wide range of influences to create a powerful and distinctive sound rooted in a shared passion for authentic, guitar-driven rock music.

Throughout his musical journey, Ferni also founded the Texas bands BROTHER SOL and OF LOVE AND JUSTICE. Through Gradation Music, these formative projects have been preserved and introduced to audiences for the first time through archival releases. 

The OF LOVE AND JUSTICE catalog was compiled into never-before-released collections, curated from rare studio recordings, live performances, and lo-fi demos, carefully restored from original cassette and reel-to-reel tapes. 

Likewise, although BROTHER SOL did not release any studio recordings during its active years, several performances recorded at the legendary Steamboat in Austin, Texas, in 1993 were captured for local television music programs. In 2021, Gradation Music released these historic recordings as a live EP.