Meet Johnny Wohlfahrt of Witch Cat Records

Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnny Wohlfahrt.

Hi Johnny, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve dreamed about running a record label since I was a teenager. Back then, I didn’t know exactly what it entailed—I just knew I wanted to curate and release music I loved. Over time, that dream expanded into something bigger: I wanted to help Denver bands reach a wider audience. Denver’s always had so many great bands, but we’re kind of on an island here. To get out of town and play shows, you’re looking at an eight-hour drive in any direction—to Salt Lake City or Kansas City—which just isn’t financially realistic for a lot of smaller bands.

I kept the label dream tucked away for a long time. Then in 2019, something shifted. A band I’ve always admired, The Legendary Pink Dots, were playing Denver on Halloween. I’ve been listening to them since I was a teenager, and over the years I got to know Edward Ka-Spel, the band’s front person, through mutual friends and some short conversations after shows. On a whim, I reached out and asked if he’d be interested in doing a special release for the show—just a limited 7” lathe cut. To my surprise, he responded quickly and was totally into it. A few weeks later, I had unreleased songs from Edward sitting in my inbox. That moment—getting music directly from an artist you’ve admired for years—was surreal.

My friend Adam from Meep Records made the lathe cuts, and I built a batch of painted wooden boxes to house them. It was a tiny release, but it felt massive. After the show, I was talking with Edward and—without overthinking it—I asked if there was a record of his I could reissue. I mentioned my favorite one that had never gotten a proper vinyl release, and he said yes. That was the moment I realized I needed to actually start a label—and that I had a lot to figure out.

Then COVID hit, and like a lot of people, my plans were put on hold. But by 2021, I was tired of waiting. I started working on that first reissue and called up some friends to see if they wanted to release anything too. They said yes. And that’s how Witch Cat Records officially began.

It’s been a little over four years now. I’ve let the label grow at its own pace. I’ve never wanted to rush it—just take the time to make each release feel meaningful. I’ve put out so many releases I’m proud of. These days, I’m working closely with a handful of Denver bands to help get their music out into the world, continuing to release records from Edward Ka-Spel and The Legendary Pink Dots, and collaborating with a great band, Thanatoloop, out of Chile as well.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh, there have definitely been challenges. First off—starting a record label during COVID might’ve been one of the worst possible times to do it. Bands couldn’t play live, and merch sales are at their best right after a show. I released a handful of records during that time, but it was tough to build an audience when people couldn’t even leave their houses.

And then there was vinyl. Pressing vinyl during COVID was a complete mess. I got lucky with my first release, but the second one? That was a whole different story. First came the supply shortages, so every pressing plant was already backed up. Then came the infamous Adele/ABBA bottleneck—both artists pressed massive quantities of vinyl at the same time, and smaller labels like mine got pushed to the back of the line. That second release took about a year and a half to arrive from the time I sent payment. It was brutal. I’d already done pre-orders to help fund the pressing, so my inbox turned into a steady stream of “where’s my record?” emails. Thankfully, people were kind and understanding. But it was a serious lesson in patience, planning, and communication.

There were other hits, too—damaged inventory, orders lost in the mail. One time, $7,000 worth of records were delivered to the wrong address. I had to fight with the shipping company to get them back. It was a nightmare.

But through all of it, I’ve kept my head up. I’ve learned a lot. And every challenge has made me a little more resilient, a little more prepared for the next curveball.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Witch Cat Records?
Witch Cat Records is a small, independent label I started in 2019 with the goal of releasing personal, haunting, and often dreamlike music—on vinyl and cassette. I specialize in limited-run releases with unique packaging and a strong visual identity. Every release is meant to feel like an art object—something you can hold and feel a connection to, not just a stream you skip past. The label has a soft spot for haunted psychedelia, dream-pop, experimental soundscapes, and anything that feels a little lost, a little off-kilter, or a little too weird for the mainstream.

What sets Witch Cat apart is how personal it is. I don’t approach this like a business plan or a product launch—I approach it like a conversation. The artists I work with are people I believe in, and the music I release is music I’d want to hear in a dark room, late at night, when nothing feels quite real. I think of Witch Cat as a place for music that drifts outside the usual signals—strange transmissions for people tuned in just right.

I’m proud of the community that’s forming around it. A lot of the artists I’ve released are from Denver or nearby, and building that scene—helping local bands get heard outside of Colorado—means a lot to me. But I’ve also been lucky enough to work with international artists like Edward Ka-Spel and The Legendary Pink Dots, and a phenomenal act, Thanatoloop, from Chile. So it’s this strange little intersection of local and global, where everything feels handmade and intimate.

If people walk away with one thing about Witch Cat Records, I hope it’s that the label is built on care—care for the music, the people who make it, and the people who find it. I want it to feel like stumbling into a forgotten corner of the world and discovering something rare.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
This is a tough one, because everything in the music industry is changing so fast—and somehow, also moving backwards at the same time. A few years ago, no one would’ve predicted the return of vinyl and cassettes, but here we are. At the same time, streaming has become the easiest way to listen to music, while making it harder than ever for artists to actually earn a living from it. Touring is getting more expensive and logistically difficult. And now we’ve got generative AI music entering the picture, and honestly—it’s already shockingly good. That adds a whole new set of challenges.

That said, I still believe good music will always find its way. There will always be artists who pour themselves into their work—people who make music not just to be heard, but to feel something, to connect. And I don’t think AI can replicate that, not really. I’m both excited and a little scared. I’ve even heard some AI music I liked—I’m curious about the technology and where it’s heading. But I also think what’s going to stand out in the next 5 to 10 years is the stuff that feels real. The personal. The handmade. The stuff that doesn’t scale easily because it’s too weird or too human.

So yeah, I think the road ahead is going to be strange and probably pretty hard. But the way forward, at least for me, is to stay honest and keep making things that feel like they matter.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.witchcatrecords.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/witch_cat_records/

Image Credits
Johnny, Tammy and Josh Taylor taken by The Tammy Shine