The first AMIATA release was Ad Infinitum in 1992 by Italian composer and label founder Matteo Silva. For some years Amiata Records specialised in new music, releasing recordings by experimental artists like Michael Vetter and Gianfranco Pernaiachi; minimalistic composers like Terry Riley, Hans Otte and Steve Reich, vocalists like Sainkho Namtchylak, Faraualla, Amelia Cuni, saxophonist Angelo Ricciardi, flutist Andrea Ceccomori, guitarists Dominic Miller and Paolo Giaro, bassists Andrea Donati and Enzo Pietropaoli and string quartets like the Bernini Quartet. The label's repertoire consisting mostly of original compositions by the artists and often large booklets, sophisticated packaging and minimalist cover art. There is a link between some AMIATA recordings and so-called world music, especially the folk recordings and arrangements by the Fratelli Mancuso, the work of Antonio Infantino and Ustad Nishat Khan. Other examples of AMIATA's world music are records by the Bauls of Bengal, Tibetan Lama Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, Indian virtuoso Zakir Hussain, Gabin Dabiré and the Ensemble Club musical Oriente Cubano. The AMIATA New Series was created to document Western contemporary classical works — the first of these was the world-premiere recording of Hans Otte Aquarian Music who gave to the series a certain minimalist approach confirmed by other releases of music by Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Ludovico Einaudi, Arvo Pärt. On many releases, the multicultural and classical sides of AMIATA are combined: for example, Ustad Nishat Khan's Meeting of Angels features him playing sitar solos over the Ensemble Gilles Binchois singing Gregorian chant. The label was distributed in the USA for many years by Ryko Distribution and after Warner Bros. Records acquisition of Ryko by the independent MVD Entertainment Group. Matteo Silva continues to take an active interest in the music released by the label, acting as producer on most of its recordings. The typical AMIATA session is just three days — two days to record, one day to mix. Silva in general dislikes overdubbing.
Catalogue
The catalogue numbers over a hundred titles presented in seven series - Secret World, Roots, New Music, Cutting Edge, Inner Arts, Classica and Multimedia Arts.
Design
The label is known for the design and packaging of its album covers.
Fairy Tales of the World is a collection of twelve CDs containing fairytales from countries on five continents, each read by an actor and set to music from the place where it originated. Each CD is inserted in an illustrated book with the full text of the fairy tale.
