In 1996, former Windham Hill employees Pat Berry and Bob Duskis founded Six Degrees Records with the intention of promoting new trends in world music.

[1] Originally affiliated with Island Records, Berry and Duskis achieved their first major success with the release of London-based tabla player Talvin Singh's influential compilation album Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground.

In this way, the media acquired a poster child upon which to lavish its attention, enabling album sales to approach 200,000 units.

[2] Based in San Francisco, the label operates under the motto, "Everything is closer than you think," encapsulating their aim of introducing global artists to the American market alongside an embrace of the increased accessibility of musical media through digitization.

[2] Nevertheless, artistic integrity remains a priority, and in a relatively short period of time, the label has developed a significant reputation by emphasizing creativity before commerce.