Persona Records originally began in Boston, Massachusetts in 2001 as an outlet for the music of Stewart Walker. The name "persona" was chosen as a response to the trend of artists working solely under pseudonyms thus obscuring the humanity involved in electronic music. At the time, electronic dance music was perceived by American audiences as merely the product of computer algorithms.

Words like "computer" and "digital" when used to describe music were epithets with a true meaning of inhuman, soul-less, and anonymous. Electronic music artists since Kraftwerk were happy to explore the artistic possibilities of the man-machine or avatar via their own artificial pseudonymous personalities.

But this denial of humanity prevented acceptance and understanding from those more comfortable with traditional bands or singer-songwriters of rock, folk, punk, etc. Stewart realized around this time, after being locked in bedroom studios for most of the 1990's, there is a purity of communication within electronic music. One artist typically creates the entire presentation from the concept of the music, to the graphic design, the label management, and so on. This stood out in stark contrast to the amount of effort required to produce and sell one folkie – with teams of songwriters, producers, engineers and A+R reps involved in the creation of a pop single and career.

The development of music and artists electronic music world was simpler and more direct. More personal. Punk bands called it "DIY," Rock bands called it "indie," and other techno artists called it "the underground." Persona's first web communiqués called it new folk music, and the modern equivalent of a girl with a guitar busking in a subway station.

Techno, minimal, electronica, Stewart Walker, Touane, Andrea Sartori, Clara Moto, I.A. Bericochea, Felizol, Signal Deluxe, The Thrillers, Donato Dozzy, Nuel, Gregory Shiff