Page 16 - Zone Magazine Issue 008

label feature - uk
pro-b-tech records
There are a lot of great labels and agencies in the world, but it takes something special to be around the top of the pile. One brand that has been doing this with great success is Pro-B-Tech run by Brent Lawson and Lee Softley (Blue Amazon). Of course these guys don’t really need an introduction, and have some exciting stuff going on at the moment. So we sent Alan Lumley from Zone to have a catch up and see what the low down is with these guys!
So Brent/Lee Pro-B-Tech records have been doing the rounds for a while now, but lets get down to basics, how did Brent Lawson and Blue Amazon meet, what’s the plans and ethos for the label?
Lee: Brent and myself were in contact for sometime through social media before we started working together. “Jamie Richardson” from “Feed On Digital” got me interested in what “Pro-B-Tech” were doing and there releases etc.
We started talking more at the time when Brent was releasing the “Tilt” album and it roughly coincided time wise with the “Blue Amazon” Interpretations album I was doing with “Ian Ossia”.
We were kind of comparing notes and experiences we were both having with our album projects and also Brent was interested in me recording a remix for the label at some point.
At the beginning of 2015 I don’t mind saying I was going through a difficult time and wanted to turn something that was very negative into something positive. I kind of felt like I had spent so much time for quite a number years sacrificing myself away from music for others /
situations, It was time to get fully committed back to music and except the hard challenge regardless of the consequences. I was back in contact with Brent with a view to releasing some new BA material that ended up being the Blue Amazon Teaser EP.
This opened the door for more conversations and it became a natural gradual progression becoming more involved as we shared views and experiences in releasing music from a label point of view. I’ve been involved in running labels before and most aspects of the industry in some detail so it’s ingrained into me.
Brent: That's pretty much an accurate refection of how it came about. As an avid Blue Amazon follower from Jackpot records / Renaissance gigs it was an honour to have the opportunity to sign up Lee to Pro-B-Tech Records initially as an artist. We kept in close communication and as discussions carried on we soon realised that there was real ambition on both sides to create and work together. To be honest I have still to question myself that again I have landed so lucky and firmly on my feet, Lee’s knowledge in production through to business is invaluable.
Lee: Cheers Brent,
Id say the ethos of the label in simple terms is about releasing quality music with an open mind. It’s very important for us not to just base everything on personal taste. We want to be supportive and develop artists but we would both be lying if we were to lead you to believe that’s all its about.
We are building something that is aiming to cross collateralize a lot of areas around of music.
We are both quite business minded in a way and are consistently looking at ways and methods of expansion for the future but we wont try run before we walk.
The bigger picture is building all the time and you will see more and more the pieces of our jigsaw being added together.
Brent: I think the big thing you will see from us is diversity; the initial label idea from myself was to create something that would possibly help me in the long term. However I ran the risk of signing and releasing music only that I liked i.e. a true progressive house sound.
Whilst we will still release tracks of this genre you will see a far wider spectrum of genre being released in the future and as lee said it about artist support and brand building.
Music goes through trends and changes in an ever evolving world, why can we expect Pro-B-Tech to still be producing classy music for example in 5 years time?
Brent: There are so many good unknown producers out there and creating different styles. What you will see is the label keeping the sound different and diverse as we move on.
Also in addition to the label they’re other aspects being worked on right now that should see Pro-B-Tech as a brand grow and will expand in a fresh and creative way. We consistently keep our ear to the ground for what's new.
Lee: Id also say we are both committed to the music and genres we release and observant as to others outside of our domain. We are developing a music hub / business and can’t take our eye off the ball, we wont because it’s our passion and interest. God forbid that music gets to a stage that we would be forced to release music we really hated then maybe we would go fishing and let others run the label for us who were interested in that climate.
16 ZONE-MAGAZINE.IE